Cape Town Pride 2025

It’s that time of the year to dust off our feathers and glitter and start getting ready for Cape Town Pride. Our theme this year is “RainbowID”. Whatever our identity in the LGBTIQ+ spectrum may be, there is a place for everyone under the Rainbow!

Pride is growing in leaps and bounds. In 2024, over 4000 people marched in the Pride Parade, making it the biggest yet! And once again the Pride Mardi Gras was a sold-out event.

We have an amazing calendar planned for this year’s Pride Festival which kicks off on 6th February. There’s a wide range of Pride events which are as diverse as our community, ranging from the prestigious Mr and Miss Cape Town Pride Pageant to film screenings, literary events, parties, workshops, a pet’s promenade walk, a live gay dating show, a drag king deconstructed Valentine’s retrospective, comedy shows and drag shows galore.

This all leads to the big day on 1st March. Our team has been working tirelessly to make sure the day is a great experience for everyone. The Pride Parade starts at 11.00 I Alfred St in de Waterkant, finishing at Green Point Track, the venue of the Mardi Gras. Although we have been permitted to allow more people to attend the event, tickets ae still limited because of safety occupancy levels at the stadium so make sure you get your tickets well in advance to avoid disappointment. Once capacity has been reached online ticket sales will close and no more tickets will be available at the gate. As usual there will be a Pride Market, food vendors including a Vegan Food Market, an NGO Village, and of course a full line-up of live artistes and DJs, including some of the country’s top performers and drag acts on the main stage.

To ensure that everyone gets to experience Pride, we have once again partnered with Golden Arrow Bus Services who are offering free rides on regular routes on presentation of your Mardi Gras ticket, from 8.30am to 8.00pm. All our LGBTIQ+ NGO partners have been allocated free tickets to Mardi Gras for the communities they service.

All of this is made possible only with the assistance of our many sponsors, partners and allies and I really thank them all, as well as the wonderful team of Pride volunteers who make this day a reality.

I was lucky enough to attend the InterPride AGM in Medellín, Colombia in October where Cape Town Pride won the bid to host World Pride in 2028. It was a wonderful experience, and we can’t wait to welcome the world to the Fairest Cape in 2028. But before that, we are very excited to announce that we will be hosting United Prides of Africa next year, a pan-Africa Pride celebration.

 Cape Town Pride has become a beacon of inclusion and diversity for the LGBTIQ+ community of Cape Town and that is down to you. People travel to Cape Town for the event from all over the world and we have put the rainbow into “the Rainbow Nation.’ Enjoy your Pride. It’s what you make it. And embrace your RainbowID!

Tommy Patterson
Cape Town Pride CEO

As Cape Town comes alive with the colours of Pride 2025, let us take a moment to honour those who paved the way for our freedoms while holding space for those who, for various reasons, cannot celebrate with us. Pride is a moment of joy and unity, but it is also a reminder of the work that remains. So, let’s march, dance, and celebrate—but let’s not be oblivious to the fight that continues for equal rights, representation, and justice for all.

Nkosinathi Sangweni waka Mtshali
Cape Town Pride Brand Ambassador

The Western Cape Government deeply values the principles of tolerance, acceptance, diversity, and unity. We are a stronger province through our diversity, and we are proud to promote equality and individual rights. Regardless of race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation, the Western Cape welcomes all who call our province home. The annual Pride festival not only promotes tolerance and inclusiveness, it is also a firm favourite of Cape Town’s social calendar, providing a significant boost to our economy and tourism industry.

I want to wish all those involved in Pride all the best for this year’s event.

Alan Winde
Premier of the Western Cape

One of the best parts of living in Cape Town is our wonderful and rich diversity. Cape Town truly is a city for all people – no matter who you are, where you come from, what your background is, how you choose to dress, or indeed who you choose to love.

In Cape Town you can be who are you are – living authentically, protected against discrimination, and exclusion based on belief, gender or sexual orientation. These are rights enshrined in our country’s constitution as a commitment to tolerance and acceptance. These are values we must uphold, not just during this celebration of diversity and inclusion of the LGBTIQ+ community, but in every facet of life.

There are still examples of bigotry and hatred displayed towards LGBTIQ+ South Africans. This is why Pride is still important. It takes bravery to be proud in who you are and to share that with others. So Pride is both a celebration of our diversity, and a reminder that we still have a way to go.

This is why the City of Cape Town has been a supporter of Pride and will continue to be so. For us, all we do is about trying to make our city a place of more access, equality and inclusion for all.

On behalf of the City of Cape Town I wish the organisers, members of the LGBTIQ+ community and supporters of the festival, a happy and safe event. To all those travelling to Cape Town, we welcome you to the Mother City. Enjoy your time here.

Happy Pride!

Geordin Hill-Lewis
Executive Mayor of Cape Town