By Bongani Majola
A PLETHORA of events are to take place throughout September around Gauteng - with Johannesburg as one of the major locations - with the start of Tourism Month next week.
Starting Tourism Month a little early, the Gauteng Tourism Authority (GTA) this week announced their R2-million sponsorship for specific events: some of the designers and the African Pavilion at SA Fashion Week; the 25th anniversary of the Soweto String Quartet; an amount towards the International Joy of Jazz Festival; and allocating some money to the Johannesburg Arts Alive Festival.
"The GTA is sponsoring, in partnership, more than 14 events around Gauteng to mark and celebrate the province's core experiences, as well as present the province as the country's premier destination for events," said GTA CEO Terry Tselane.
Tourism Month, the brainchild of the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism, provided the GTA with an opportunity to showcase the province's strength as a vibrant hub of activity, said Tselane. "This is where the spirit of festival and fun never stops, where visitors and residents alike experience the 24-hour hustle and, in the frenzy, still manage to work harder than anyone else in the country."
Tourism in Gauteng covers a vast range from business and trade, arts and culture, history and heritage, to sports, shopping, and outdoor adventure, as well as entertainment, Tselane said.
GTA believed tourism was the joint responsibility of the government, the business sector and the tourism authorities. Against this philosophy the GTA formed partnerships in promoting and supporting events.
An amount of R250 000 had been allocated towards sponsorships at the SA Fashion Week, now taking place at the Sandton Convention Centre. The GTA sponsored the African Pavilion as well as "several local designers and those flown from the rest of the continent".
The Soweto String Quartet anniversary got a R50 000 boost, while the International Joy of Jazz received R100 000 and the Johannesburg Arts Alive Festival was given R25 000.
Other sponsorships included the Three Continents' Film Festival at Rosebank's Cinema Noveau. With films from Asia, South America and Africa, the film festival runs from 12 September through to 21 September. It received an amount of R50 000 from GTA, while the daylong Johannesburg Gay Pride Festival on 27 September bagged R25 000.
Other sponsored events include the Gauteng Wine festival, the Supersport show, the Passport to Gauteng launch, the Business Growth and Opportunities for Africa exhibition, the Getaway Expo, Licence to Leisure competition, the Spirit of Africa carnival and the World Tourism celebrations.
For more information about the events, contact Hope Mabaso on 011 327 2000 or 072 528 6692.
