Behind the scenes at parly
2004-02-06 13:18
Cape Town - Bright colours, drums, music and dancers. These were all part of the celebration to mark the opening of parliament in Cape Town on Friday.
Dancers from the hit show, African Footprints, kept the crowd entertained while parliamentarians and dignitaries arrived. The danced to tunes ranging from swing to African beats and costumes were bright and shiny.
Disappointingly, not many politicians took a walk down the red carpet. Most of them slipped through unnoticed. Even Winnie Madikizela-Mandela managed to slip past the press and didn't even treat an excited crowd to a wave.
Fashion was bright and colourful and African-inspired. Indian influences were also spotted with many women sporting bright saris. Hats were also a big item this year with one woman sporting a blue number on her head covered with peacock feathers.
Mercedes Benz was the car of choice for those attending the opening, and only black and white ones it seems.
Ten years of democracy
At least 200 10-year-old children lined the red carpet on Friday morning. Their faces were painted with the South African flag as well as other African countries. They were waving miniature South African flags and had t-shirts with a picture of parliament and the words, "State of the nation address. Parliament 2004".
These children were there as part of the celebration of 10 years of democracy. They were born in 1994 and mark the beginning of a new chapter in the country's history.
A group of boys from York Road Primary were keen to share their thoughts on the day's events. Stephan Florence said he was "very excited" to be there, although when asked if he knew why he was there, his quick answer was "no, no clue".
Mxodisi Gontsana said the celebration was nice, and couldn't wait to see the president. Qiyam Hendricks was excited because not only was he going to see the president, but he was also missing classes at school.
So while not many of the children understood the importance of their birth year, all were excited at the prospect of seeing the leaders of the country and being a part of history. Once they learned of the importance of their birth date, the look on their faces was complete awe and then one whispered, "So I'm special".
And as soon as the day had begun, it was all over. President Mbeki made his appearance on the red carpet. The 21-gun salute went off and the national anthem was played. And then it was down to business.