Celebrating it's 5th Anniversary in South Africa, Ultra Worldwide was bound to put on a music spectacular that would leave festival goers in awe of what they had witnessed. Having attended the Johannesburg leg myself, I can tell you first hand that not only did this years Ultra break records but it certainly set them for years to come!
On February 10, Nasrec Expo Center opened it's gates to over 32,000 revelers, it a set-up much bigger and better than other years, crowds had easier access to bars, food stalls and ablution facilities, also with the introduction of cashless systems again, it made buying refreshments and food all that more easier. There was however reports of long queues to enter the venue, with some people having to wait almost two hours to get in. Organisers have yet to comment on what the delay could have been caused by.
With 4 stages for attendee's to choose from, showcasing the various artists, international and local, people were spoiled for choice. With good reason though, the Main stage was the center of attraction to many. With LED Screens decorated with lasers, blinders, pyrotechnics and streamers, combined with the hottest DJ's in the world, would you blame anyone from not wanted to leave their spot? It all kicked off with the local DJ's, of home FeU and TimoODV were standouts, then came on the first International act, Carnage who did what his name says and got the crowd going with his hardstyle music. While Afrojack and Hardwell played great sets, the stand out for me had to be Armin. The man isn't rated as one of the best DJ's of all time for nothing. His set was a combination of music and lighting which got the crowd into a state of trance. He was also joined on stage in a surprise performance by Mr Probz, where performed their collaboration track "Another You" and "Waves". The night on the Main Stage ended with Axwell /\ Ingrosso, who captivated their crowd with some of their old Swedish House Mafia tracks as well as many of their new stuff as a duo. The stand-out was definitely their current hit track "More than you know" which had the crowd belting out the chorus.
.The Resistance stage was back again to please the many deep house fans that made the journey and it did not disappoint! This year saw the dance floor being moved into a new warehouse space at Nasrec which catered specifically to the house and techno community. Local artist which included the likes of Da Capo, DogStarr, Ryan Murgatroyd, TranceMicSoul and many more heated the floor up before the mega stars took to the decks. Local and global sensation, Black Coffee got on to raptures from the crowd before Dubfire and Eats Everything blew the fans away with their hypnotic performances.
"Ultra SA brings new surprises each year and this year was no exception. It also brings new magic each time we produce the show, and 2018 was the most magical yet. Speaking on behalf of the full Ultra SA team and sponsors, we are blown away by the support of the fans and industry and cannot wait to see what 2019 brings." said Shaun Duvet after the 48 hour music spectacular which took place in the two cities.
We will be releasing our very own after movie of Ultra SA 2018 soon, so be on the look out for it on our instagram page!
