Thousands of young people, many being matrics, attend this event yearly to celebrate the end of their high school careers. Organisers had initially said they'd taken the necessary precautions. But they now say they are acting on the data presented to them. "This morning after further exhaustive review, consultations and guidance from the local provincial Department of health and other key stakeholders, the decision was collectively made to cancel the event going forward based on the data we now have available. We stand by our decision, it is our responsibility to act based on facts, collaboration and tools available to us," Rage festival spokesperson, Darren Sandras said.

The festival kicked off on Tuesday, 30 November, with strict Covid-19 protocols in place, including mandatory vaccination for all staff and attendees. “Between 14:00 and 22:00 on Tuesday, 940 guests and staff were tested, with 32 guests and four staff returning positive results,” the organisers said in a statement. With assistance from the Department of Health, Rage organisers conducted contact tracing and isolated the positive individuals. “While we understand the disappointment that this causes for those who were looking forward to enjoying the festival, these are unprecedented times,” the organisers said. “We appreciate everyone’s understanding and support.

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Ticket holders will receive further information in the coming days via email.” Rage festival head Greg Walsh spoke to Bongani Bingwa of Talk 702 this morning regarding the preventative measures organisers were taking during the 2021 Rage festival. Walsh indicated that their protocols had identified Covid-19 positive individuals. “We had our first night last night. Everybody who entered the venue had to have tested negative before they walked through the entrance,” Walsh said. “We did identify some positive cases, who were immediately isolated.” The full statement from the organisers is reproduced below.

We take the safety of all our customers, staff, and suppliers extremely seriously. It is for this reason that the event organisers have taken the decision to cancel the remainder of Ballito Rage.

The festival opened for the first time on Tuesday 30 November 2021 with unprecedented Covid-19 protocols in place, including mandatory vaccinations for all staff and guests and pre-arrival Covid-19 tests for all guests. A testing facility was set up near the event site and staff testing commenced on 29 November 2021; of the first 122 staff tested, zero presented positive.

On 30 November 2021 all remaining staff and all guests underwent Covid-19 tests at the testing facility near the event site prior to entering the event. Between 14:00 and 22:00, 940 guests and staff were tested and 32 guests and 4 staff presented positive results. The Department of Health were on site and worked together with our team to conduct contact tracing and ensure the necessary isolation of positive individuals and staff as per government protocols.

After further exhaustive review this morning (Wednesday 1 December 2021), consultation and guidance from the local and provincial Departments of Health and other key stakeholders, the decision was collectively made to cancel the event going forward based on the data now available to us.

It is our responsibility to act based on facts, collaboration and the resources and tools we have available.

We highly commend and sincerely thank our partners at the Kwa-Zulu Natal and Illembe Departments of Health, local Municipality, SAPS, Chamber of Commerce, and all others who have worked with us daily from the beginning to deliver the safest event possible in these extraordinary times.

Whilst we understand the disappointment that this causes for those who were looking forward to enjoying the festival, these are unprecedented times. We appreciate everyone’s understanding and support. Ticket holders will receive further information in the coming days via email.

We strongly urge all ticketholders who choose to stay in the area and/or travel during the holiday period to continue to be extremely responsible, stay safe and play their part in fighting the spread of Covid-19.