City and government join hands in support of Cape Town Festival 2005

Says Cape Town Festival CEO, Yusuf Ganief, emphasized that the festival is essentially a vehicle for cultural interaction and unity, and is a celebration of the arts and diverse cultures that epitomize the Mother City.

"This year's theme 'Ubuntu - Celebrating our Cultural Roots' is in line with our focus to celebrate our commonalities as people, through the diversity of our many cultures. It is the long-term vision of the Cape Town Festival to gain recognition as the 'Gateway to African Arts and Culture'. The Cape Town Festival has an enormous contribution to make in terms of economic and social development, and acts as a catalyst for positive change within our multi-cultural milieu."

In 2004 the Festival created entrepreneurial opportunities for over 2900 arts, crafts, events, logistics & technical practitioners. 220 businesses generated income from the Cape Town Festival in 2004, the majority of which were Small and Medium Business Enterprises. "The Festival is a significant socio-economic tool for the City's Integrated Development Plan and we base our tourist potential on the vision of establishing the Cape Town Festival as a Gateway to African Arts and Culture," said Ganief.

Minister for Arts and Culture, Dr Pallo Jordan, affirmed his patronage of the Cape Town Festival, saying that "nurturing and valuing of diversity among cultures is critical not only to make the world a more interesting and inspiring place, but also as an affirmation of the multi-dimensional character of our human family".

Said Dr Jordan: "Our South African heritage springs from the very cradle of humanity, and cultural diversity is the living expression of our humanity... Never forget the role that artists play in creating our future culture, said Dr Jordan. They mirror our culture through visual art, dance, theatre and music. Supporting the Cape Town Festival pays tribute to our artists."

Western Cape Premier, Ebrahim Rasool emphasized the role of the Cape Town Festival as the Western Cape's leading arts, culture and heritage platform and said it plays a pivotal role in putting the city where it ultimately wants to be - on a par with other great cities that host international arts and culture festivals. "The Festival showcases Cape Town as a centre that creative people from our own country and continent and the rest of the world can come to find expertise, a rich heritage and an artistic and cultural relevance."

Says Executive Mayor of the City of Cape Town, Nomaindia Mfeketo, "Cape Town is the creative heart of our country, and the Cape Town Festival is an event that showcases the soul of Cape Town. It is heart-warming to see the wealth of emerging talent among the young people participating in the festival, especially those youngsters who have been historically disadvantaged. It is important to remember that our youth are the future leaders of this City, and their talent needs to be developed and nurtured. By the year 2010, Cape Town should be recognised as a unique, world-class events destination, delivering real economic and social value to all citizens through the hosting of events."

This year the Cape Town Festival has a run of 21 days, commencing on 6 March and ending on 26 March. The festival will be held at a number of venues throughout the city, and this year's focus is on the performing arts with a record number of 27 dance, music and theatre productions totalling a whopping 74 dance, music and theatre performances.

Other major components of the Festival are the Eyona Festival Weekend situated in the Company's Garden, the Cape Town Children's Festival which is the largest children's arts and culture festival in the country, the eclectic 'Night Vision' taking place in the inner-city precinct, the Cape Town International Short Film Festival at the V&A Waterfront amphitheatre, the Culture Talks and the In-Touch Community Festivals in Langa and Sir Lowry's Pass Village.

Look out for the full festival program on the Festival website www.capetownfestival.co.za.