Rage boosts local businesses, but drains parents’ wallets

For privileged South African matriculants, it’s that time of the year to “Rage” either in Plettenberg Bay on the Garden Route or in Ballito on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast, with the weeklong parties starting on 28 November.

The hospitality industry is in seventh heaven at this time of the year, as about R100-million will be pumped into the economies of Plett and Ballito during this one week of partying.

It’s not just students from Ballito or Plett who will be attending the respective events, because most of the Ragers (as they are called) at both events come from Gauteng, and Pretoria in particular, say organisers.

This will be the 25th edition of Plett Rage and Bal­lito Rage turns 23 this year, making these events ­somewhat of a rite of passage for many students finishing matric.

“It’s the moment you’ve been waiting your whole life for. Rage Festival is the only place where thousands of students from across the country come together to celebrate their freedom. For 12 long years, school has been all you have ever known – rules, uniforms and routines shaping every moment. But now it is finally time for you to break free and step into the adventure of a lifetime. This is your Rage Festival,” is how it is described online at Rage Festival.

Greg Walsh, owner and CEO of Goosebumps Company and Ballito Rage, describes the event as “a defining moment in the South African youth culture”.

Ronen Klugman, CEO and owner of Plett Rage, said attending Rage is “a rite of passage for school leavers”.

So far, about 4,000 to 4,500 matriculants are expected to head to the Ballito event and about 3,500 school leavers will attend Plett Rage. Klugman said the numbers of attendees are still not back to the 5,000+ turnout before Covid, but there has been a wide marketing campaign across the country and into Africa this year and as a result there are school leavers from Limpopo, as well as Zimbabwe, Botswana and even Zambia, going to both events.

Walsh said that before Covid, Ballito Rage welcomed as many as 6,500 attendees and he’s confident that by next year the numbers will surpass this.

The Ballito event is comprised of 55% students from Gauteng, 40% from KwaZulu-Natal and 5% from other provinces. Plett Rage attendees are students from the Western Cape, including the Garden Route, as well as the Eastern Cape, but the majority of students, said Klugman, come from Gauteng, especially Pretoria.

The financial impact of these events on the respective towns is significant. Walsh said anything from R40- to R60-million will be injected into the local economy through accommodation, food and beverages, transport and shopping.

Klugman said Plett’s local economy will experience a windfall of about R40-million.

According to Klugman, a survey done last year shows that each person attending Rage spends an average of R150 for transport each day (taxis to and from venues in Plett), about R500 a day for food and drinks at local restaurants and R800 for accommodation per night. Most people also spend an average of R300 a day on groceries, toiletries, clothing and other items. The average person spends between R280 and R600 a day on alcohol.

The average total spend per person is about R15,000 for the week in Plett, but then there are those whose budgets are much higher. The picture is similar at Ballito Rage.

In addition to the number of students spending money in Plett there are about 400 staff employed by Rage during the week, from 150 barmen to 90-odd people involved with security, 25 dedicated to sound and lighting systems, and others. The Plett Rage team spends R1-million on accommodation for their staff.

Asked if only wealthier families could afford to send their children, Klugman admitted: “The product is mainly aimed at higher LSM [living standards measurement] families. But then we also see matriculants from middle-class families who have saved up for the event [and] asked their granny and family to chip in,” he said.

Walsh said Ballito Rage is constantly looking at ways to broaden access so that the event is more affordable to more families. “This year we introduced Express Passports, which bundle accommodation and transport at more cost-effective rates,” he said. Plett Rage is doing a similar thing by offering packages that include the Rage ticket, accommodation – from camping to glamping – and two meals a day at a resort in Plett.

Both events say they are now offering “fly-now-pay-later” options in order to make Rage more affordable.

Debbie Snyman from Ballito had two children attend Rage. “I am glad I was able to afford it because most of their friends were going and it seemed like an important milestone for them. I know my children and how they behave so I wasn’t worried that they would drink too much or not behave responsibly,” she said.

A Knysna mother who doesn’t want to be named had three children in private schools. The oldest girl wasn’t allowed to go to Rage, and the parents instead paid for her ticket to Cape Town so she could have a two-week holiday with friends that was filled with experiences rather than alcohol, she said. Her second daughter was adamant that she was going to Rage and because she was at a private school in KwaZulu-Natal, she went to Ballito Rage, in 2018.

“We had to book and pay for accommodation a year in advance and like most kids she blew her booze budget within three days and needed more money.

“These kids go straight from the stress of finishing exams to drinking and partying, which is, let’s face it, what happens at Rage. She came home sick, like many other kids, with what is actually called Rage flu among parents.”

Her son went to Plett Rage in 2019 and the experience was just as expensive.

She said that although they bowed to peer pressure, she does not approve of this event.

“We spend hundreds of thousands on private school education, then the moment they finish school, they get a free ticket to get smashed. There’s something wrong here… The moral of the story is, why are we parents letting this happen?”

She said that parents of a child at the same private school couldn’t afford Plett Rage in 2019, so they asked other parents to help out – such is the power of peer pressure.

When it comes to safety, both events commit to a zero-drug policy and inebriation is not encouraged.

“We want to assure you that Plett Rage is not the extreme drinking event that some sensational journalism might suggest. In fact, we’ve noticed a significant shift in the behaviour and attitudes of matrics attending our festival over the last five years. They have become more responsible and focused on healthy living,” said Klugman.

At both events there are strict security and emergency protocols in place to handle any situation. Safety support people such as the Red Frogs and Plett Shepherds will be mingling with students and are available to help, for example, to find lost friends. DM

Elaine King is a freelance writer.

This story first appeared in our weekly DM168 newspaper, available countrywide for R35.