MEDIA RELEASE
24 JANUARY 2012


The Hon. Paul Mashatile, Minister of Arts and Culture,

The organisers of the Cape Town International Jazz festival,

Honoured guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon, goeiedag, molweni.

The Cape Town International Jazz festival is special.

It is one of our great city’s signature events.

It is also one of our most revered and prestigious celebrations, now a permanent fixture on our calendars.

Everyone in Cape Town looks forward to the festival when the beginning of the year comes around.

We know that each year, it will not fail to live up to our expectations.

If anything, it only ever gets better and better.

As we work to build an Opportunity City, we try and attract premier, world-class events to showcase our city.

The festival remains one of the most prestigious items we have in our inventory and our annual hosting of it showcases the international city we aspire to be.

Not only does it bring a wealth of talent and visitors, it brings much-needed tourism revenue that benefits a whole range of industries in Cape Town.

Indeed, those benefits extend to the Western Cape, contributing R489 million to the province’s GDP.

This is part of the R761 million the festival contributes to the national GDP.

This figure has increased by 7% from 2010 and demonstrates the continuing importance of this event for South Africa as a whole.

And as we build a more Inclusive City, we must celebrate music and excellence whenever we can as an expression of human achievement.

Broader inclusion comes from a range of events across the city that draw inspiration from the main festival, celebrations that extend across the metro.

The City of Cape Town is proud to be associated with the festival and we are honoured that it has found a home with us.

On a more personal level, I am thrilled to attend this year.

Each year, I make it a point to support the artists and enjoy the music.

Last year, due to election commitments, I couldn’t attend and even missed my favourite band perform.

This year, there will be no stopping me. 


END

ISSUED BY:
COMMUNICATION DEPARTMENT
CITY OF CAPE TOWN

MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
SOLLY MALATSI
SPOKESPERSON FOR THE EXECUTIVE MAYOR OF CAPE TOWN, PATRICIA DE LILLE
TEL: 021 400 1382
CELL: 083 943 1449