Toyota says bye to Steve and hello to Woordfees

Cape Town – After cutting ties with Afrikaans is Groot (AIG) over the involvement of Steve Hofmeyr in the concert, Toyota will be putting their money elsewhere.

In an announcement on its website on Friday, the SU Woordfees revealed that Toyota would be its new main sponsor with co-naming rights.

The arts festival will be known as the Toyota SU Woordfees for the next three years.

Toyota in March said that it had ended its sponsorship contract with AIG due to the involvement of controversial Afrikaans singer Steve Hofmeyr – known for his extremely provocative statements about race and often right-wing comments. "Both parties have honoured their contractual agreements since 2015," the company said in a statement.

MTN and Media24 also withdrew as sponsors of the music concert that then turned to its audience members for support with a campaign called #JouAIG (Your Afrikaans is Groot) in which "the public will be the main sponsor" of the event.

Toyota SA's general manager of marketing communications, Lettie Labuschagne, says the company's involvement with the SU Woordfees "is very special" as it "enables Toyota to play an even bigger role in the development and recognition of arts and culture in our society".

"We’re taking our contribution to the community to a whole new level. Added to this, to be able to tap into the creative energy of the festival that caters to as broad an audience as possible is a great opportunity for us.

“For Toyota, being an integral part of Woordfees not only allows us to showcase the immensely rich diversity and inclusivity of South Africa’s creative arts and culture, but it also provides the organisation with an opportunity to nurture up-and-coming talent by offering them a very visible platform for creative exposure.

"Above all, it’s a ten-day-long event that gives all South Africans, regardless of their background, an opportunity to enjoy themselves and experience a variety of performances under ‘one roof’ – it’s an altogether uplifting experience," Lettie added.

The 2020 Toyota SU Woordfees will take place from 6 to 15 March in Stellenbosch. The programme launch will be in November and tickets will be available from the middle of November.