The Cape Town International Jazz Festival has been postponed to 2022 because of the second wave of COVID-19 infections.
“We were optimistic that we would be able to host the festival again in 2021. Sadly, we find ourselves in the midst of a dreaded second wave of Covid-19 infections, the impact of which, by all accounts, will be felt deep into 2021. It is for this reason that we have decided to postpone the festival to 2022,” said CTIJF Festival Director, Billy Domingo to IOL, in the wake of the postponement.
The 2020 edition of the festival, produced by espAfrika, was initially postponed in November 2019. It would have been the 21st anniversary of the prestigious jazz celebration, which is usually held in March and attracts more than 37 000 local and international audience members annually.
“We trust that our valued sponsors, corporate clients and festinos will stand with us in caution and solidarity to play our part in minimising the spread of this virus,” said Domingo.
espAfrika is working on filling the void left by the festival with more intimate live events and a series of online events, which will be called JazzFix and it is expected to launch early next year.
“While the road to CTIJF 2022 will be a long one, it won’t be without the joy and nostalgia jazz music brings. JazzFix will include footage of some of the festival’s greatest moments and shows exclusively performed at the festival over the past 20 years, which includes interviews with artists who performed!
“We’ve put together the perfect “FIX” for the lovers of all genres of jazz,” said Domingo.
Picture: Facebook/Cape Town International Jazz Festival