The first festival of the new millennium contained an incredible 227 live performances! The festival committee in that year was a powerhouse of well-known professionals, including: Mannie Manim, Guy Butler, Richard Cock, Marthinus Basson, Khayalethu Lennox Faba, Ingrid Fiske, Vicki Karras, Melanie Hillebrand, Sibongile Khumalo, Mokale Koapeng, Ramolao Makhene, Tale Motsepe, Sydney Selepe, Lara Foot, Andrew Verster, Trevor Steele Taylor, and Peter Voges. The State Theatre Ballet presented The Merry Widow, and the City Theatre and Dance Group staged Robyn Orlin’s ‘daddy, I’ve seen this piece six times before and I still don’t know why they’re hurting each other.’ This latter production featured Nelisiwe Xaba, Dudu Yende, Toni Morkel, Nico Morena and Gerard Bester, and was stage-managed by a young technician who would go on to lead the Festival Lighting Team many years later!