Red Bull Unlocked Cape Town: A Cruise Terminal Turns Into Ten Clubs in South Africa on 26 September 2026

SOUTH AFRICA · NIGHTLIFE

Red Bull Unlocked Cape Town hands a working harbour terminal to ten clubs for one night on 26 September 2026. The doors open in daylight.

Red Bull Unlocked Cape Town opens a working cruise terminal at two in the afternoon on Saturday 26 September 2026. One ticket, ten rooms, more than 70 artists, and no closing time that anyone has published.

A building where ships dock, for one night full of clubs

Cruise ships tie up at Makers Landing in an ordinary week. On 26 September the same building holds ten bars, clubs and creative spaces, all open at once.

One ticket covers every room. You walk between them instead of queueing outside a different club each time.

The Citizen, a South African daily newspaper, counted ten participating venues for the 2026 edition. Five come back from last year and five are new.

Broke, Fools Gold Social Bar, Souk, Destiny and Drama return. Texas, HALO, Beluga, Club Paradise and The Athletics Club and Social join them.

More than 70 artists and DJs play across the night. A DJ is a disc jockey, the person mixing recorded music for a dance floor.

A food market by day, at the far end of the harbour

Makers Landing sits inside the Cape Town Cruise Terminal, on the working edge of the V&A Waterfront. V&A stands for Victoria and Alfred, the two old harbour basins the district grew around.

Six days a week it runs as a food market and a kitchen incubator for small food businesses. The National Treasury’s Jobs Fund put R63 million (about US$3.9 million) into that project.

The site is a working cruise terminal rather than a purpose-built club. That is why a single event can spread across so many separate rooms.

Drivers come down Dock Road from Coen Steytler Avenue, heading towards the Silo District. At the circle before South Arm Road you turn right into the Cruise Terminal.

The terminal sits well apart from the main shopping mall. Parking at the mall and strolling across takes a good deal longer than two minutes.

Seventy names, and no timetable to plan around

The 2026 bill leans hard on South African artists. A-Reece, Dee Koala and Sliqe carry the hip-hop side of the building.

Oscar Mbo, Jullian Gomes, Babalwa M and Dwson take the house and Afro house rooms. DJ PH from the radio station 5FM, Teddy Tumi, Tristan Urwin, DJ Phil and Enrico Celento also play.

The genres run from amapiano to Afro house, hip-hop, deep house, Afro tech and R&B. Amapiano is a South African dance style built on deep basslines and airy log-drum patterns.

Set times had not been published by the middle of September. Ten rooms running at the same time means you will miss something, however carefully you plan.

Amapiano now fills stadiums at home. Our report on the Scorpion Kings at FNB Stadium in Johannesburg shows the scale it has reached.

It starts in daylight, and nobody has said when it stops

The Red Bull event page lists a 14:00 start, which is 2 pm. The ticket page for the date carries the same time.

Ticket terms for the 2024 and 2025 editions ran the night through to 2 am. For 2026 the organisers have named no closing time at all.

An afternoon start is unusual for a club night. It lets you arrive in daylight and learn the layout before the rooms fill.

Earlier ticket terms told guests to come early and allow time for the queues. The same pages promised security checkpoints and medical staff on site.

Those terms also described the event as mostly indoors and weather protected. That is a useful line to read in a Cape Town spring.

The price is last year’s, until somebody prints this year’s

Tickets are sold through the Red Bull event page, which sends visitors on to an online seller. No price for 2026 had appeared by the middle of September.

Listings for the 2025 edition showed R150 to R200 (about US$9 to US$12). That is last year’s figure, not a promise about this one.

Ticket terms for the 2024 and 2025 editions said no under-18s and asked for an identification document. The organisers have not restated those rules this year.

Late September is early spring in the Western Cape. Evenings cool quickly once the sun drops behind the mountain, even after a warm afternoon.

The south-easter wind can pick up hard along the harbour edge. Our guide to the cost of living in Cape Town covers the wider picture for new arrivals.

Getting in is easy, getting home takes planning

Ticket pages for earlier editions listed both on-site and off-site parking. They also described a street closure supported by Metro police and the South African Police Service.

The organisers have published no parking price for this year. Budget for a paid bay, and expect the closest ones to go first.

E-hailing apps such as Uber and Bolt work across Cape Town. Set your pin to the Cruise Terminal, because the Waterfront has several separate drop-off points.

No shuttle and no late-night bus service has been announced for the night. Treat public transport after midnight as unavailable.

Fares climb when ten rooms empty at the same moment. Agree a meeting point before you split up inside the building.

What the two earlier nights already showed

Red Bull Unlocked Cape Town has run at this terminal before. The 2024 and 2025 editions used the same site and the same ten-outlet format.

Both earlier ticket pages advertised one night, ten outlets and more than 70 artists. The 2025 night opened at 2 pm and closed at 2 am.

Those pages also promised a controlled registration point and several security checkpoints. Whether the same arrangements return this year has not been said.

The rooms are named and the artists are named. The clock is not, and Cape Town will learn the rest of it on the day.

More: South Africa news in English, every day from The Rio Times.

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where is Red Bull Unlocked Cape Town 2026?

Saturday 26 September 2026, at Makers Landing inside the cruise terminal at Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront. The official event page lists a 2 pm start, and no closing time for this year.

How much do tickets cost?

No price for 2026 had been published by the middle of September. Listings for the 2025 edition showed R150 to R200 (about US$9 to US$12), which is last year’s figure.

Is there an age limit?

Ticket terms for the 2024 and 2025 editions said no under-18s and asked for an identification document at the door. Those rules have not been restated for 2026, so carry a passport or identity card anyway.

How do I get there and home again?

Earlier editions listed on-site and off-site parking, with a street closure supported by the police. E-hailing apps are the usual way home after midnight, and no shuttle or late-night bus has been announced.

Sources: Red Bull South Africa, The Citizen, SlikourOnLife, the official ticket page and Cape Town Magazine; see https://www.redbull.com/za-en/events/red-bull-unlocked-south-africa and https://www.citizen.co.za/lifestyle/entertainment/red-bull-unlocked-cape-town-2026-over-70-artists-10-venues-and-more/ and https://tickets.airdosh.co.za/event/red-bull/t8zUwAlToqbA449 and https://www.capetownmagazine.com/makers-landing. Currency conversions use the 13 September 2026 rate of 16.14 rand to the US dollar, from open.er-api.com.

The Big Picture

Africa: The New Scramble — why the world’s powers are competing for the continent