A trip to anywhere in the world.
It is the biggest give-away up for grabs on South African radio at the moment, and it’s not the first time that Magic828 AM is offering such a coveted prize.
The Cape Town-based radio station is well-loved for its combination of quirky presenter commentary and mix of nostalgic hits from the 70s, 80s and 90s.
It has been almost a year since I joined the station as its Breakfast Show host and launched the tourism-inspired game show called “The Most Capetonian Capetonian.”
Listeners have to unravel daily clues to identify some of the Mother City’s more interesting destinations, after which they go up against each other at the end of the week to win a spot in the finals.
It’s here that the finalists are sent on an in-person treasure hunt across the city, using clues to discover locations.
Inspired by the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, we offered the winner an unforgettable trip for two to the capital Paris.
Last weekend, avid Magic828 listener Gavin McGee, who clinched the prize alongside his wife Tania, returned from the trip, marking the end of their first journey abroad.
“It was so exciting. Our very first trip overseas was to the City of Love, and we enjoyed every moment,” says Tania.
Gavin adds: “We visited authentic coffee shops on cobblestoned side-streets, ate French pastries and saw as much as we could, from the Eiffel Tower to the Champs-Elysees.”
Gavin says one of his highlights was visiting the Joan of Arc Museum in the town of Rouen.
“It was truly unforgettable,” he says.
The couple also couldn’t stop raving about the service they got from Ethiopian Airlines.
“From the moment we stepped onto the plane to the stop-over in Addis and the second leg to Paris, it was all much more than we expected,” says Gavin.
The McGees returned as I started season 2 of the competition.
This time around, the winner’s destination isn’t specified.
They get to select any destination of their choice that is serviced by Ethiopian Airlines, meaning they have a menu of more than 130 destinations.
“We want to make this one even more exciting and show off our excellent service and comfortable Dreamliner planes,” says the airline’s Traffic and Sales Manager, Wondwossen Marou.
He says they have been experiencing steady growth, since they entered the South African market in 1993.
“Flying Magic’s Most Capetonian Capetonian to, and from the destination of their choice in style, will be our pleasure,” he adds.
That means you can choose to go to the Olympic Games being staged in Paris later this year, opt to go on an adventure in the USA or a lazy beach holiday in Thailand.
The most expensive and painstaking part of your travel will have been taken care of by “The New Spirit of Africa.”
After being on air at Cape Talk and Kfm 94.5, I launched the breakfast show on Smile 90.4FM in 2013, growing it from zero listeners to what it is today.
I’ve pitched this competition to previous radio bosses for years. Only Magic828’s Station Manager Graeme White saw the potential and gave me the green light.
Regular players agree that the competition is incredibly engaging, entertaining and educational, teaching them about exciting destinations that they didn’t know existed.
It supports our domestic tourism objectives and also instils a sense of pride in Capetonians that we live in a city with hundreds of exciting attractions.
Tune into Magic828 AM, listen on our mobile App, or stream us live from the IOL home page.
You can catch season 2 of the Most Capetonian Capetonian on Magic Breakfast every weekday morning.