MORE than 12 000 people from all over the world are expected to be in Cape Town for the 25th annual North Sea Jazz Festival, one of the biggest jazz festivals in the world, held at the Good Hope Centre on March 31 and April 1.
This is the first time this event will be held away from the Netherlands Congress Centre in The Hague in Holland and is the culmination of an agreement signed between the Dutch government, Dutch festival director Theo van der Hoek and Cape-based concert organisers, Rashid Lombard and Clarence Ford.
According to Jenni Fletcher from public relations company Thompson & Team, the 1999 Festival hosted a stage for South African artists - the first time in the history of the festival that one stage had been dedicated solely to the music of a foreign country.
"This proved to the organisers, critics and audience that South African jazz could stand proudly alongside the international acts".
Four stages will be erected at the Good Hope Centre, two outside the centre, featuring a wide range of jazz styles.
(Adele Mackenzie)
