Cape Town Gay Pride

Cape Town has been hosting Gay Pride events every year since 2004. Spanning ten days in late February/early March, Gay Pride Cape Town celebrates cultural diversity and creates awareness for LGBTQ issues in South Africa and beyond. While Cape Town Pride has only been an annual thing since 2004, the very first event took place as far back as 1993. Since then, Cape Town Pride has aimed to address issues pertinent to the local LGBTQ community, promote visibility, and celebrate how far LGBTQ rights in South Africa have come.

Along with the usual Pride Parade, Gay Pride Cape Town hosts a series of different events, ranging from drag shows, poetry readings, queer cinema, and the popular Mr and Miss Cape Town Pride Pageant. The event is entirely run by volunteers, and is welcome to people of all races, faiths, sexualities, and genders. It is a celebration of diversity, and is a shared experience that illuminates Cape Town each year, from Sugarloaf Mountain to De Waterkant and beyond. Whether you like the idea of dancing down the streets in rainbow for the Cape Town Pride Parade, or you'd rather get your pride fix at a Pool Party, there is something for everyone at Cape Town Gay Pride.

Cape Town and South Africa in general have come a long way as far as LGBTQ rights are concerned. Homosexuality was decriminalized in South Africa in 1997, while same-sex marriage was legalized in 2006. In fact, the constitution in South Africa, following Apartheid, was the first in the world to rule out descrimination based on sexual orientation. South Africa was also the fifth country in the world to legalize same-sex marriage. With this political landscape, it comes as no surprise that Cape Town Pride is larger than life, with everyone convening upon the Mother City each February to experience their pride. Will we be seeing you there?  

For full details on Cape Town Pride 2024, be sure to check out the official event program. Happy Pride!