AN iconic Cape Town jazz celebration may be lost to the city and its music lovers.
The Cape Town Jazz Festival might be moving to Durban if the organisers feel they are not getting enough support from City bosses.
The jazz spectacular attracts up to 34 000 people each year.
The shock move was first discussed at the recent Music Exchange event in Cape Town.
The organiser of the jazz festival Rashied Lombard said he needs more support from the City of Cape Town.
In an official statement, Lombard says: “The Jazz Festival may move to Durban because of lack of support from the City of Cape Town.”
Late yesterday evening, Lombard was unavailable to comment further on the issue.
But the City of Cape Town’s Mayoral Committee Member for Tourism, Events and Marketing, Grant Pascoe, says nothing has been decided yet.
“We have not engaged formally on this matter,” he says.
“We understand that they need more financial support from the City. We unfortunately have a tight budget and a huge demand from our events, arts and cultural department.”
The politician adds he has not spoken to Lombard recently about the chances of relocating the jazz festival.
The municipality contributes about R3 million to the music party annually, says Pascoe.
This includes traffic services, cleansing and a cash amount to assist in hosting the world-renowned event.
If the jazz festival does move to Durban, it would only be because that municipality is willing to throw more money into the party than their Cape colleagues.
Pascoe says because of the City of Cape Town’s financial calendar, it cannot commit to the event in the long term.
“We have committed to the Jazz Festival for the next three years and are willing to continue to do so.”
“We wouldn’t to see the Cape Town Jazz Festival move.” – Daily Voice