What are the Biggest Events in Cape Town in 2027? The Month-by-Month Guide

2027 is a World Cup year twice over. The Springboks defend their title in Australia from 1 October, so there are no Bok Tests in Cape Town in the spring, and South Africa co-hosts the ICC Cricket World Cup from October, with Newlands getting India against Australia on 7 October and the first semi-final on 17 November. Before that comes the ordinary rhythm of a Cape Town year: SA20 and the Stormers in January, Mining Indaba and the Art Fair in February, the Cycle Tour, Carnival, Cape Epic and Easter stacked into March, Two Oceans in April, and the marathon's first edition as a World Marathon Major in May. This guide runs month by month, shows which entry windows have already closed, and keeps the last eleven weeks of 2026 at the end.

Ten dates to know

If you book nothing else around these, you will still have seen the year.

2027 at a glance

The year in one chart. Solid shapes are confirmed dates; dashed outlines are events that run every year but whose 2027 dates had not been published by 15 October 2026, drawn on their usual slot. March is the month to read carefully: the Cycle Tour, the Carnival, the Cape Epic, the month-long Jazz Festival and the Easter weekend all fall inside it.

Booking windows: open, closed, still to come

For the big participation events the ticket is harder to get than the flight. Two windows have already shut: the Cape Town Marathon ballot closed on 24 June 2026, and the Two Oceans ballot on 16 August. The Cycle Tour opened its entries in October, the Cape Epic is taking names for its draw, and Cricket World Cup tickets had not gone on sale. The chart shows each event's entry window against today's date and the event itself.

2027 month by month

Confirmed dates first, then the recurring events whose 2027 dates were still to be announced. Prices are quoted only where the organiser has published them.

The year opens with the Klopse, four Stormers home matches inside the month and the start of SA20, whose Cape Town franchise plays its home games at Newlands. The Kirstenbosch lawn stays busy with promoter shows between the Sunday Sunset Concerts.

February is the month that fills the hotels. Mining Indaba takes the CTICC for four days, the Art Fair follows a week later in the same building, Pride runs through the whole month and the SA20 final lands on its last Sunday. Ramadan begins around 8 February and ends around 8 March, which matters for anyone planning around the Bo-Kaap.

The heaviest month of the year, and the one where dates collide. The Jazz Festival spreads itself across all of March for the first time, the Cycle Tour closes the Peninsula on the 14th, the Carnival takes the Fan Walk on the 20th, the Cape Epic starts on the 21st, Human Rights Day is observed on Monday the 22nd, Good Friday is the 26th and Easter Sunday the 28th. Two Oceans week starts on the 31st.

Two Oceans takes the first weekend, with the half on Saturday and the ultra on Sunday for the first time in years, and both races capped at 21,000. WTM Africa fills the CTICC midweek, the Stormers return for two April home games, and the month ends with AfrikaBurn in the Tankwa and Ultra South Africa at The Ostrich.

One event, and the biggest sporting weekend the city has staged: the Sanlam Cape Town Marathon's first edition as an Abbott World Marathon Major, a year after it broke the African all-comers record.

Winter is the quiet half. Encounters usually takes ten days in June, the Silwerskermfees four in late August, the Gun Run a weekend in mid-September and Open Book the first weekend of September; none had published 2027 dates by mid-October. The one certainty is a negative one: with the Rugby World Cup in Australia from 1 October, the Springboks' July window will not bring a Test to DHL Stadium. The only July 2027 fixtures reported so far are two Tests in New Zealand, in Auckland and Christchurch, mentioned by Dave Rennie in October 2026 and not yet confirmed by either union.

Two World Cups at once. The Springboks open theirs against Italy in Adelaide on Sunday 3 October at 05:45 Cape Town time, so expect dawn watch parties rather than stadium crowds. The Cricket World Cup, co-hosted by South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia, brings India against Australia to Newlands on 7 October, a rematch of the 2023 final, and the first semi-final on 17 November. The Woordfees, the Kite Festival and the Whale Festival keep their usual October slots.

The Sevens, the Kirstenbosch season and New Year's Eve at the V&A close the year as they always do. World Rugby confirmed Cape Town's place on the 2026/27 SVNS schedule, but the December 2027 dates follow the next calendar release.

