The size of the crowd at rallies with African National Congress (ANC) presidents over the years has once again become a subject of intense scrutiny and debate after the party announced it would use a 2,000-seater stadium for its January 8 celebrations in 2025.
President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver his January 8 statement at the Mandela Park stadium in Khayelitsha, Cape Town on Saturday.
The Western Cape has been a stronghold for the Democratic Alliance (DA) since 2009.
The 113th ANC birthday celebration will be one of the smallest in over a decade.
Polokwane — January 8, 2011:Thousands of people wearing yellow ANC t-shirts and blowing vuvuzelas converged on the venue ahead of President Jacob Zuma's annual January 8 statement. Bus and taxi loads of people were seen arriving at the stadium amid a high police presence. As distinguished guests and well known performers began arriving they received a rapturous applause and blast of vuvuzelas. Mkhonto We Zizwe veterans marched into the stadium with a yellow, green and black cake to celebrate the party's 99th anniversary. Loud music, cheering and the blowing of vuvuzelas filled the stadium. File picture: Dumisani Sibeko / Independent Newspapers
Crowd size can be influenced by several factors, such as the location, weather, and the capacity of the venue.
But there is not always a direct relationship between the party president and the size of the crowd they draw during rallies.
The January 8 rally is a significant event in the ANC's annual calendar, originating in 1972 to commemorate the party's founding on January 8, 1912, in Bloemfontein.
Mangaung — January 8, 2023: ANC supporters attend the ANC's birthday celebration in Mangaung in the Free State where the January 8 statement was delivered. File picture: Itumeleng English / Independent Newspapers
The 2025 venue for the event is 41,000 seats fewer than the Mbombela Stadium in Mpumalanga where the ANC held its birthday rally in 2024. Mbombela has a 43,000 capacity.
In 2023, the ANC held the celebrations at the Dr Petrus Molemela Stadium in Bloemfontein. This is a 22,000-seater stadium.
In comparison to Khayelitsha Stadium, even the party's 2019 rally, which took place in 11 different KwaZulu-Natal regions, one of them being Ohlanga Institute, had more seats.
The ANC's 2015 rally in Cape Town Stadium, which can hold 55,000 people, also had a far bigger seating capacity.
Speaking to the media at the stadium, ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula expressed confidence that they will fill up until the stadium.
According to Mbalula, losing the May 29 national and provincial elections led to them holding the event in the Western Cape.
Another reason was that this would reconnect with the local community.
“Our people did not come out in numbers to vote, coming here is to address that,” he said.
One of the reasons was the party did not have enough funds to bus people in from other provinces.
Mandela Park Stadium in Khayelitsha
The Nelson Mandela Park Stadium in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. Picture: Armand Hough / Independent Newspapers
The different view of ANC presidents
Nelson Mandela
Five years following talks between the National Party and the ANC, the January 8 declaration was released in 1990.
These were referred to as the "secret talks." Additionally, the declaration came before Nelson Mandela's February release from prison.
The January 8 declaration was primarily focused on nation-building under Mandela, concentrating on the pursuit of social harmony.
Thabo Mbeki
The goal of former president Thabo Mbeki's administration was to elevate the nation to a world-class level.
The January 8, 2007, statement with the topic "The year to intensify the struggle against poverty as we advance in unity towards 2012" made this clear.
This implied that the nation would not be impervious to global economic difficulties.
Jacob Zuma
Zuma had been elected president of the ANC in December 2007. Zuma referred to January 8 as the year of popular mobilisation to create a caring society in his initial remarks.
His 2015 statement came 21 years after the nation's first national elections following apartheid in 1994, and it also marked the 60th anniversary of the Freedom Charter.
Cyril Ramaphosa
In his inaugural remarks in 2018, Ramaphosa referred to the year 2018 as "The Year of Renewal" as he considered Nelson Mandela's 100th birthday. Jobs and togetherness.
The nation's accomplishments after 25 years of democracy were the subject of his second January 8 speech in 2019.
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