Cape Town: Tweede Nuwe Jaar is all set to entertain Capetonians on Monday, Jan 05, 2026. It is completely a different festival and should not be confused with the court application which is issued by a different minstrel organisation i.e. the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association.
The application is related to the CTMCA’s late and incomplete event application for the use of Vygieskraal Stadium. For this, the City of Cape Town has already offered to assist the CTMCA with available dates for Athlone Stadium and awaits provisional bookings and permit applications.
City of Cape Town is in the process of appealing a High Court ruling, that orders immediate venue provision and is not available for the dates requested. The excitement is building ahead of the official Tweede Nuwe Jaar Festival on Monday, Jan 05, 2025.
Tweede Nuwe Jaar is organised by the Kaapse Klopse Karnival Association that will see march of around 20,000 performers from Chiappini Street and will entertain the crowd along the 1.2 km stretch of Somerset Road before heading into the stadium.
The date and route for the carnival, both are decided by the organisers. The City of Cape Town is proud to support this historic annual event. It spectacularly showcases the unique and vibrant culture of the Cape Town. Funding allocated to Minstrel events represents the single largest investment of the city in events held overall.
However, the City of Cape Town has formally offered help to the CTMCA with Athlone Stadium on available mid-week dates in January and a weekend in February. This offer is subject to CTMCA that duly complies with applicable legislation and includes the laws that regulate event by permitting process and doing business with the city.
On Jan 02, 2026 the City of Cape Town filed an appeal to a related High Court order, which expects the impossible to provide a venue that is not simply available on the requested dates.
In September, the City of Cape Town informed the CTMCA that not a single stadium is available in the whole city as venue during the January weekends. They all are already booked for Klopse events by other associations and are not suitable for medium-risk SASREA graded events.
South African Police Services (SAPS) applies this risk rating to all the Minstrel events which limits the number of suitable public or private venues.
As December to January is the busiest time of the year for events and bookings that have made many months, even more than a year in advance for many of these venues. It must be noted that the CTMCA did not act timeously to secure a venue and meet permitting requirements, instead of waiting three months before filing an urgent application.
All of this is unrelated to the official Tweede Nuwe Jaar parade set for 5 January. Also, the street parade is free of charge to the public.