Good News

BULLETIN 24 March 

Good afternoon, here is your Good News:

# We start with athletics: Twenty-three-year-old Prudence Sekgodiso claimed South Africa’s first gold medal at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Nanjing, China. She won the women’s 800-metres in a world-leading time of one-minute-58.40-seconds, with Ethiopia’s Nigist Getachew finishing second and Portugal’s Patricia Silva in third. Sekgodiso’s gold was the country’s second medal of the competition, adding to Akani Simbine’s bronze in the 60-metres, lifting South Africa to eleventh on the medals table. This is also the first-ever medal for a South African woman in the competition.

# The 60th edition of the Fleur du Cap Theatre Awards took place at the Cape Town Stadium yesterday, recognising excellence in the country’s theatre sector. Albert Pretorius won best performance by a lead actor in a play for Othello, while Emily Child won in the female category for A Streetcar Named Desire. Best lead actor and actress in a musical or music theatre show went to Dean Balie for Ver in die Wêreld Kittie and Leah Mari for My Fair Lady. Sylvaine Strike won best director for Spring Awakening.

# The Jazz in the Lights Music Festival returns to the Johannesburg Zoo on Saturday, where jazz fans will be able to delight in local and international performances. The lineup includes veteran bassist/composer, Carlo Mombelli, Thandiswa Mazwai, Amanda Black, and The Brothers Move On. Speaking to the SABC, City of Johannesburg’s Arts, Culture, and Heritage director, Vuyisile Mshudulu, says the festival strikes a balance between giving an opportunity to young and upcoming artists, whilst also catering for legendary artists:

# American teenager, James Bloom, recently won the youth category at the 2025 World Literacy Foundation Awards for his work in improving literacy in South Africa. The awards are an initiative of the World Literacy Foundation and recognise individuals or organisations for their outstanding endeavours that promote literacy learning. Bloom and his brother founded Libraries for Literacy, aimed at providing greater access to books and improving literacy in the country. To date, they have established five libraries at schools in disadvantaged communities.

# And finally: Disney’s latest live-action remake, Snow White, starring Rachel Zegler as the original Disney princess and Gal Gadot as the Evil Queen topped the North American box office on its debut weekend. Steven Soderbergh’s sleek thriller Black Bag is up to second place, while Disney’s Marvel sequel Captain America: Brave New World landed in third place. Paramount’s action comedy Novocaine tumbled to the fourth spot on the box office charts after last weekend’s first-place finish, with Mickey 17 dropping to fifth in its third weekend of release.

Stay tuned for more news………….