It’s been an exciting past 24 hours for Miss South Africa Rolene Strauss…and in the last few minutes she has made her countrymen around the nation and the world so proud. Forty years after Anneline Kriel was crowned Miss World, and 56 years after Penny Rey (nee Coelen) won the title, Rolene has taken the […]

As the jokes continue to flow about Eskom, “load shedding” (a.k.a. power outages), and South African President Jacob Zuma’s reluctance to pay back any of the millions in tax payer’s money that was used to renovate his private Nkandla residence, brilliant South African writer Gus Silber has penned a new version of ‘The Night Before Christmas’ that combines the […]

Fans of the ‘Mad Max’ series are going mad for the latest official trailer for ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ which stars South Africa’s Charlize Theron and was filmed in Namibia. Filming of this fourth Mad Max movie was moved to Namibia, from its usual location in Australia, after heavy rains turned the desert-like vegetation around Broken Hill into […]

For everyone in the Southern Hemisphere who has had enough of having to sing about a White Christmas, here’s Jingle Bells South African style. See video below. The video was uploaded a couple of years ago by TheNixter (the same YouTuber who uploaded this season’s popular ‘12 Days of Christmas SA Style‘). The lyrics are […]

Twenty-year-old Jenna Lowe, who launched a nationwide campaign to draw attention to organ donation, has received the operation she desperately needed. The Western Cape youngster, who was diagnosed with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension at the age of 17, and told it was unlikely she would make it to her 21st without a new set of lungs, […]

When Pretoria boy Ted Botha moved to New York City, he was not so much an immigrant as someone on the make – a travelling South African looking to broaden his horizons. In no time he’d lied his way into a job in the New York magazine industry. Then he stumbled upon a small dilapidated […]

Congratulations to South African actor Stelio Savante for winning the Award of Merit as leading actor for Once We Were Slaves. The film, with Stelio in the lead role, premiered at LA Shorts Fest this past July. The short film is directed by Dallas Jenkins and is the story of an influential event 2,000 years ago, from […]

Prince Albert II of Monaco, has made an announcement via video following the births last night of the new royal twins. His South African wife, Princess Charlene, delivered son Jacques and daughter Gabriella on Wednesday evening in Monaco. In the video  the Prince says: “My Dear Fellow Citizens and Residents of the Principality, “It is with […]

A letter of thanks from an injured Dutch tourist to the National Sea Rescue Institute (NSRI) in South Africa [see below] has touched the nation, gone viral on social media, and filled SA citizens with immense pride in the country’s rescue workers, many of whom are volunteers. The incident occurred last month, on 10 November, when a 31-year-old orthopaedic surgeon from […]

Both locals and South Africans abroad will be pleased to know the South African Post Office (SAPO) is back to full operation! But please do exercise a little caution as they catch up on the backlog… SAPO made the announcement a few hours ago, revealing that they have appointed a special team to implement ground-breaking initiatives […]

The Palace of Monaco was lit up last night to celebrate the birth of twins to the Principality’s royal couple – South African Princess Charlene and Prince Albert II of Monaco. The birth took place yesterday evening at the Princess Grace Hospital on the hill overlooking Monaco. The palace has announced that the former Olympic athlete […]

The rare and adorable twin elephants that were born in South Africa last week have provided a feel good ‘Christmas miracle’ story in times of Eskom-generated darkness. The twins, who were born on Thursday at the big-four Pongola Game Reserve in Northern Kwa-Zulu Natal, have not yet been named as experts have given them their space, and […]

Nelson Mandela may have freed the nation, but his impact was global, with people taking inspiration from his forgiving and compassionate nature. “Our history books will refer to this period as the ‘The Age of Mandela,’” said Science and Technology Minister Naledi Pandor in her reflections on the former statesman. Pandor was among a host […]

It’s the busiest time of the year, but South Africans have been experiencing extreme power outages that wreak havoc on Christmas shopping…along with all the daily mundane things like watching the food go ‘vrot’ in the fridge! (This article was published in December 2014! Click here for an update on the Top 10 South African Loadshedding / Load […]

South African comedian Trevor Noah’s new stint on The Daily Show, in the USA, has got off to a great start, with the South African comedian using the platform to not only crack a few jokes…but to bust a few myths about Africa too. Noah began his new appointment as a member of Comedy Central’s […]

To mark the first anniversary of the passing of Nelson Mandela, Johnny Clegg’s 1987 struggle song, “Asimbonanga”, takes on a new meaning. Singer Johnny Clegg has released a beautiful tribute videoto Nelson Mandela which also carries a vital message to South Africans…to continue Madiba’s legacy and do what still needs to be done. The Zulu word […]

The Drostdy has always been one of the select few grand old hotels of the Karoo. As the prime accommodation in Graaff-Reinet, it began its “hotel life” as Kromm’s Drostdy Hotel back in 1876. The Drostdy had many re-models and facelifts over the century to come, the latest being an intensive upgrade that has taken […]

Many South Africans, who have become expats themselves, may find the latest survey by banking giant HSBC quite interesting. It turns out that thousands of expats from different nationalities rate South Africa as one of the best countries for children to grow up in! Regina Graeff from ExpatCapeTown.com compiled the following report. With her kind permission we hereby publish […]

If you’d like to promote your Christmas Gift Ideas (products or services) to South Africans anywhere in the world – this is for you! Follow the directions below to be included in SAPeople’s Special Christmas Gift Ideas page for a very special price. You can add your business anytime up until 24 December 2014. To advertise […]

On 5 December South Africa will mark one year since Nelson Mandela passed away in his Houghton home, after many months of ailing health. The world mourned his departure, having lost one of its greatest inspirations. US President Barack Obama said we should “pause and give thanks for the fact that Nelson Mandela lived”. The […]

by The Swedish African Every South African, the world over, remembers where they were when Mandela passed away. One year on, I find myself overseas and sentimental (again) — disconnected from the umbilical cord of home and contemplating what’s really going on behind closed doors at the head-quarters of the rainbow nation. And let me […]

Cape Town has a new beacon of light, shining brightly into the night…and the future. It’s the new 24-metre high art installation, designed by artist Christopher Swift, that is now providing a physical and figurative glimmer of light on Signal Hill in Cape Town. Powered by solar energy, the light from the eight-pointed star (which […]

If there’s one thing that anyone who’s ever lived in – and left – Johannesburg misses, it’s the incredible thunderstorms on the Highveld and the way the big African sky lights up, like a laser show. So for those who live in places where the skies are a little less dramatic and passionate, here’s a video […]

Saturday 15 November marked a new beginning for the city of Joburg as one woman bravely began her mission to transform the city that’s been called the unfriendliest in the world, into JOYburg. Sue Jameson, Joy Activist and Laughter Coach, kicked off the first part of her first prize in the Vodacom #Firsts competition with her ‘my #First Laughter Mob’. […]

South African Post Office (SAPO) has announced they are pleased with the end of what appeared to be an everlasting strike that impeded Post Office operations around the country, leading to unhappy customers across the globe who couldn’t send or receive items from SA (and resulted in an increased use of private courier services for the more desperate)! […]