The Gauteng Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation, in partnership with Mogale City through the West Rand District Municipality, will host this year’s provincial Heritage Day celebrations on Wednesday, 24 September 2025, at the Kagiso Sports Complex.
Kagiso, a historic township now 125 years old, lies just 25 kilometres from the Cradle of Humankind – a UNESCO World Heritage Site recognised globally as one of the most important places documenting the origins of humanity.
This year’s Heritage Day will be celebrated under the theme “Reimagine Our Heritage Institutions for a New Era”, a call to use heritage as a foundation for building an inclusive, innovative and socially cohesive future.
More than 3,000 people are expected to attend the festivities, including Gauteng Premier, provincial MECs, and local mayors. Cultural groups representing diverse communities – from the Batswana, Basotho, amaZulu, amaXhosa and vhaVenda to South Africans of Indian heritage – will showcase music, poetry and traditional dance.
The program will also launch the Provincial Indigenous Games, scheduled for 24–26 September at Randburg Sports Complex. Over 500 athletes will compete in nine traditional games, including diketo, kgati, morabaraba, dibeke and drie-stokkies. These games not only celebrate indigenous knowledge but also highlight how communities have historically shared values and built social cohesion.
What is Heritage Day?
Heritage Day, celebrated annually on 24 September, is a public holiday in South Africa that recognises and celebrates the nation’s rich cultural diversity.
It was officially declared in 1996 following the new democratic Constitution, but its roots go back further. Originally, 24 September was observed in KwaZulu-Natal as Shaka Day, commemorating King Shaka Zulu, a unifying figure in South African history.
After the establishment of democracy in 1994, the day was incorporated into the national calendar as Heritage Day to honour all cultural traditions. Former President Nelson Mandela described it as a day for South Africans “to celebrate not only our diversity, but also the things that unite us.”
In recent years, Heritage Day has also become associated with celebrating shared customs such as the South African love for braaing, leading to the popular nickname “Braai Day.”
This year’s celebrations in Kagiso will echo that vision of unity in diversity, blending cultural performances with traditional games, and reimagining how heritage can inspire future generations.