Cape Town has officially taken up the WorldPride mantle, marking the beginning of preparations for the first edition of the global LGBTQIA+ celebration ever to be held on African soil.
A South African delegation formally received hosting duties from Amsterdam during the WorldPride 2026 closing celebrations on Saturday, 8 August.
More than 25,000 people gathered for the closing concert, where representatives from Cape Town Pride accepted a ceremonial message stick and a quilt representing previous WorldPride host cities.
The handover brings WorldPride another step closer to Cape Town in 2028, almost two years after the city won the right to host the international event.
Cape Town was selected by members of InterPride, the international organisation that licenses WorldPride, during its 2024 conference in Medellín, Colombia.
Cape Town Pride secured 53 per cent of the vote, defeating Guadalajara Pride in Mexico, which received 44 per cent. It will become the first African organisation to host WorldPride since the event began in Rome in 2000.
‘A tremendous honour and responsibility’
Cape Town Pride chief executive Tommy Patterson was among those who received the WorldPride mantle in Amsterdam.
The South African delegation also included representatives from eThekwini Pride and Pretoria Pride, LGBTQI+ activists and cultural figures, as well as City of Cape Town representative Roberto Quintas.
Activist Thami Dish, Yaya Mavundla, photographer Zanele Muholi and Thando the Non-Binary Mascot were also among the delegation.
Patterson thanked Amsterdam Pride for its hospitality and acknowledged the scale of the challenge now facing Cape Town after the Dutch capital’s two-week celebration.
“It is a tremendous honour and responsibility to be the first city on the continent to host the event, and we will be assisted by prides from around South Africa and prides from other African countries.”
For organisers, the significance of taking WorldPride to Africa extends well beyond staging a major international celebration.
Patterson highlighted the continuing criminalisation and persecution of LGBTQIA+ people across much of the continent.
“The majority of African countries still treat our community as criminals with jail sentences and, in some cases, even with death, and with your support, we will give a voice to the voiceless.”
He said the delegation was looking forward to returning home “and celebrate this history-making moment with our LGBTIQA+ family back home.”
InterPride says Cape Town’s WorldPride will provide an opportunity to amplify LGBTQ+ African voices while examining how race, gender, disability, socioeconomic inequality, colonialism and apartheid have shaped queer experiences across the continent.
An African Dream in Amsterdam
The symbolic handover concluded with a distinctly South African moment.
Actress, television presenter and soprano Lynelle Kenned performed African Dream, accompanied by musician Stefan Lombard, bringing the ceremony to a close as Cape Town formally became WorldPride’s next host city.
The performance followed two weeks in which members of the South African delegation immersed themselves in Amsterdam’s WorldPride programme.
WorldPride Amsterdam ran from 25 July to 8 August and included a Pride Walk, Canal Parade, human rights conference, WorldPride Village and closing concert.
Cape Town’s delegation also participated in events while learning from Amsterdam organisers about the enormous logistical and operational requirements involved in producing a global Pride celebration.
Those lessons will now feed into planning for 2028.
From Amsterdam to Africa
Organisers say Cape Town’s WorldPride will not simply replicate celebrations staged elsewhere.
Instead, they intend to build an event grounded in African culture, creativity and experiences, while using its international profile to highlight the continuing fight for LGBTQIA+ rights across the continent.
“The programme will be shaped by the continent’s sporting passion, its bold contemporary arts, deep-rooted cultural and carnival traditions, its globally influential fashion, and the heritage of a people who know how to gather, celebrate, and stand together,” the South African delegation said.
One of the major events being planned is a United Prides of Africa Unity Concert, bringing together communities from across the continent.
Cape Town Pride is the official host organisation and is working alongside the Queer Initiative for Africa, InterPride, the City of Cape Town and Cape Town Tourism as preparations develop.
WorldPride itself combines celebration with activism, traditionally featuring marches, arts and cultural programmes, festivals and a major human rights conference.
For Cape Town, however, 2028 will carry an additional significance.
The WorldPride mantle is not simply moving from one city to another.
For the first time, it is coming to Africa.
