Human Rights Day, 21 March '08

Many students decided to spend at least some of Human Rights Day, Friday 21 March 2008, at the Cape Town Festival at Company’s Garden. The theme, appropriately is “One City Many Cultures” http://www.capetownfestival.co.za/ http://www.capetownfestival.co.za/mc/human_rights_day.html

The Human Rights Day Concert in Cape Town’s Company Gardens has been rated as one of the most popular components of the annual Cape Town Festival. The event promotes awareness of the inalienable human rights of all people through music, traditional blessings and inspirational words of local dignitaries. This concert is the official Western Cape provincial celebration of the public holiday.

In 2008, Human Rights Day falls on Good Friday, a holy day celebrated by Christians around the world. Friday is also a holy day for Jews and Muslims.

Scheduled on Human Rights Day, 21 March, the event stages the best dancers and local musicians performing contemporary sacred music in the exceptional outdoor venue of Company’s Garden.

Music and dance starts mid morning, a short multi-denominational Human Rights Day Ceremony is hosted after 2pm, before the main music programme. The show is timed with the headline act on stage by sunset. This years headline act was the Soweto Gospel Choir http://www.sowetogospelchoir.com/.

Entrance is free to the public and festival researchers reported attendance in excess of 16 000 people during the course of the Human Rights Day Concert on 21 March 2007.

The music programme spans diverse genres and draws an audience representative of Cape Town’s population on this important pubic holiday. The show draws families, youth and all lovers of live music performance.

(The billing typically includes artists from Cape Town, South Africa. Last year’s headline act was Freshlyground (MTV winner for Best Group - Africa) and the year before Judith Sephuma.)