The City of Cape Town’s investment in major sporting, cultural and entertainment events generated 2125 online editorial mentions, according to an independent report measuring online media coverage between July 2025 and June 2026.
According to the Brand Media Index™ – Cape Town Events Edition, the top five events generated 1908 online editorial mentions that included “Cape Town” as the destination, highlighting the city’s strong visibility in earned media.
The Sanlam Cape Town Marathon ranked first with 957 mentions (45.04% Share of Voice), followed by HSBC SVNS Cape Town with 315 mentions (14.82%), Comic Con Cape Town with 282 mentions (13.27%), Speed Classic Cape Town with 196 mentions (9.22%), and the Festive Lights Switch-On with 158 mentions (7.44%).
Together, these five events accounted for almost 90% of all recorded online editorial coverage, highlighting their significant contribution to Cape Town’s destination visibility.
The report found that the City’s diverse events programme continues to strengthen Cape Town’s reputation as one of Africa’s leading destinations for sport, entertainment and major events, generating extensive editorial exposure across local and international media.
Collectively, the top five events were covered by news websites with a combined potential audience of more than 47 million unique visitors. Their editorial coverage also generated an estimated Advertising Value Equivalent (AVE) of more than R34 million, increasing to more than R37 million when the remaining top 10 events are included.
“Major events deliver far more than visitor spending. They generate independent editorial coverage that enhances Cape Town’s reputation, showcases the city’s world-class event hosting capabilities and keeps the destination visible to millions of potential travellers throughout the year,” said Gerrit Davids, Managing Director of Gerom Media, which compiled the report.
“Our next report will be released on 16 October 2026 in Cape Town and will rank the most visible marathons in South Africa, Africa and the world’s major marathons respectively, along with other road races, a sponsorship index and, most importantly, a Host Cities Index. With the city hosting three major marathons, Cape Town is expected to feature prominently in the rankings,” said Davids.
The full Brand Media Index™ – Cape Town Events Edition report, including rankings of the top 15 events identified by the City of Cape Town, is available from the agency.
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Author: Gerrit Davids from Gerom Media on behalf of Gerom Media.
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