PLETTENBERG BAY NEWS - Thousands of school leavers have descended on Plettenberg Bay for the 15th annual Plett Rage student festival to celebrate their newfound freedom.
This freedom, however, comes at a price – quite a hefty one.
A snap survey by Knysna-Plett Herald over the first weekend revealed that “Ragers” and their parents had to dig deep into their pockets to experience what has become the biggest festival of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.
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On average, students, said that they were spending between R10 000 and R15 000 each over the seven-day period, which started on Friday and ends on December 8.
Hanco van Rensburg from Afrikaanse Hoër Seunskool in Pretoria said that his budget for food and drinks for the week was R5 000.
“This is just spending money and excludes other expenses like accommodation and travel,” he said.
His accommodation amounted to R3 000 for and he had spent R2 000 to travel to Plett, he said.
This was also excluding the R3 000 cost of a Plett Rage festival ticket, bringing his total expenses to about R11 000.
Ticket prices varied this year and set festivalgoers back anything from about R2 000 for a general ticket with access to the two main venues, to about R10 000 for an all-inclusive ticket which included “glamping” accommodation and various other perks.
'Worth the money'
While this might sound steep, the tickets do include live performances by some of the biggest names in the music industry including The Kiffness, Aking, Sketchy Bongo, Fokofpolisiekar, Jack Parow, and many DJs across a variety of genres.
“While our travel between the two festival venues is free, we still need to fork out for travelling in town. I’m not sure how much this is going to cost.”
Van Rensburg said while the costs are high, he believes it is worth it, and added, “You can’t really put a price tag on this experience.”
Charlotte van Deventer from Eunice High School in Bloemfontein said her spending for the week on food, drinks and retail was R6 000 and that she had paid about R3 000 on a festival ticket, a further R3 000 on travel to Plett and R4 000 on accommodation.
She said she had worked over weekends to raise some of the money and that her parents footed the rest of the bill.
While students and their parents might feel the pressure on their wallets, this spending is a welcome boost for a town that relies heavily on tourism.
Plett Rage organisers said feedback from students shows that each person who attends Rage spends between R5 000 and R8 000 on transport, accommodation, food and retail.
This amounts to a R48-million boost for the town in just one week.
Read previous articles:
- Rage comes at a hefty price
- Huge safety plans around rage
- Plett Rage countdown begins
- Raging about Plett Fest
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