The annual Cape Town Carnival is celebrating its 15th anniversary this year with a number of guest artists aboard the decorated floats under the theme, WowZa.

The announcement was made at a rooftop venue in the CBD last night, January 16, where invited guests were given a sneak peek of what to expect at the free carnival, which takes place at the Green Point Fan Walk on Saturday March 15.

It was also announced that for the first time, the DHL Stormers will participate in the carnival on their dedicated “Taking the Cape by Storm” float.

Queens of the Drag Cartel also performed at the launch event.

Rio Carnival’s Queen of the Drums, Erika Januza, a Brazilian actress and performer, will also be joining the festivities, bringing flair from the biggest carnival to the streets of Cape Town.

Other artists to be performing at the carnival include rapper YoungstaCPT; Idols South Africa 2017 winner Paxton Fielies; hip-hop artist Bravo le Roux; the SA youth choir and the queens from Drag Cartel.

Chairperson of the Cape Town Carnival Trust, Professor Rachel Jafta, reminisced on the first Cape Town Carnival, held in 2010 in Long Street. “I can still feel the cold wind on my shoulders. It blew me a few paces away from the microphone. My heart was beating fast because this was unknown to us, but we had an incredibly big dream.

The Protea, South Africa’s national flower, will also be celebrated.

“We thought if we could bring people together to have fun together... get to know each other and in the long term, build social cohesion.

“Over time, this thing I thought was just a dream is actually happening...”

She added: “When you come to the Cape Town Carnival you see what South Africa can be. You see people from all over coming together to have fun and to tell and create stories through different formats like dance, music, performances, art and beautiful costumes. For me, that is worth celebrating as it is a moment that makes you say ‘Wow, South Africa’, which is where our theme of WowZA! originates from.”

Cape Town Carnival CEO, Jay Douwes, said this year, the carnival will be celebrating community, creativity and culture.

She said the carnival had stood the test of time after moving from Long Street to the Green Point Fan Walk, and during the Covid-19 pandemic, where visitors could watch performances in different parts of the city centre.

“It's about the show and it's about the people. It's very special. We have many community groups that we interact with, and this is 15 years of people dedicating themselves and artists showing up.”

Ebrahim Dollie from Bonteheuwel creates head pieces for the costumes.

Among those working behind the scenes is Ebrahim Dollie from Bonteheuwel, who first attended the carnival in 2018, and is now excited to be part of the group. He said he started as a cleaner until the head of the costume department saw his potential. “He saw the effort I put into my work and he mentored me.”

He said this year, he was part of designing the headpieces for the Protea float. “I’m looking forward to seeing my work on event day, just to know that something I created from scratch without a picture... they even used my prototype.”

He said his favourite creation that he was a part of was the sweet themed costumes from last year’s carnival, themed Lekker. “I saw my creations on event day and in the newspapers and people enjoyed it and took photos. It made me so happy.”

Cape Town’s famous food, the gatsby, will also be celebrated at the carnival. Here, dancers hand over gastbys to each other.

Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis extended his congratulations to the Cape Town Carnival stakeholders and said the carnival an important event in the cultural calendar of the Cape Town as it brings people out of their homes to enjoy a public space alongside the whole city.

Although the carnival has been running for 15 years, he said, this is the first year that it will be the Cape Town Carnival in what is now officially the world’s best city.

On Wednesday January 15, Cape Town was announced Time Out’s Best City in the World for 2025.

“So, Rio, eat your heart out because Cape Town is the best city in the world.”

Idols 2017 winner Paxton Fielies, in front, will also be performing at the carnival.