WOMAD Cape Town: Ten Days of Global Music in South Africa, With a Makeba Tribute on 16 September
SOUTH AFRICA · MUSIC
Key Facts
- —What is happening WOMAD, a travelling global music festival, runs in Cape Town, South Africa, from 15 to 24 September 2026.
- —How big The programme lists more than twenty events, from school workshops to concerts in the city’s main theatre.
- —Why it matters to you Two nights anchor the week: a tribute to the singer Miriam Makeba, and a peace concert.
- —The catch The official ticket page carries four events, and the Makeba tribute is not one of them.
- —Who it affects Artscape theatre is in the city centre, but Silvermist Wine Estate is a drive into the hills.
- —What comes next A free concert closes the run at the V&A Waterfront, a harbour shopping and marina district.
WOMAD Cape Town fills ten days with concerts, workshops and free street music. One of its two biggest nights is still not on sale.
WOMAD Cape Town opens in a school in Mitchell’s Plain on Monday 14 September 2026. The advertised run begins a day later, on 15 September.
A festival that starts before it starts
Organisers bill the run as 15 to 24 September. The first line of the programme sits a day earlier, at a school workshop in Mitchell’s Plain.
Most ticketed concerts sit at the Artscape Theatre Centre on the Foreshore. Others use the Baxter Concert Hall at the University of Cape Town, KAYA HQ and the Central Methodist Church.
Two nights carry the week for a visitor. A Miriam Makeba tribute falls on Wednesday 16 September, and a peace concert follows on Saturday 19 September.
The run ends on Heritage Day, Thursday 24 September. That show is free, at the V&A Waterfront amphitheatre from 3pm.
The same Saturday is busy elsewhere in the country. The Scorpion Kings play FNB Stadium in Johannesburg on 19 September.
The woman the first big night belongs to
Miriam Makeba was born in Johannesburg in March 1932 and sang her way out of the country. Audiences everywhere came to call her Mama Africa.
In 1960 she tried to fly home for her mother’s funeral. South Africa cancelled her passport instead, and an exile of about thirty years began.
She spoke against apartheid at the United Nations in 1962, and again in 1964. The government answered by taking her citizenship and her right to return.
In 1966 she and Harry Belafonte won a Grammy for best folk recording. She was the first African recording artist to take the award.
Pata Pata, The Click Song and Soweto Blues outlived the ban on her. She came home in June 1990 and died in Italy in November 2008.
Six in the evening, up in the Constantia valley
The tribute is set for Wednesday 16 September at Silvermist Wine Estate in Constantia. The programme gives a 6pm start.
The listing credits the John Hassan Trio, so expect a small group rather than a big band. Earlier previews of the festival placed the evening at Drumstruck, the estate’s resident show.
Drumstruck hands the audience African drums and plays along with them. At Silvermist it normally comes with a braai, the South African barbecue.
The programme also carries a Drumstruck-led lunchtime jam at the same estate. No date has been published for it.
Silvermist sits high in the Constantia valley, well away from the city centre. Sort out a car or a booked ride before you commit to the night.
A school choir opens for Desmond Tutu
The Desmond Tutu United 4 Humanity Peace Concert takes the Artscape Theatre on Saturday 19 September. The programme gives an 8pm start.
It honours Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who chaired South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Organisers tie the night to his ninety-fifth birthday year and the International Day of Peace.
The bill mixes local and visiting acts. Named performers include Mansoor Joseph, Koko-Jean and The Tonics from Spain, Anna Falt from Sweden and Kimyan from Austria.
The headliners are Dyskinetic from the United Kingdom and Cape Town’s Unmute Dance Company. Both companies work with disabled artists.
The Yellowwood Primary School Choir from Mitchell’s Plain opens the evening. They sing Ode to Joy, the anthem of the European Union.
Peter Gabriel’s idea, in its fourth South African year
WOMAD stands for World of Music, Arts and Dance. Organisers say the musician Peter Gabriel started it in 1982.
It now runs events in thirty-two countries. The idea has stayed plain: put unfamiliar music in front of curious audiences.
WOMAD South Africa produces the local edition, with Dan Chiorboli as festival director. Artscape is the main host venue.
The brand is old, and the South African festival is young. Organisers told the Atlantic Sun that this is the fourth annual WOMAD South Africa.
This year the programme leans on schools and township halls. Workshops are booked in Langa, Nyanga, Mitchell’s Plain and Hawston, near Hermanus.
Artscape is a walk, Silvermist is a drive
Artscape stands on DF Malan Street on the Foreshore, in central Cape Town. It opened in 1971, and for years it was the Nico Malan Theatre Complex.
The complex holds three rooms of different sizes. The Opera House seats 1,487, the Theatre 540 and the Arena 140.
The Foreshore is an easy walk from the central business district in daylight. After dark, take a metered taxi or a ride-hailing car.
Silvermist is a different trip altogether, up in the Constantia hills. Allow extra time for the drive, and agree your way back before you set off.
The city is not a cheap base by regional standards. Our guide to the cost of living for expats in Cape Town shows what a month costs.
Four events on the ticket page, and the tribute is not one
Paid events are sold through Webtickets, a South African ticketing site. The festival is going ahead, and none of its pages carries a cancellation notice.
The peace concert is listed at R150 (about US$9). A tribute to thirty years of Cuba’s Buena Vista Social Club, on Sunday 20 September, carries the same price.
The New Generations Concert at 1:30pm on the Saturday costs R100 (about US$6). The Global Echoes Day Concert at the Baxter on 17 September is R130 (about US$8), and free for students.
Then there is the gap. Three days before the tribute, the official ticket page carried four events, and the Makeba night was not among them.
The free Korean Culture Concert on 18 September is already marked fully booked. No price for the Makeba evening has been published.
Currency conversions use the 13 September 2026 rate of 16.14 rand to the US dollar.
Whatever the Makeba tribute finally costs, WOMAD Cape Town still ends on a free afternoon by the harbour.
More: South Africa news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is WOMAD in Cape Town in 2026 and where is it held?
The run is billed as 15 to 24 September 2026. Venues include Artscape, the Baxter Concert Hall, KAYA HQ and the V&A Waterfront.
When is the Miriam Makeba tribute concert?
It is on Wednesday 16 September 2026 at Silvermist Wine Estate in Constantia, with a 6pm start. The listing credits the John Hassan Trio.
How much are tickets and where do I buy them?
Paid events are sold through Webtickets. The Desmond Tutu peace concert is R150 (about US$9) and the New Generations Concert R100 (about US$6).
Are any of the events free?
Yes. The Heritage Day concert at the V&A Waterfront on 24 September is free, and the Korean Culture Concert is fully booked.
Sources: WOMAD South Africa, Cape Town Tourism, Artscape Theatre Centre, IOL, Atlantic Sun and Wikipedia; see https://womadsa.co.za/program-2026/ and https://womadsa.co.za/tickets/ and https://www.capetown.travel/whats-on-in-cape-town-in-september-2026/ and https://sentinelnews.co.za/atlantic-sun/news/2026-09-04-womad-returns-in-september-with-music-dance-and-heritage-events/ and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miriam_Makeba
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