Born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and brought up in Zimbabwe, Dan has lived in South Africa for 20 years, and has established a strong reputation as a television presenter, MC, and popular public figure. The Dan Nicholl Show is in its ninth season broadcasting across Africa, bringing together local and international celebrities, while Dan Really Likes Wine, Dan’s weekly online wine show, has been running successfully since 2016. When not in front of the camera, Dan brings his trademark humour and engaging personality to stages around the world as an event host and presenter. He works with some of the world’s premium brands, as an ambassador for Bulgari fragrances, TaylorMade Golf, Sun International, adidas and South African fashion label Ephymol, and is a BMW Friend of the Brand, as well as an ambassador for the Laureus Sport For Good Foundation. Based in Johannesburg, Dan is married to Dimitra, a Greek lawyer, and has two young children, Erin and Aiden, and a very large bull mastiff called Stavros.
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MC, SPEAKER, AUCTIONEER
Warm and engaging with a sharp sense of humour and a keen understanding of audiences, Dan has hosted hundreds of events around the world, and is one of South Africa’s most sought-after presenters. From Hollywood stars at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland, to sporting royalty at Laureus Awards in Berlin and Monaco, Dan worked with stellar audiences, and has a glittering resume and a long list of very satisfied clients.
Amongst myriad events, Dan has hosted the King Power Polo Cup in London, Beyond Sport United and Awards in New York and Philadelphia, the Snow Bike Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland, the Bangkok Rugby Tens, Just Challenge launch in Hong Kong, the AfrAsia Bank Mauritius Open, the BMW Dealer Awards in Barcelona, the Abu Dhabi Invitational, Criteo’s Dubai conference, and the King of Lesotho’s annual fundraising gala dinner.
Locally, Dan has hosted the Dimension Data Pro-am, Distell’s global conference, the BMW Dealer Awards, the Vodacom Origins of Golf Series, Bulgari launches, the Absa Cape Epic, the Cape Town Tens, the South African Tech and E-Commerce Awards, the Spur Group conference, the FNB Invitational, the Alfred Dunhill Championship, the launch of Saint restaurant, Nando’s Fireball Invitational, Kevin Pietersen’s Legacy Experience fundraiser, the BrightRock awards, the Ellerman House Sessions, Sanlam Cancer Challenge, and MasterCard’s Battle of the Banks, amongst many others.
Dan also serves as host and auctioneer at the Cape Wine Auction, which raises millions of rand every year for a series of charities, and included the sale of a single bottle of wine for R1.3-million in 2017, a South African record. Dan also hosts the Winelands Auction, Art Angels auction at Ellerman House, and numerous charity auctions locally and abroad.
TELEVISION
As host of The Dan Nicholl Show, currently in its ninth season, Dan has introduced viewers across Africa to a range of celebrity guests, including Evander Holyfield, Jamie Dornan, AKA, Wayde van Niekerk, Pearl Thusi, Shane Warne, Cassper Nyovest, Ruud Gullit, Nadia Comaneci, Maps Maponyane, AB de Villiers, Rolene Strauss and Francois Pienaar. The show premieres on Wednesday nights on SuperSport, and has included broadcasts from the Laureus World Sport Awards in Shanghai, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland, and the Hong Kong Sevens.
WINE
Dan Really Likes Wine, Dan’s wine business, is based around a weekly online wine show presented by Pick n Pay that looks to celebrate and have fun with wine, while making the subject more accessible, and less intimidating. The show’s growing popularity extends to wine events Dan is involved with – hosting the Cape Wine Auction and Winelands Auction, the Stellenbosch Wine Festival, and numerous private wine dinners and tastings – as well as Dan’s weekly wine column on Food24.
WRITING
A former PICA Magazine Columnist of the Year, Dan has written extensively for two decades. He has a first class honours degree in English from the University of Cape Town, and served as Sports Editor of website iafrica.com for four years. As well as writing two books and contributing to two others, Dan has written widely for publications including Sports Illustrated, Wisden Cricketer, Elle, Wine Magazine, Compleat Golfer, Time Out and TNT. Dan currently writes a weekly wine column for Food24, Africa’s largest food website.