30 November – 4 December 2026 | Cape Town, South Africa
Five days of events celebrating Antarctica
and the Southern Ocean
This summer, Cape Town becomes a vibrant meeting place for everyone who cares about Antarctica, the Southern Ocean and the extraordinary living community they sustain.
Antarctica Festival 2026 brings together Indigenous representatives, artists, activists, lawyers, scientists, civil society organisations and curious minds from around the world for five days of inspiring assemblies, exhibitions, performances, conversations, film screenings and creative events across the city.
Together, we will explore new ways of seeing, valuing and relating to Antarctica, the Southern Ocean and the more-than-human world—and imagine a future shaped by respect, reciprocity and Earth-centred governance.
Taking place at the beginning of the South African summer, the festival marks a powerful moment in the growing movement to recognise and protect the rights of nature. Whether you join us for one film screening, a single conversation or the full programme, there will be a place for you.
Download full festival programme here
Festival Programme
Be part of a landmark moment as we recognise Antarctica and the Southern Ocean as living entities with inherent rights.
Download full festival programme here
30 November · Day 1: Welcome to Antarctica Week
17h00: Ritual Assembly and Reunion of the Waters
Delegates bring Waters from their home shores, pouring them together at the tide’s edge.
18h00: Remembrance of the Lost Species, St James beach tidal pool
A candlelit vigil honouring extinct animals, plants and habitats, wreath‑laying and dance in tribute to the more‑than‑human lives once held.
20h00: Alliance Meet and Greet, Kalk Bay
As the vigil closes, we gather in Kalk Bay over some drinks and snacks to sit together, hold what has been honoured, and turn towards hope for what is still to come.
1 December · Day 2: Public Signing of the Antarctica Declaration
10h00: Indigenous Prayers: Opening in Honour of Antarctica, Company Gardens
A multicultural ceremony of prayer, song and connection, opening our hearts to Antarctica as kin rather than territory.
11h00: Procession Towards the Declaration, Company Gardens
A symbolic procession giving voice to Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, moving to the rhythm of the more-than-human. African drums, the voices of Cape Town Opera, and multispecies puppets embodying whale, ice, krill and birds, as Antarctica’s presence is carried through the Gardens towards the signing of her Declaration.
12h00: Public Signing of the Antarctica Declaration, Centre for the Book
A historic moment in the rise of Earth jurisprudence: witness the signing of a Declaration affirming Antarctica’s inherent rights and calling for her meaningful representation in every decision that shapes her future. Simultaneous signing of personal pledges to stand up for Antarctica.
14h00 – 16h00: Antarctica as Blueprint: Panel Discussions, Centre for the Book
Scientists, lawyers, academics and knowledge‑holders explore how Antarctica offers a blueprint for a global shift towards the Rights of Nature.
18h00 – 20h00: Wild Talk I: Antarctica, the Living Laboratory, Centre for the Book
An evening talk exploring how we can listen to and learn from, Antarctica.
2 December · Day 3: International Rights of Nature Tribunal
10h00 – 12h30: International Rights of Nature Tribunal: The Antarctica Case, Centre for the Book
A tribunal hearing testimony about alleged violations of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth and of the rights and freedoms recognised in the Antarctica Declaration.This will include evidence from experts on the impact of the industrial krill fishery (the tiny keystone species whose survival underpins the entire Southern Ocean food web), and the impacts of climate change on Antarctica and Antarctic beings.
14h00 – 17h00: International Rights of Nature Tribunal hearing continues and interim findings of the Tribunal, Centre for the Book
The Tribunal continues, hearing evidence and concludes with the panel of judges handing down their preliminary findings and recommendations for next steps.
18h00 – 20h00: Wild Talk II: Ancestral Listening and Intuitive Interspecies Communication, Centre for the Book
An evening of intuitive, interspecies listening, grounded in science, and in the African ancestral knowledge that has long understood animals,water and land as kin to be heard.
3 December · Day 4: Gathering of Alliance & Films
10h00 – 17h00: Gathering of the Antarctic Alliance, Centre for the Book
Alliance members gather to discuss and agree on the structure of the Alliance and its strategy and objectives.
18h00 – 20h00: Antarctica as Kin: Film Screening & Panel, Labia Theatre
Films exploring Antarctica as a relative and source of wisdom, followed by a panel discussion on more‑than‑human perspectives.
4 December · Day 5: Final Day
14h00 – 16h00: Programme To Be Confirmed, Centre for the Book
Details of this session will be announced soon; Watch this space.
18h00 – 20h00: Imagining 2126: A Flourishing Southern Ocean, a century from now, Centre for the Book
Walking backwards from a thriving future: the cultural, institutional and political steps needed to imagine a flourishing Southern Ocean in a century. Envisioning a pathway to implementation as the festival draws to a close.
Antarctica: Elemental Dialogues
Throughout the week: Art Exhibition, Centre for the Book
A polyvocal exhibition using art and the senses to draw a distant, ice-bound continent into closer emotional and cultural proximity. This is an invitation to feel what Antarctica asks of us.
Would you like to contribute to this week?
Please email us at team@wildlaw.net with your idea!
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