‘Cape Town now the events capital of Africa’
MAYOR Patricia de Lille says eight of the international and local events that the city will host will contribute more than R3 billion to the local economy and create more than 20 000 temporary jobs in the next 12 months.
De Lille said Cape Town was continually affirming its place as the events capital of Africa by securing key international and local events.
Addressing the media yesterday, she said the City’s event support budget had since grown tenfold – from R4 million in 2012 to R40m during the 2016/17 financial year.
De Lille was joined by 1995 Rugby World Cup captain Francois Pienaar, Cape Town International Jazz Festival director Billy Domingo and SA Rugby Union commercial head Solly Khubeka.
“The increase has enabled us to support 198 local and international events, with nearly half allocated to cultural events, 40% to sporting events and 12% to conferences. Events provide enormous benefit to the local economy and play a pivotal role in generating visitor expenditure. It is important for the city that this translates into economic inclusion of all communities in Cape Town,” she said.
She added that major international events coming to Cape Town this summer include AfricArena 2017, the International Africa Tech Conference, FIA World RallyCross Championship, the 15th Annual Nelson Mandela Lecture and the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series.
“We have delivered on our commitment and we proudly hold a dynamic annual events calendar with established internationally renowned events and many new events coming to our city each year,” she added.
The City was developing an electronic permitting system to enable organisers to submit and track applications online.
“Every year we host an events briefing where we provide information to help streamline applications. Our events team is available throughout the year to help guide organisers,” said De Lille.