The rest of 2026

Eleven weeks remain. The Test against Australia at Newlands is the next big one, then a run of Grand Arena and Kirstenbosch concerts, the Sevens on 5 and 6 December, the Stormers against the Lions and the V&A fireworks. The Kirstenbosch Sunday series is the open question: its 2026/27 line-up had still not been announced in mid-October.

2026 results and records

Everything from Kaapse Klopse in January to the Woordfees in October, in one table. Two results carried beyond Cape Town: the fastest marathon ever run on African soil, and a Test win over New Zealand at DHL Stadium.

Event	Date	Headline number	Result or record
Kaapse Klopse Tweede Nuwe Jaar minstrel parade	5 Jan	20,000	Performers on a Fan Walk route ending inside DHL Stadium, with roughly 25,000 paid spectators. First live TV broadcast.
Mining Indaba CTICC	9 to 12 Feb	31st	Record delegate attendance reported, under the theme Stronger Together: Progress Through Partnerships.
Investec Cape Town Art Fair CTICC	20 to 22 Feb	3 days	Main, solo and curated sections on timed entry.
Cape Town Pride De Waterkant and Green Point	5 Feb to 1 Mar	28 Feb	Parade at 11:00 from Prestwich Primary to Green Point Track. Cape Town confirmed as WorldPride 2028 host.
Cape Town Cycle Tour 109 km, 48th edition	8 Mar	29,000	Riders at the start, up from 28,000 expected. First edition sanctioned as a UCI Gran Fondo. Ryan Gibbons won in 2:33:06.
Absa Cape Epic MTB stage race, 22nd edition	15 to 22 Mar	692 km	15,900 m of climbing over eight stages. Luca Braidot and Simone Avondetto won the men's race; Alessandra Keller and Candice Lill the women's.
Cape Town Carnival Green Point Fan Walk	21 Mar	1,500	Performers in a three-hour evening parade from 19:00, theme Follow Your HEART. Free admission.
CT International Jazz Festival CTICC, 23rd edition	27 to 28 Mar	4 stages	Jacob Collier headlined Kippies, with Yellowjackets, Yussef Dayes, Sheila E. and Abdullah Ibrahim. Rosies surcharge removed.
Totalsports Two Oceans 56 km Ultra and 21.1 km Half	11 to 12 Apr	R2.6m	Combined prize purse. Arthur Jantjies won the Ultra in 3:09:25; Gerda Steyn took a seventh title in 3:27:43.
WTM Africa CTICC	13 to 15 Apr	786	Exhibitors from 40 countries and a record 8,000 trade professionals, with 13,500 pre-scheduled meetings, 35% above 2025.
Ultra South Africa Cape Town Stadium	25 to 26 Apr	55,000	Attendance on the 2025 reference figure, the city's largest single-attendance music event. John Summit, DJ Snake and Axwell headlined.
Sanlam Cape Town Marathon 42.2 km, 32nd edition	24 May	2:04:55	Mohamed Esa set a course record and the fastest marathon ever run on African soil. Dera Dida won the women's race in 2:23:18, and Eliud Kipchoge finished 16th in 2:13:29 on his African debut.
Encounters Documentary Festival 28th edition	4 to 14 Jun	50+	Documentaries from around 1,000 submissions across 128 countries. Opened with the African premiere of Sam Pollard's TUTU.
kykNET Silwerskermfees Camps Bay, 14th edition	19 to 22 Aug	4 of 4	Landmyn swept all four feature categories. Awards at the CTICC.
Springboks v All Blacks DHL Stadium, second Test	29 Aug	33–26	South Africa led 24–14 at the break. Pieter-Steph du Toit's 100th Test; Cheslin Kolbe man of the match with 18 points. The Boks went 2–1 up with a 29–24 win at FNB Stadium on 5 September; the fourth Test is in Baltimore.
Open Book Festival District Six, 15th edition	4 to 6 Sep	75+	Events with more than 50 guests. Most tickets R50, premium sessions R100, some free.
OUTsurance Gun Run Green Point, 32nd edition	12 to 13 Sep	Limits reached	The half marathon and the 17 km trail run both closed at their entry limits; the 2024 edition drew more than 20,000 runners.
WOMAD Cape Town Artscape hub, 10 days	15 to 24 Sep	10 days	Built around 30 years of the Constitution and Desmond Tutu's 95th birthday, with a free Heritage Day finale at the V&A Amphitheatre and a Karoo and Winelands leg to 11 October.
IN THE CITY CPT The Ostrich, Philadelphia	3 Oct	R599	The one-day replacement for the cancelled Rocking the Daisies; Isaiah Rashad's first South African show, with Sinéad Harnett and YoungstaCPT.
Toyota Stellenbosch Woordfees Stellenbosch, town-wide	3 to 11 Oct	444	Programme items over nine days under the theme Dis hoog tyd!, with Amanda Strydom's 70th-birthday concert with the Cape Philharmonic.

