The popular Tweede Nuwe Jaar celebrations that traditionally fill the streets of the Cape Town CBD with colour and Klopse on January 2 will not happen in early 2021. The event has been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Kaapse Klopse Karnival Association (KKKA) announced that they have decided to postpone the event due to safety concerns for participants, as mass gatherings could become super-spreader events.
According to Muneeb Gambino, one of the Directors of the KKKA, they are considering holding the event on June 16, 2021.
“This event attracts in excess of 80 000 people annually and we simply can’t afford to host a mass gathering of this nature and by doing so have a super spreader event,” he told SBAC News. “We understand that the Klopse and the 2de Nuwe Jaar event is of immense importance to the people of the Western Cape and South Africa and this decision wasn’t easy, but the priority is the health and welfare of our people.”
This parade has been entrenched in the Cape Malay culture of Cape Town for more than 110 years, and dates all the way back to the mid-19th century, as slaves in Cape Town were given a day off on January 2 to celebrate the new year.
Previously known as the Tweede Nuwe Jaar Minstrel Parade, the KKKA has been the organiser of the new format Cape Town Street Parade since its launch in October 2017.
Also read:Where the Cape Minstrels came from