'Bharat Week' in South Africa ends with huge India Day celebrations at iconic Wanderers Stadium

Johannesburg: Bharat Week in South Africa has ended with over 10,000 people participating in the annual India Day Festival at the iconic Wanderers Stadium here.

This year, the theme of India Day was ‘Joy of Freedom’, with over 600 artists participating in 50 song and dance acts from morning to late Saturday evening to showcase the diverse culture of both India and South Africa as guests also got to shop and sample the cuisines of the two countries.

The traditional arts and culture of 16 states from all areas of India featured expat groups alongside eight South African Indian groups that also provided entertainment, including groups from Soweto that added a unique blend of South African traditional dance to the programme.

“These performances brought the vibrant rhythms and cultural richness of South Africa to the celebration, creating an unforgettable experience for all attendees, who lapped up the entertainment fare,” said India Club Chairman Manish Gupta.

“India Day 2024 is not just a celebration of Indian Independence Day but a melting pot of cultures and a demonstration of the rich diversity shared by India and South Africa. The event which featured vendors, artisans, and entrepreneurs, offered a holistic experience that brought together the best of both worlds,” Gupta added.

India's Consul General in Johannesburg Mahesh Kumar, who was the chief guest, said the India Day Festival was the culmination of the "Bharat Week" to celebrate India’s 78th Independence Day on August 15 which started with an exhibition at the Consulate on the horrors of partition in 1947.

“Then our consulates here in Johannesburg, the High Commission in Pretoria, Durban and Cape Town organised Independence Day events where over 2,000 people from India and friends of India of Indian heritage participated.

“The vibe about India in South Africa is growing. That is the collective work that we have undertaken, all of us, to promote India in South Africa.

“But the 'Bharat Week' doesn’t get over without celebrating India Day, which we do. So this is the Grand Finale of Bharat in South Africa this month,” the diplomat said.

Kumar said the number of events similar to this was increasing globally.

“I was told by someone in New York that the show in Johannesburg is impressive; which of course lights up our hearts that this is becoming big and getting noticed,” he said.

Kumar shared some upcoming events to be hosted by the Consulate, including a visit by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on September 1.

”Next year is the G20 year which South Africa will be hosting, so we will have many from the Indian leadership who will come here, hopefully our Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) also,” Kumar said.

The Saturday closest to August 15 is chosen for India Day, hosted by the India Club, an organisation of expatriates in South Africa, which started the event on a small scale at a shopping centre 17 years ago, with just a few hundred people attending.

As the event grew in popularity after India Club partnered with the Indian Consulate in Johannesburg, it moved to successive public venues which were outgrown until it moved to the Wanderers Stadium several years ago.