Each year, the Department of Home Affairs and Robben Island Museum partner to host a mass wedding at the former prison which, on the day, is transformed into a lavish wedding venue with an amazing atmosphere.
Cape Town, South Africa (22 January 2020) – The registration process for the annual Valentine’s Day mass wedding at the Robben Island Museum is now officially open for couples who plan to participate in the event.
Robben Island is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, Cape Town, South Africa. The name is Dutch for “seal island.” Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, 3.3 km (2.1 mi) long north-south, and 1.9 km (1.2 mi) wide, with an area of 5.08 km2 (1.96 sq mi). It is flat and only a few metres above sea level, as a result of an ancient erosion event. It was fortified and used as a prison from the late 17th century to 1996, after the end of apartheid. Many of its prisoners were political.
“Political activist Nelson Mandela was imprisoned there for 18 of the 27 years he served behind bars before the fall of apartheid and expansion of the franchise to all residents of the country. He was later awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace and was elected in 1994 as President of South Africa, serving one term. In addition, two other former inmates of Robben Island have been elected as President of South Africa since the late 1990s: Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma.”
Robben Island is a South African National Heritage Site as well as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Each year, the Department of Home Affairs and Robben Island Museum partner to host a mass wedding at the former prison which, on the day, is transformed into a lavish wedding venue with an amazing atmosphere.
This year, plans are underway to host 20 couples in what will mark the 20th anniversary of the partnership and the wedding ceremony. On the day, couples will arrive at the Nelson Mandela Gateway to catch the ferry in the morning and head to Robben Island Museum in time for the ceremony, which will take place at the Robben Island Chapel.
“Once the couples have exchanged their nuptials, they will head off to a wedding reception for lunch and also go on a tour of the museum.
There will also be an opportunity for couples to take their wedding photos at the beach, and to capture iconic and scenic areas on the island. The couples will return to Cape Town in the afternoon,” the Department of Home Affairs said in a statement.
Couples wishing to participate are advised to contact Wilhelmina Booysen on 021 468 4510 or [email protected] and Yolanda Mdutywana on 021 413 4226 or [email protected] on or before Wednesday, 5 February 2020.
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