SONA 2019 cape town traffic road closures

(Francesca Villette / Flickr)

SONA 2019 details: When, where, why and how to watch

Get ready for glitz, glamour, and grapples at the heart of government this week. The stage is set for SONA 2019, and we’ve got your essential guide.

SONA 2019 cape town traffic road closures

(Francesca Villette / Flickr)

SONA 2019: Live updates and live stream – from the red carpet to the red berets and Ramaphosa razzmatazz – follow it here!

The showpiece event of the political calendar gets underway this week, and there are plenty of gripping subplots and talking points to ensure SONA 2019 goes down as one of the classics. It’s the time of year where politics, theatre and showbiz all combine to give us one unmissable hot mess.

You can expect disruptions, red carpet shenanigans and vital political issues coming to the boil. What you will miss out on is the sight of Malusi Gigaba dressed as a pilot, and his wife Norma stealing the show. After the former minister left his role in shame last year, the Gigabytes won’t be taking flight on Thursday.

The good news is the whole affair will be televised and easy to follow for those of us who aren’t fancy enough to get an invite to Parliament. Here’s your essential guide to upcoming State of the Nation address:

SONA 2019 – Everything you need to know

When is SONA 2019?

It will be held on Thursday 7 February at 19:00. If you’re one for the showbiz and celebrity side of things, all the red carpet build-up will begin from just after 17:30. The address itself is scheduled to start at 19:00, as Cyril Ramaphosa tells South Africa about his plans for the year ahead.

It’s estimated things will wind down about 21:00 – but be warned, we already know the EFF want to cause a bit of chaos: They’re miffed with Ramaphosa over the R500 000 payment he received from Bosasa in 2017, and promised to disrupt the event if he failed to issue a televised apology before Thursday. Buckle up, guys.

Where is SONA held?

It’s held at the Parliament Buildings in Cape Town (just off Plein Street), as per annual tradition. For anyone who lives in or commutes to and from the Mother City, there will be a long list of road closures for the event. We will be publishing a full list of these no later than 24 hours before SONA 2019 kicks off.

Why is SONA so important in South Africa?

It marks the official opening of Parliament for the new year, after a long Christmas recess. The sitting president will talk about policy, what their administration aims to achieve over the next calendar year and how they plan to deal with challenges ahead. SONA 2018 marked Cyril Ramaphosa’s first address of this kind, which went relatively smoothly.

How to watch SONA 2019 on TV and via a live stream

You will be able to catch SONA on several different broadcast networks: Both eNCA and SABC will be showing rolling coverage and build up to the event on their news channels from just after 17:00. Elsewhere, SABC 2 will screen coverage from 18:00 onwards, making SONA 2019 free-to-view.

Can’t get to a TV? That’s no stress. Both aforementioned outlets will have a live stream out online before it all kicks off. You can also follow events as they happen via Parliament’s YouTube channel. If you’re still unable to watch it all unfold, we’ve got your backs – we’ll be live-blogging it all on Thursday, too.