The Athlone Stadium was all set for the fourth leg of the Kaapse Klopse Karnival Association’s competition on Saturday.
The competition, which has run smoothly thus far, was marred by a few bad apples on Saturday, according to the organisers.
Despite some troops arriving late, the event went ahead and mense lined up to support their favourite troupes.
The troupes from the Champions League 2 division: Kensington All Stars, Seawinds Entertainers, All Stars, Cape Argus D6, V&A Minstrels and Extreme Minstrels competed alongside the Super Cup 2 division: Bishop Lavis, Crystal Palace and Manenberg in the categories for Grand March Pass, English Combine and Afrikaans Moppie.
The event was delayed by a few hours “due to the bad behaviour of a few troupes” but this did not dampen the spirits of the thousands of excited klops fans.
Dressed in their colourful gears, the competing teams showed off their hard work and displayed their best performances for the competition.
Director of the KKKA, Muneeb Gambeno, says the negativity could have been avoided had certain troupes stuck to the arrangements and scheduled times.
“A few rogue troupe owners let everyone down with bad behaviour and bad attitudes, resulting in the public waiting for hours and eventually the event ending without completing the full day’s programme,” Gambeno said.
“It is inexcusable and the troupes and troupe owners owe an apology to everyone who has worked really hard to ensure that the organisational parameters are in place for a good, successful carnival.
“More so, an apology is owed to the public who have been let down. Until troupe owners understand that this tradition does not belong to them exclusively, carnival will remain in the backwaters,” a disappointed Gambeno added.