Major national and international events set for Jo'burg

Eddy Khosa, acting CEO of the Johannesburg Tourism Company has also confirmed Johannesburg as the venue for the 2005 South African Power Lifting Championships, which is planned to take place later in the year. Between 100 and 200 competitors will take part in the championships.

With these events already on the calendar, the Convention Bureau of The Johannesburg Tourism Company, a private/public sector initiative to promote tourism in Johannesburg, is working on bids for several other mega events.

The escalating demand for reliable and efficient sources of energy that are affordable, environmentally sound and socially acceptable will be placed in sharp focus at the 18th World Petroleum Congress. Debate is expected to centre on how the petroleum industry, in partnership with key stakeholders, will meet the challenge of ensuring sustainable energy in the future.

A related exhibition is to be held alongside the congress and is expected to attract up to 15 000 visitors.

The Johannesburg Convention Bureau acts as a scout for conferences, exhibitions and special events for which Johannesburg would be an ideal destination and facilitates the bidding process by providing expertise and experience to event organisers.

For example, The Johannesburg Convention Bureau is heavily involved in the bid process for the Gay Games that, if the Sydney 2002 Games are accepted as a precedent, will see 12 000 athletes and 30 000 accompanying visitors come to South Africa. The economic impact on Johannesburg if the bid is successful is conservatively estimated at R68 million.

Khosa is confident that Johannesburg will also host the biggest choir competition in the world in 2008. Organised by the INTERKULTUR Foundation, the bi-annual competition attracts between 18 000 and 20 000 singers.

The event, which has never been held in Africa, consists of choir competitions, choral fireworks, workshops/seminars, gala dinners, friendship encounter concerts and an exhibition comprising 100 stands.

The Lion's Club International Convention is another conference The Convention Bureau will begin bidding for in July. The convention, one of the largest in the world, is set to happen in 2011.

Lions Clubs International (LCI) is a worldwide service organization of volunteers and according to statistics from April 2004, it has over 1.37 million members in 46,795 clubs in 193 countries and geographic areas. The convention serves as the gathering of LCI's global "Family of Lionism" which happens annually to combine business and leisure during a week of international fellowship.

The Association of Corporate Travel Executive Global Conference is set to be held from 13 - 16 October 2007. It is a technology showcase and the delegate profile includes, procurement in travel, corporate travel, travel agencies, DMC, etc.

About 1200 delegates are expected to attend with a ratio of 40% South Africans and 60% Europeans and Americans. If won, the conference will be held at the Sandton Convention Centre.

Another bi-annual event in Khosa's sights is the 2010 World Congress on Information Technology with its accompanying exhibition. Around 2 000 people attend this congress, which rotates between Asia-Pacific, Europe/Africa and the Americas.

The congress is the signature event of the World Information Technology and Services Alliance, the premier global association representing the IT industry with 50 information technology industry affiliates across the world that collectively represent more than 90% of the world information technology market.

"Through the Johannesburg Convention Bureau, our City is experiencing an uptake in local and international events, which is not only boosting our economy but also contributing towards brand awareness. International enquiries are definitely on the increase and we foresee this trend continuing in the future," concludes Khosa.

For further information or queries, contact the Johannesburg Tourism Company on + 27 11 214 0700, email: or visit www.joburgtourism.com.