|
By Richard Hamilton
BBC correspondent in Cape Town
|
Abdullah Ibrahim is one of the stars of the jazz festival
|
Top jazz musicians have been gathering in Cape Town for the fifth North Sea Jazz Festival, as South Africa celebrates 10 years of democracy.
More than 15,000 people attended the first day of the weekend event.
South Africa's most famous female singer, 72-year-old Miriam Makeba, got the evening off to a rousing start.
Mama Africa - as she is affectionately known - performed songs she sang as an exile when she told the world about the evils of apartheid.
Ten years on from the first democratic elections and only a few days away from the third such elections, there is a festive atmosphere here in Cape Town at the moment.
Thousands flock to the convention centre near the city's waterfront to see 34 acts from Africa and the rest of the world, playing on five different stages, including Cape Town's most accomplished pianists.
Musician Abdullah Ibrahim was also an exile who returned to his homeland after the unbanning of the ANC and the release of Nelson Mandela.
Because of years of international isolation, South Africans missed the likes of Makeba and Ibrahim, but now they are making up for it in style.
One-Minute World News
News services
E-mail this to a friend
Printable version
Voters' views