WATCH: Klopse party clean-up cost City of Cape Town R140 000
|Published
Cape Town - It is Cape Town’s biggest party.
The entire CBD is shut down for an entire day as minstrel troupes from across Cape Town and even as far as Wellington and beyond, travel into the Mother City to celebrate one of the oldest traditions in the country.
The Tweede Nuwe Jaar celebrations have been conducted since the days of slavery, when it was the only day slaves could get off and see in the new year, which they used mostly to poke fun at their masters.
They did so behind painted faces and masks, as to avoid any potential backlash. And so, a tradition was born.
It is a tradition which sustains an entire year-long industry.
Designers spend hours measuring each performer, seamstresses spend weeks stitching the costumes together, team captains spend months preparing the bands, choreographing the dancers and feeding and transporting the members of the troupe, which could number into the hundreds.
That’s not to mention the other competition events held throughout the first quarter of the year at various stadium venues on the Cape Flats.
It’s all worth it on January 2, when the Cape Town Street Parade comes to life.
Pictured are the Baruch Entertainers in the Bo-Kaap. Thousands of minstrels comprising of several dozen troupes took part in the annual Tweede Nuwe Jaar Cape Town Street Parade. Picture: David Ritchie/African News Agency/ANA
Pictured are the Juvie Boy Entertainers (JBE) in marching towards the Bo-Kaap. Picture: David Ritchie/African News Agency/ANA
Pictured are the Baruch Entertainers in the Bo-Kaap. Picture: David Ritchie/African News Agency/ANA
Nearly 60000 people are estimated to have attended this year, gridlocking traffic and bringing Cape Town’s CBD to a standstill, as thousands of performers marched to vibrant brass bands playing adapted pop and classical hits.
But once the party’s over, someone has to clean it all up and teams of employees of the City of Cape Town got down and dirty into the early hours of Thursday morning.
“Street parades generally require a clean-up and it is a standard requirement that the CBD has to be clean and ready for business by 6am after the road march events.
“While windy conditions complicated the post-event clean-up, the cleansing plan was executed successfully,” said the executive director of Safety and Security, Richard Bosman.
He said the last troupes only left the city at about 1am, leaving the clean-up teams just five hours to clear up.
It costs around R140 000, due to the City making use of extra staff and specialised cleaning equipment.
This figure is budgeted for “based on the typical needs identified over the years”, Bosman said.
@michewanders