News Bulletin of 30 June 2025, 7am

Cape Town has been ranked one of the Most LGBTQ+ Friendly Cities in the World by Big 7 Travel. In a survey of over 1 million travellers, the city has landed 16th on the 2025 list. The award was given by Big 7 Travel on their newly updated website EnjoyTravel.com. The scoring system analyses the number of hashtags and TikTok views per destination, Big 7 Media’s audiences, and from the global editorial team. South Africa was the first country in Africa to legalise same sex marriage in 2006. Cape Town bursts into the colours of Pride every February/March, and other vibrant celebrations include the Mother City Queer Project and the Out in Africa Film Festival.

The countdown has begun for the Basadi in Music Awards, which will be hosted at the Joburg Theatre in Johannesburg in the month of August. The awards honour women who are shaping the entertainment landscape through creativity. The Awards has long stood as a beacon for recognising female talent, and this year takes a significant leap forward with an expanded range of categories. Women from various sectors of the entertainment industry will receive awards across new categories like Manager of the Year, Makeup Artist of the Year, Podcast Presenter of the Year and Choreographer of the Year, in addition to traditional honours.

The Formula One movie directed by Joseph Kosinski of Top Gun: Maverick fame and starring Brad Pitt zoomed to an impressive 55.6 million dollars at its opening and an estimated 144 million dollars globally. This is well ahead of expectations in the first major theatrical win for Apple Original Films. F1, starring Brad Pitt opposite Damson Idris had this to say: SOUND