Cape Town - The City of Cape Town has announced that for the second year it has taken the decision to cancel the free open-air concert for the annual Festive Lights Switch-on.
The event draws approximately 100 000 people annually, however, with current Covid-19 restrictions on gatherings and the potential increase in infections, hosting the concert is not possible.
The Festive Lights Switch-on is the City’s signature event, which has helped usher in the joyous season for five decades, while also providing entertainment for locals and tourists.
This year’s theme is, Cape Town: City of Opportunities.
While the free open-air concert is cancelled, the festive lights display along Adderley Street will take place.
Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis will switch on the lights on the Adderley Street main crossing this evening to officially usher in the joyous season.
Additionally, festive lights displays are also installed in Muizenberg, Grassy Park, Macassar, Strand, Somerset West, Sir Lowry’s Pass, Ravensmead, Valhalla Park, Khayelitsha, Hanover Park, Mitchells Plain and Atlantis.
A further 90 small Christmas trees in areas across the city will be draped in lights.
To those concerned about electricity consumption of the lights, the City said that it has also taken energy conservation into consideration during the installation process.
“We have switched from the normal incandescent lamp (7Watt) to rope light (14 Watt) per metre. By using these low consumption devices, we reduce the load on the network considerably.”