The story
Back to the City Festival in Johannesburg
Back to the City is a South African hip-hop culture festival held in Johannesburg, historically staged around Freedom Day (27 April) at Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown. Founded in the mid-2000s to celebrate hip-hop's four pillars, MCing, DJing, breakdancing and graffiti, alongside South African streetwear and youth culture, its current operating status was not independently reconfirmed in this research pass.
Newtown, a cultural precinct on the western edge of Johannesburg's inner city, has been developed since the early 2000s as a hub for South African arts and culture, home to venues, galleries and public squares including Mary Fitzgerald Square, which has hosted a range of major public cultural events.