The Feather Awards are set to return for their 18th edition, with the nominations for Feathers18 scheduled to be announced on 1 October 2026.
The annual awards, founded by Thami Kotlolo, have grown from a small celebration of South Africa’s LGBTQIA+ community into a major platform recognising people across entertainment, media, business, sport, advocacy and wider society.
The 2026 nominations are expected to once again put the spotlight on personalities and initiatives that have shaped conversations around visibility, representation, diversity and inclusion.
The awards have historically been known for categories that do not necessarily follow the traditional awards-show formula, while creating space to recognise both members of the LGBTQIA+ community and allies.
From a nightclub to an established platform
The Feather Awards began in 2008, initially as a small celebration at a nightclub in Rosebank. Over the years, the platform expanded considerably, becoming a recognised annual event as well as a vehicle for advocacy and community programmes.
Reflecting on that journey in 2021, Kotlolo said the Feathers had developed from a small celebration into what he described as a fully operational platform with programmes beyond the awards ceremony itself.
“It’s been an interest 13 years building these awards as a community.”
Kotlolo also said the awards had helped showcase and celebrate South Africa’s LGBTIQ+ community to audiences beyond the country, while creating opportunities for dialogue and training around inclusion.
The event’s early years also established its deliberately unconventional personality. In 2014, when the ceremony was known as the Chevrolet Feather Awards, it was described as a cheeky and irreverent awards event celebrating actors, artists, sports personalities and politicians who had inspired, shocked, amused or scandalised South Africans.
More than an awards ceremony
While the Feathers are associated with its red carpet, nominees and headline-making categories, the organisation has increasingly positioned the platform around year-round inclusion.
The awards have partnered with the Thami Dish Foundation on LGBTIQ+ dialogues, workshops and training programmes in communities across South Africa.
Kotlolo has repeatedly argued that inclusion cannot be reduced to a once-a-year celebration.
Speaking ahead of the 2022 awards, he said:
“Inclusivity is not about celebrating the community for a few days in a year.”
He called on government and corporates to support LGBTQI+ communities throughout the year rather than only during periods when diversity and inclusion become part of the public conversation.
He also described the community as being “unapologetic” about wanting to be heard, seen, recognised and included.
The Feathers continue to broaden the conversation
In recent editions, the awards have increasingly expanded their understanding of inclusion beyond LGBTQIA+ representation.
At the 2024 edition, Kotlolo spoke about the importance of creating a platform where people who have historically been marginalised could be seen and humanised.
“Over the years, the platform has continued to ensure that we shine the light on those who society has tried to erase and to affirm their existence.”
The 2024 event also placed a greater focus on the hearing- and vision-impaired communities. The organisers highlighted their work with Deaf South Africans and Blind SA, with the awards having previously made history by featuring a deaf activist as one of its main hosts.
Kotlolo has also stressed that the nominees do not necessarily have to be queer, arguing that the platform can use its reach to introduce audiences to people and issues they may otherwise not encounter.
What to expect from Feathers18
With the 18th edition now approaching, attention turns to the 1 October nomination announcement and the personalities who will make up this year’s shortlist.
The Feathers have traditionally recognised a mixture of established celebrities, emerging personalities, community leaders, businesses, creatives and organisations, with categories spanning entertainment, media, fashion, sport, social activism and LGBTQIA+ initiatives.
Previous nominees have included figures such as Musa Keys, Uncle Waffles, Andile Dlamini, Akani Simbine, Tyler ICU, Lloyiso, Gert-Johan Coetzee and others, demonstrating the broad range of people the awards have brought into the same conversation.
For Kotlolo and the Feather Awards team, however, the significance of the platform has increasingly extended beyond trophies and celebrity recognition.
After nearly two decades, Feathers18 arrives as another chapter in an awards movement that began with a small Rosebank gathering and has evolved into one of South Africa’s most visible platforms for LGBTQIA+ representation, inclusion and social dialogue.
The first major question will be answered on 1 October: who makes the Feathers18 list?