Who pulled the biggest crowds

Headline 2026 attendance, in participants or paid spectators where available. The Cycle Tour and the marathon dominate on mass-participation count. The Test against New Zealand on 29 August sold out DHL Stadium. No gate figure was published, so the bar below uses the 55,000 capacity figure quoted before the match; the City expected 62,000 on the day.

Endurance scale: distance vs field size

Cape Town's four headline endurance events ran the full range of selectivity in 2026: from the Cape Epic's invitation-and-lottery 1,200-rider field to the Cycle Tour's 29,000-strong start line. Looked at as distance per participant, they are distinct products, and their 2027 entry routes differ just as much.

Event (2026)	Distance	Field size	Cut-off	Winner's time	Entry route
Cape Town Cycle Tour 109 km road cycle	109 km	29,000	7 hr	2:33:06	Open + ballot
Absa Cape Epic MTB stage race, teams of two	692 km	1,200	8 days	Braidot/Avondetto	Lottery + charity
Two Oceans Ultra Half on Sun, Ultra on Sat	56 km	~10,000	7 hr	3:09:25	Qualifier req'd
Two Oceans Half	21.1 km	~12,000	3 hr	1:03:17	Ballot
Sanlam CT Marathon Across the 6-race weekend	42.2 km	~10,000	6 hr	2:04:55	Ballot + AGWC inv.

Ticket prices and 2027 entry fees

The chart is the 2026 record, from a free Saturday 5 km to the R4,000 grandstand seats sold for the All Blacks Test. The table below it carries the published 2027 numbers.

2027 entry fees at a glance

Event	Date	Published price	Status, 15 Oct 2026
HSBC SVNS Cape Town	5 to 6 Dec 2026	from R250 (2025)	On sale, Ticketmaster SA
SA v Australia Test, Newlands	27 to 31 Oct 2026	from R245	On sale, Cricket South Africa
Cape Town Cycle Tour, 109 km	14 Mar 2027	R940 general (2026 tier)	Entries open
Absa Cape Epic	21 to 28 Mar 2027	R125,900 per team	Draw and waiting list; R165,900 international
Two Oceans Ultra	4 Apr 2027	R840	Ballot closed 16 Aug 2026
Two Oceans Half	3 Apr 2027	R450	Ballot closed 16 Aug 2026
Ultra South Africa	30 Apr 2027	R795	On sale, Howler
Sanlam Cape Town Marathon	23 May 2027	Not published	Ballot closed; charity and tour-operator places
ICC Cricket World Cup, Newlands	7 Oct and 17 Nov 2027	Not published	Tickets not yet on sale
SA20 final, Newlands	21 Feb 2027	Not published	Fixtures out; tickets to follow

Practical notes for 2027

Seven things worth knowing if you are planning around the 2027 calendar.

Venue map

Seven places anchor the year. DHL Stadium takes the Stormers and the Sevens; Newlands has the SA20 final in February and the Cricket World Cup in October and November; the CTICC handles Mining Indaba, the Art Fair and WTM Africa; Kirstenbosch runs the outdoor season; the V&A carries New Year's Eve; the Grand Arena at GrandWest is where the touring concerts land; and the Green Point Fan Walk hosts the Carnival and the marathon start.

Tap a pin for venue context.