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SSouth Africa is both a sports- and beer-mad country, so it comes as no surprise that pubs and sports bars are to be found everywhere, from the biggest of cities to the tiniest of villages − and sometimes even in the middle of nowhere.
The variety of pubs and sports bars in South Africa is staggering. There are themed bars, historical taverns, and rough-and-tumble pubs. There are some that offer live music, others that turn in to discos in the wee hours of the morning and those that frown on music of any kind.
Many of South Africa's pubs have a vivid history and 3 of the most popular drinking holes in the country − the Perseverance Tavern in Cape Town, Bathurst’s Pig ‘n Whistle, and Johannesburg's Radium Beer Hall − date back to the 1800s.
South African sports bars are a more modern phenomenon, though you can bet that just about every pub in the country will have at least one TV tuned to a sports channel or specific sporting event − especially if there's soccer, rugby or cricket on. South Africans just cannot do without some sporting fervour to go with their beers.
The majority of the bigger bars in the country that cater specifically to sports fanatics boast multiple TV screens so fans can keep track of all the action, and most also feature giant TV screens for larger-than-life sporting thrills. When there's a big game on, these sports bars take on the atmosphere of a wild carnival where everyone really does know your name.
Some pubs have even gone so far as to offer live theatrical entertainment, often in the form of cabaret and stand-up comedy. Most importantly, all of them serve ice-cold South African beer, which is most welcome on a hot summer's day.
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