Don Giovanni, a Kite Festival from US$3.60, Dracula by Cape Town City Ballet and Ne-Yo, with dates, venues and prices…
Read More: What to Do in Cape Town in October 2026.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu Leads the Purple Rain Protest (1989): On September 2, 1989, anti-apartheid protesters marched through downtown Cape Town, where police responded with a water cannon spraying purple dye to mark activists for arrest. Protesters seized the nozzle and sprayed the historic Town House building purple instead. The image of the “purple city”—coupled with Archbishop Desmond Tutu leading a peaceful march of 30,000 people days later—captured worldwide headlines and coined the slogan “The Purple Shall Govern.”
