The City of Cape Town is inviting residents to design the festive-wear top that the mayor will wear at the Grand Parade on Sunday, November 29, 2026.
The winning design will be worn by the mayor of Cape Town at the annual Festive Lights Switch-On, an established city celebration and tradition for many residents.
This year theme, “Beacon of Hope,” turns a shared feeling into something visible. A beacon gives people something to look towards.
It represents direction, reassurance, and the belief that there is a way forward for a better future.
From the city to the mountains
A design could draw from Bo-Kaap, but it should understand more than the brightly painted houses. It could refer to District Six, but it should recognise the people, culture, and memory connected to the area.
It could take inspiration from mountain paths, fynbos, the ocean, public transport, school uniforms, football jerseys, community halls, street signs, family photographs, or the colours of a particular neighbourhood.
The design should convey a story illustrating how the different areas of the Cape form a single, unified City.
Capetonians may draw on sewing, knitting, embroidery, tailoring, and the practice of altering clothes until they can no longer be altered.
People from the baby-boomer generation and Generation X may recognise protest shirts, sportswear, football culture, early hip-hop, and the visual changes of the 1980s and 1990s.
Millennials have helped shape the popularity of thrift clothing, independent making and upcycling.
Generation Z has Y2K references, varsity style, sneakers, skate culture, dance crews, digital illustration, and streetwear. These influences do not exist separately.
A younger designer may use a pattern remembered from a grandparent’s clothing. An older maker may experiment with a modern shape or new material.
A design could take the shape of an old family jersey and change its proportions. It could combine a traditional textile with a modern cut.
The entry call asks for a wearable creation that “celebrates hope, connection and possibility”.
The winner creates the garment for the mayor to wear on the night of the switching on of the festive lights. The winner will also get to nominate a Cape Town community project to receive R5 000 worth of art supplies.
How to Enter
Submit your design sketch or concept, together with a motivation of no more than 300 words explaining how it reflects the Beacon of Hope theme.
Closing Date:
Friday, 9 October 2026
Highlight to copy email:
wearhope@capetownfestivelights.co.za
IOL
