About Eastern Cape

The Eastern Cape is where South Africa's automotive industry is anchored, with Volkswagen, Isuzu and Mercedes-Benz plants running out of Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth) and East London and supplying vehicles across the region. It is also Xhosa heartland and the province Nelson Mandela was born into, at Mvezo on the banks of the Mbashe River, and the Wild Coast's cliffs and river mouths remain one of the least developed stretches of coastline in the country. Addo Elephant National Park, near Gqeberha, protects one of the densest elephant populations in Africa. Each July the town of Makhanda hosts the National Arts Festival, one of the largest arts gatherings on the continent, drawing on a province that has long combined manufacturing muscle with a strong literary and theatrical tradition centred on Rhodes University.

Eastern Cape's coming weeks lean into dance, sport and live music across its towns. Dance takes over Gqeberha from 24-29 August as the Nelson Mandela Bay Dance Festival fills the Savoy Theatre, while runners lace up the same week for the NMB Stadium Women's Night Run at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. In East London, Ami Faku headlines One Night Only: Hidden Experience with Ami Faku at The Cove on 29 August, the same day the East London Spin Festival gets the dance floor moving. Down the coast, couples can browse the 2026 Greater Garden Route Wedding EXPO at Mentors Country Estate in Jeffreys Bay over the same weekend.