Muizenberg Beach has been awarded Blue Flag status. Photo: canva
Blue Flag beaches: Eight Cape Town beaches get iconic status
It’s officially sun, sand and blue sky season and eight of Cape Town’s beaches have just been awarded Blue Flag status. Here’s where…
Muizenberg Beach has been awarded Blue Flag status. Photo: canva
In some pretty great news for the City of Cape Town, eight of its beaches have just been accorded Blue Flag status by the Wildlife and Environment Society of South Africa (WESSA).
Blue Flags to fly high
The beautiful beaches of Bikini Beach, Camps Bay, Clifton 4th Beach, Fish Hoek, Llandudno, Melkbosstrand, Muizenberg and Silwerstroom will proudly display Blue Flags this summer season.
In addition to these eight, two other beaches, namely Mnandi and Strandfontein, have also been awarded Pilot blue flag status.
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WESSA, the city of Cape Town says, uses 33 criteria across four categories to determine whether a beach meets the requirements for Blue Flag recognition.
These categories are:
- Environmental Education and Awareness,
- Water Quality,
- Environmental Management and
- Safety Services.
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Among the criteria are universal access, effective waste management, availability of interpretive signage and control of domestic animals, e.g. dogs on beaches.
‘A wonderful achievement’
Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health, Councillor Patricia Van der Ross said that it was a wonderful achievement for their Recreation and Parks Department, but Cape Town as a whole.
“As we wade deeper into the summer season, our beaches and recreational facilities will be bustling with residents and visitors. A lot of hard work continues behind the scenes to ensure that we are summer ready, and that residents and visitors alike will enjoy our world class amenities and facilities.” Van der Ross said.
“Details of our lifeguard deployments and general summer safety plans will be made public in the coming weeks, as we count down to the start of the festive season, and this Blue Flag announcement is a most welcome boost,” Van der Ross added.
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The Blue Flag Season will run from 1 December 2023 to 31 January 2024 at all of the accredited beaches, except Camps Bay and Muizenberg, where it will be in effect until end March 2024, the city said in its statement.
