Bulawayo,  (New Ziana)-Bulawayo residents have been implored to embrace the rich cultural diversity of the city regardless of their ethnic background.

City mayor David Coltart made the call while addressing stakeholders who gathered on Monday to celebrate Bulawayo Day.

Bulawayo Day is an annual celebration that honours the founding, history, and cultural heritage of the country’s second largest city, often referred to as the “City of Kings and Queens.”

The day commemorates the establishment of the city under the Ndebele Kingdom and its evolution into a vibrant, multicultural hub, with this year the commemorations being celebrated under the theme “Celebrating Royalty Through Arts.”

Coltart paid tribute to Bulawayo’s historical legacy and urged residents to honour their shared identity as one people regardless of ethnic background. He reflected on Bulawayo’s founding fathers, King Mzilikazi kaMashobane and King Lobengula, whose leadership laid the foundation for the metropolis.

“Their rule brought wisdom, structure, and diplomacy to these lands. Their stories are not relics of the past, they are lessons for the present. Royalty is not only about bloodlines but about values; integrity, strength, vision, and service,” he said.

Coltart said the city’s true royalty lives in its people, from grandmothers preserving traditions to young entrepreneurs reshaping the future, from artists capturing its soul to everyday workers building its prosperity. He also spoke of unity, acknowledging Bulawayo’s multicultural fabric, Ndebele, Kalanga, Tonga, Venda, and beyond.

“Let us wear our crowns of identity with pride and walk forward as kings and queens of peace, progress, and prosperity. Diversity must unite us, it must unite us,” he said.

Coltart linked this unity to the Bulawayo Arts Festival, which runs alongside the commemorations, highlighting the way culture and creativity bind the city together.

“Royalty is in us. It lives in our culture, our languages, our dances, and in the way we uplift one another,” he said.

He challenged residents to celebrate royalty and to be royalty, urging them to exemplify the dignity of their ancestors while forging a brighter future. “Let us build a Bulawayo that our forebears would be proud of and that our descendants will be grateful of,” he said.

The event was marked by traditional dance, music, and art exhibitions, reinforcing the city’s commitment to preserving its heritage while fostering innovation.

New Ziana