Cape Town Pride 2026

I hope you all had a wonderful festive season in our beautiful Mother City, and I wish everyone a great and prosperous year ahead.

It’s time for our community to shine and show our Pride. This year’s Theme #IAmBecauseWeAre is driven by the spirit of Ubuntu. This year marks two very important milestones in our history: the 30th Anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution and the 20th Anniversary of the legalisation of Same Sex Marriage in South Africa.

Cape Town Pride Month 2026 begins on 5th February with even more events and happenings taking place all over the City, culminating in the Festival and Pride Street Parade and Mardi Gras on the 28th February. Start getting your outfits ready and don’t forget to get your tickets early – they are selling fast and once again are limited to 10000 guests as per our population certificate. Tickets will not be on sale at the gates and can only be purchased online on Quicket. Thanks once again to Golden Arrow Bus Services who will provide free passage to all Mardi Gras ticket holders on existing routes.

We have a full calendar of social, cultural and sporting events lined up. Our Mardi Gras is bigger and better than before with top class entertainment on the Main Stage, a Pride Market, a wide range of foods stalls and an NGO Village where we have more than 40 community groups involved.

We thank our main partner, the City of Cape Town, for their brilliant support. Without the assistance of our sponsors, partners, volunteers, allies and hundreds of people behind the scenes, we would not be able to put on this wonderful experience for the whole LGBTQI+ family.

The Cape Town Pride team will be attending WorldPride in Amsterdam in August, bringing the torch back to Cape Town so that preparations can start in earnest for WorldPride Cape Town 2028. Please register as friends of Cape Town Pride on our website so that we can keep you updated on the biggest LGBTQI+ ever to be hosted in Africa – in our beautiful rainbow city.

Show your Pride and support on 28 February by waving your rainbow flags in solidarity with the proud marchers and groups in the street parade, and let’s fly our colours all around the city during Pride month…

Have a great Pride month – be Out and Proud – but above all be yourself!

Tommy Patterson
Cape Town Pride CEO

As we enter this Pride season, we stand rooted in Ubuntu — the truth that our lives are intertwined and our freedom woven together. This year, we honour 30 years of our Constitution and 20 years of marriage equality, reminders of a journey shaped by courage, struggle, and triumph. Even as our community continues to face real challenges, our voices rise, our stories grow louder, and our presence becomes ever more undeniable. Pride remains our declaration that we will not dim our light, that we will continue to love fiercely, and that we will shape a future where every one of us can stand fully seen.

“In the spirit of Ubuntu, we remember that we are because of one another and when we rise together, we become unstoppable.”

Nkosinathi Sangweni waka Mtshali
Cape Town Pride Brand Ambassador

The Western Cape is a province for everyone. No matter your background, culture, political affiliation, or sexual orientation you are welcome here. We pride ourselves on our values of respect and tolerance – this is what defines this remarkable region we call home.

As a province that has its roots in a proud, diverse heritage, we harness this towards building more inclusive communities where every resident feels free and is encouraged to thrive. Our unique diversity is our strength. And our resilience is a powerful tool through which we can overcome the challenges that we face.

Apart from the flair Cape Town Pride 2026 brings to the Western Cape and Cape Town, it is a firm favourite on our social calendar, bringing with it jobcreating economic opportunities, of course, with its characteristically distinctive panache. To the organisers, good luck and well done for all your hard work; to the revelers, please enjoy the festival responsibly.

Alan Winde
Premier of the Western Cape