ULTRA South Africa

What ULTRA South Africa does

ULTRA South Africa operates an annual large-scale electronic music festival in two South African cities — Cape Town (The Ostrich) and Johannesburg (Expo Centre, Nasrec) — across a single weekend in late April / early May. The company functions as the regional South African edition of ULTRA Worldwide, the global festival brand owned by Miami-based Ultra Enterprises Inc., which was founded in 1999 by Russell Faibisch and has since expanded to 30+ countries across all six inhabited continents. The South African edition itself was established in 2015 and operates as a privately held regional licensee/operator of the master brand.

The core product is a multi-stage festival featuring internationally headlining electronic music DJs and producers, including a dedicated RESISTANCE underground house and techno stage. Supporting products and services include tiered online ticketing (separate Cape Town and Johannesburg portals), a transportation and traffic-management microsite, media accreditation via the UMF Worldwide platform, and ancillary sponsorship inventory. Technical production — including stage design, motion graphics, and broadcast integration — is delivered through third-party production partners, most recently BW Productions and MXD Official, who announced a collaboration for the 2026 edition. Marketing is concentrated on the official website, Instagram/Facebook/X channels, an email newsletter, and cross-promotion through the ULTRA Worldwide global media network (UMF Films, UMF TV, UMF Radio).

Revenue is generated primarily through one-time consumer ticket sales and secondary sponsorship income. The company sells directly to individual consumers (electronic music enthusiasts in South Africa, with a secondary segment of international music tourists) via its website, with no disclosed B2B enterprise customers. No ticket pricing, attendance, revenue, or headcount figures are publicly disclosed in the available source material. ULTRA South Africa has no disclosed funding rounds, subsidiaries, M&A activity, or independent management team in the source data; it operates under the umbrella of Ultra Enterprises Inc.

Name

ULTRA South Africa

Legal name

Ultra Enterprises Inc.

Website

https://ultrasouthafrica.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Short description

ULTRA South Africa produces annual large-scale electronic music festivals in Cape Town and Johannesburg as the regional edition of ULTRA Worldwide (Ultra Enterprises Inc.). It delivers two-day, multi-stage events featuring international headlining DJs, including a RESISTANCE underground stage, and monetizes via ticket sales and sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Music Festivals

NAICS

Musical Groups and Artists (71113), Performing Arts Companies (7111)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

DJ & Electronic Music Venues (MPAGAIAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

Dance Festivals & Dance Series (MPAGADAJ)

Keywords

• Electronic music festivals
• Live event production
• Music festival ticketing
• Entertainment events
• Festival sponsorship

Headquarters

HQ city

Johannesburg

HQ country

South Africa

HQ region

Africa

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Primary revenue stream from selling tickets to festival attendees for both Cape Town and Johannesburg venues. Tickets are sold directly through the ultrasouthafrica.com website with separate ticket pages for each city.
2. Sponsorship: Revenue generated through brand sponsorships. The website includes a sponsors page indicating corporate sponsorship relationships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ULTRA South Africa produces an annual multi-day electronic music festival held across two venues in South Africa—Cape Town (The Ostrich) and Johannesburg (Expo Centre, Nasrec)—featuring internationally renowned DJs and electronic music producers across multiple stages. As part of the ULTRA Worldwide global festival network, it also operates the RESISTANCE sub-brand for underground house and techno programming, and offers ancillary services including ticketing, transportation planning, and media accreditation.

Product overview

ULTRA South Africa is an electronic music festival brand operating as part of the ULTRA Worldwide global festival network. The company produces multi-day festival events in South Africa featuring international electronic music artists across multiple stages. The main offerings include the Ultra South Africa festival (with events in Cape Town and Johannesburg), the RESISTANCE brand (underground house and techno stage/brand), and ancillary services such as ticketing, transportation planning, and media accreditation applications. The company serves as the South African regional presence of ULTRA Worldwide, one of the world's most international music festival brands with active events across all six inhabited continents.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• RESISTANCE: The acclaimed underground house and techno brand of ULTRA Worldwide, featuring world-class production and immersive audiovisual experiences. RESISTANCE operates stages at Ultra South Africa and has been celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2025.

Products and services

• Ultra South Africa Festival Annual multi-day electronic music festival held in Cape Town (The Ostrich) and Johannesburg (Expo Centre, Nasrec), featuring internationally renowned DJs and electronic music producers across multiple stages including the RESISTANCE underground stage. Targeted at electronic music enthusiasts, EDM fans, and international music tourists in South Africa.
• RESISTANCE ULTRA Worldwide's underground house and techno music brand that operates dedicated festival stages and standalone events, known for its visionary programming, world-class production, and immersive audiovisual experiences. Targeted at fans of underground house and techno electronic music.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• MXD OfficialcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 April 2026MXD Official is a technical production partner collaborating with BW Productions for Ultra South Africa 2026. The partnership merges technical innovation with artistic design, bringing cutting-edge stage design, motion graphics, and broadcast integration to create fresh visual and experiential dimensions for one of Africa's premier electronic music festivals.
• BW ProductionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 April 2026BW Productions is a South African multimedia production company that has announced a new collaboration with MXD Official for Ultra South Africa 2026. The partnership will deliver premium stage production with technical innovation and artistic design elements, positioning South Africa as a hub for large-scale events and digital artistry.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Broad incumbents

• Coachella: Large-scale multi-format music festival with broader genre mix. While not exclusively electronic, it competes for the same premium festival-goer discretionary spend and demonstrates the upper bound of large-festival brand value and pricing power.
• Ministry of Sound: Iconic UK dance music brand with clubs, events, and music festivals. Comparable in electronic music focus, brand recognition, and downstream event/festival monetization, though its core business is more diversified across clubbing and recorded music.

Direct peers

• Mysteryland: Dutch electronic music festival with international editions. Comparable in multi-stage format, electronic music genre focus, and global brand-extension strategy targeting premium EDM audiences.
• AMF (Amsterdam Music Festival): Annual electronic music festival held during Amsterdam Dance Event. Comparable in single-weekend large-scale format, world-class DJ lineups, and premium production values, though focused on the European market.
• Creamfields: UK-based electronic music festival with multiple global editions. Comparable as a multi-stage EDM festival with global brand expansion, similar artist booking model, and similar target demographic of electronic music enthusiasts.
• Ultra Music Festival (Miami): Parent flagship event of the same ULTRA Worldwide brand. Operates the original Miami-based electronic music festival with the same booking, production, and brand DNA as Ultra South Africa, making it the most direct comparable for cost structure, artist pricing, and audience economics.
• Electric Daisy Carnival (EDC): Insomniac's flagship electronic music festival with multiple international editions. Highly comparable in product offering (large-scale multi-stage EDM festival targeting young adult festival-goers) and brand positioning as a premium global event.
• Tomorrowland: Belgian-based large-scale electronic music festival operating globally with multiple editions and resident-stage programming. Comparable in target audience, premium production, and multi-stage/genre format, and directly competes for the same headliner talent.

Regional players

• Global Gathering: UK-origin electronic music festival with international editions. Comparable in multi-stage/electronic music format and global brand-extension strategy, though with more limited geographic footprint than Ultra South Africa.

Emerging players

• Sunburn Festival: India's largest electronic music festival. Comparable as a regional large-scale EDM festival targeting an emerging market, useful for understanding unit economics and willingness-to-pay in non-Western markets.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/UMFTV
• Instagraminstagram.com/ultrasouthafrica
• Xx.com/UltraSA
• Facebookfacebook.com/UltraSA

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ULTRA South Africa