ENTERTAINMENT

WOMAD Cape Town festival to feature United 4 Humanity concert

  • Fouzia van der Fort
3 min read
Pictured at the back from left are Yellowwood Primary School principal Donovan Senosi and choir master Chesray Sauls. In front are Maria McLean and Kapowairua Waitai, Māori vocalists and performers, from New Zealand Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, at the Old Granary Building in Cape Town.
Pictured at the back from left are Yellowwood Primary School principal Donovan Senosi and choir master Chesray Sauls. In front are Maria McLean and Kapowairua Waitai, Māori vocalists and performers, from New Zealand Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation, at the Old Granary Building in Cape Town. Picture: Fouzia van der Fort

Musicians and performers from Cape Town and abroad are set to take to stages in and around the Mother City, in celebration of "cultural diversity, compassion, unity and love" at the World of Music, Arts and Dance (WOMAD) South Africa festival this week. 

The festival runs from Tuesday, September 15 until Thursday, September 24, transforming the Artscape Theatre Centre, the V&A Waterfront, and other iconic venues into vibrant hubs of international exchange.

Festival director Dan Chiorboli, speaking at the Cape Connect launch event at the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation’s home in Cape Town, said the city was WOMAD’s spiritual home.

"It lends itself to and showcases the ideals and values, morals and ethos that WOMAD and the Tutu Foundation present, which are cultural diversity, compassion, unity and love," he said. 

United 4 Humanity concert

A central highlight of the festival is the United 4 Humanity concert, hosted in partnership with the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation at the Artscape Theatre on Saturday, September 19 at 8pm.

It includes the UK’s Dyskinetic, a music and technology project led by the husband-and-wife duo Kris and Nicci Halpin, and Cape Town’s Unmute Dance Company, exploring themes of inclusion through dance and technology.

Award-winning lyricist Jitsvinger from the Cape Flats, who brings his groundbreaking Afrikaaps artistry in collaboration with Māori singer Kapowairua, is also part of the line-up.

Singing the EU anthem “Ode to Joy” is the Yellowwood Primary School choir from Tafelsig, who will be the curtain-raiser. Tickets cost R150.

WOMADSA festival director Dan Chiorboli, from Johannesburg, Franco-Iranian musician Arashkha, a Miriam Makeba Foundation executive member Janke Jabbie, from Hout Bay, and Indian Hindustani classical vocalist Sukanya Chattopadhyay.
WOMADSA festival director Dan Chiorboli, from Johannesburg, Franco-Iranian musician Arashkha, a Miriam Makeba Foundation executive member Janke Jabbie, from Hout Bay, and Indian Hindustani classical vocalist Sukanya Chattopadhyay. Picture: Fouzia van der Fort

What to expect

The event brings together an extraordinary lineup of local and international artists to honour Tutu's enduring legacy of peace, joy, and social justice.

All proceeds from the concert directly support the Foundation's youth and dialogue initiatives.

Foundation chief executive officer (CEO) Janet Jobson said that music and dance were close to the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu's heart. 

"It was a natural fit for the foundation to collaborate with WOMAD," she said. 

The festival aligns with Heritage Month, commemorates 30 years of South Africa's Constitution, and celebrates what would have been Archbishop Tutu’s 95th birthday, with a collaboration with Gavin Raja and a major retailer to launch special merchandise celebrating his legacy.

Patricia Mgobozi, from Goodwood, co-founder of Ancient Voices Lungiswa Plaatjies, from Langa, and Ncebakazi Mnukwana, from Wynberg.
Patricia Mgobozi, from Goodwood, co-founder of Ancient Voices Lungiswa Plaatjies, from Langa, and Ncebakazi Mnukwana, from Wynberg. Picture: Fouzia van der Fort

Free festival events

  • A free lunchtime concert including Sweden’s Anna Fält’s haunting Nordic vocals meet Estonia’s Susanna Aleksandra’s jazz‑infused storytelling in a captivating fusion of tradition and innovation at Central Methodist Church, in Greenmarket Square, on Friday, September 18 at 1pm. 
  • A free Heritage Day Concert at V&A Waterfront Amphitheatre on Thursday, September 24 at 3pm. Closing the festival with a burst of rhythm as part of the Kidz 4 Kulture programme, the Spanish Cajoneada Experience brings together the fiery pulse of flamenco’s iconic cajón with South Africa’s own heartbeat. The event fuses Spanish tradition with Thandi Swartbooi’s Women Unite ensemble and fifty young drummers from the Cape Flats, creating a powerful cross‑cultural showcase that celebrates unity, energy, and the universal language of percussion.

Founded in 1982 by British musician Peter Gabriel, WOMAD continues its mission to unite people across borders through the universal language of music, arts, and dance. 

Follow Cape Community Media on TikTok and Instagram @ccmonlineza