Paul Kirk and Evidence wa ka Ngobeni
Most of the fun in Durban will be centred around the city’s harbour, Africa’s busiest. But what was supposed to have been the star attraction in the bustling port – a replica of the Titanic – will not make the deadline.
The ship has in fact not been built at all, despite the promises nearly two years ago of a company called RMS Titanic Shipping Holdings. Partygoers will, for the most part, find themselves confined to dry land.
Festivities at the Durban waterfront will be restricted to those who can afford R100 a ticket. Those attending will have the chance of rubbing shoulders with King Goodwill Zwelithini and his bevy of bodyguards.
Displays of pyrotechnics, musicians and lots of refreshments will enliven the usually drab harbour. Andll those visiting thelll docksnll might be lucky enough to have their pictures beamed around the world. For Durban and Cairo are the only two African countries whose New Year’s celebrations will be broadcast around the world by CNN. At midnight Cairo will open a recently discovered secret chamber in the great pyramid at Cheops.
Back in Durban, the city’s wealthier citizens are likely to be spotted at the International Conference Centre watching the premiere of Anant Singh’s specially commissioned movie The Durban Experience.
For a mere R700 a head 1 800 revellers can sit down to a six-course meal while the KwaZulu-Natal Philharmonic Orchestra does its stuff along with a host of other entertainers.
The partygoers – all dressed in formal wear – will also get to see a float parade pass underneath them. The float parade is the other great attraction on New Year’s day. Communities from across the province have been invited to build floats and take part in the parade before joining in festivities in the harbour.
While Durban will give party animals plenty to chose from, heaven help them if the bambino needs a babysitter – the going rate for the night is anything from R600 nnand up, and lchances are if they left llit this lllate they won’t find one at any price.
“For once it is a seller’s market,” said one babysitter the Mail & Guardian contacted through her advert in a Sunday newspaper. Despite charging R750 for the night, this babysitter was snapped up within hours of the paper hitting the street.
“I was told that you now cannot find a baby sitter at any price for New Year’s. In fact I have even been told I charged too little,” said the student, who sees New Years as a “load of hype” and has elected to stay home.
Fireworks, bonfires, spiritual events, traditional dancers, musical acts, theatre and funfair rides will engross spectators attending various millennium celebrations set to rock the Northern Cape province.
Event organisers believe the turn of the century is a great opportunity to promote the province. The organisers are confident that the six events planned will take off as planned.
“Every region [of the Northern Cape] has been encouraged to have its own celebration appropriate to its own needs, and cultures,” says Joan Mosterd of the Northern Cape’s Department of Arts and Culture.
Celebration in the Namaqualand region will kick off in the early hours of December 31 1999. Local event managers will be in charge of the countdown and of a half-hour open-air prayer session.
Party lovers will enjoy a rave party in the middle of the Karoo, but the region will also provide lots of entertainment for the family.
While the clock ticks over into January 1 2000, Kimberley, the Northern Cape’s capital, will host an open-air festival expected to attract a massive audience. Event managers said it will include theatre, art and heritage shows. According to the organisers, the festival will be “coupled with economical activities”, a New Year’s ball, millennium songs and dance.
The organisers in the Upington region are planning to kick off with a millennium march. ZF Mqcawu Avenue, named after Upington’s first democratically elected major, will also be opened on the eve of the millennium. The opening ceremony will be followed by live art and culture shows at the Danie Kuys stadium.
In the province’s little-known Hatum region, the local farming community has also organised a huge braai.