28/07/2026
27 July 2026
Media Release
20th Anniversary of Basotho New Year Celebration:
Theme: “Mosadi ee, ha oa e bonela tlung”
During the year 2025 the Basotho Nation celebrated its bicentenary. During their over 200 years of existence the Basotho people have cultivated a rich history and solidified a cultural heritage of historical significance and thus worth celebrating.
In 2006, the Free State Department of Sport, Arts, Culture and Recreation (DSACR) marked a turning point in embracing this cultural heritage through the Basotho New Year celebration programme. In its 20 years of existence, the Basotho New Year celebration has over this period taken place against the backdrop of the Basotho Cultural Village (BCV), located in the kaleidoscope of the Maluti mountains in Qwa Qwa. The Village is itself a living museum that showcases and celebrates the Basotho cultural heritage and history.
The 20th historical landmark of the celebration of Basotho New Year takes place against the backdrop of other important national milestones in the country: 50th anniversary of June 16 student uprising; 70th anniversary of the Women's Anti-Pass march; and 30th anniversary of the country's democratic constitution.
Against this backdrop, the 20th edition of the Basotho New Year's celebration will be hosted as follows:
Date: 01 August 2026
Time: 09:00
Venue: Basotho Cultural Village, Qwa Qwa.
Traditional attire, food, music, dance, theatrical demonstration of traditional cultivation and production, as well as other art forms, will characterize the celebrations.
The celebration will be preceded by the Ditswakotleng cultural dialogue on 31 July 2026 at 17:00 at Basotho Cultural Village. Star-gazing, storytelling and presentation of a research on the history of Basotho New Year, will constitute part of the cultural dialogue.
“We continue to call upon our communities to embrace our traditional values and advance our cultural heritage. Basotho New Year celebra
