Robben Island’s annual mass Valentine’s Day wedding will not go ahead as planned in 2021 and has officially been cancelled. This comes after the Department of Home Affairs temporarily suspended the issuing of marriage certificates under Level 3 lockdown in South Africa.

“Following the recent announcement by the Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, on the temporary suspension of applications for IDs, passports and marriage services due to the increasing numbers of Department of Home Affairs (DHA) staff testing positive for COVID-19, the annual historic Robben Island Valentine’s Day weddings are unfortunately cancelled for 2021,” reads a statement from the Museum.

“This year would have marked 21 years of celebrating love on the island. Last year, 19 couples tied the knot with a historic milestone of Mr Frankford Williams and Cindi Mullins, who are visually impaired, officially being the first couple in South African to receive their marriage certificate in braille.”

To date, 327 couples have tied the knot on Robben Island. The first marriage ceremony was held on December 31, 2000 as part of the Millennium Celebrations, and was moved to Valentine’s Day in 2001.

Both the museum and the DHA will continue to engage on the possibility of hosting the weddings at a later stage, should conditions allow with the easing of COVID-19 regulations.

Picture: Facebook / Robben Island Museum