50 000 people expected at opening festive season

By Marthe van der Wolf
28 November 2007

Fifty thousand people are expected to gather in Adderley Street when Mayor Helen Zille will switch on the festive lights on Sunday.

Besides the lights, a carnival parade will start at 3 o’clock from the Heerengracht Fountain. There will be a food village, Bafana Bafana Captain Lukas Radebe will appear and many performances by artist such as JAG, Johnny Clegg and Brandon October.

"There will be two 40 square metre screens, one at the Heerengracht Fountain and one at the corner of Strand and Adderley Street. These will have to ensure that everybody can follow what is happening at the main stage," says spokesperson for the event Chalres Kadalie.

The switch on of the festive lights is a 41-year-old tradition for the city. With the large crowd it attracts, it has become one of the largest open-air events in the centre of Cape Town.