September 3, 2002
By Lucille Davie
PEOPLE spoke of leaving town for two weeks. Businesses in Sandton were going to shut down. Traffic in the area was going to be impossible. The World Summit just wasn't going to work. In other words, a general panic.
But from the day of the opening on 26 September, things have fallen neatly into place for the World Summit and delegates - UN accreditation figures come in at just under 31 000 people - and everything has run smoothly.
Some businesses in Sandton did shut down for the summit period but they needn't have - the expected traffic jams in Sandton did not materialise. Alice and Maude Streets have been closed to traffic but everyone knew this before the summit started. Shopping at Sandton City has dropped a little, but schools have been closed for the two-week period and residents have left town on holiday.
The police presence has been somewhat overwhelming for Jo'burgers - Sandton has been crawling with police, and at times, riot police. Mounted police have been seen trotting around Sandton and at various events being held around the city. Convoys of police and flashing lights have been spotted escorting heads of state from their hotels to summit venues. No serious incidents have been reported.
Ubuntu Village has been a big hit, with residents as well as delegates enjoying the art, craft, exhibitions and programme of entertainment. This week some 195 head of state arrived in the city, and the Village is on their itinerary.
And delegates have been having a party. Summit functions have ended with live music and at one function delegates couldn't keep their feet still. On Friday night at the Nedcor building, the band Mavimba, from the Mountain of Hope project, played Afro jazz and delegates pulled waiters and waitresses on to the floor for a dance.
In Sandton Square another band was belting out a song for the happy crowds.
A stroll through Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown at any time of the day during the Summit was made more pleasant by the sound of music drifting over from the bandstand. The Turbine Hall a block away has a full programme of music every night over the 10-day period.
Some of the superb arts and crafts on display at MuseuMAfricA were sold even before the Summit started. The display will be rapidly depleted as delegates are permitted to take their purchases when they leave the city.
A row of smart buses has waited for delegates at Ubuntu Village and zipped them around the venues, into the city centre, Nasrec, the Waterdome and Newtown. Some of those buses have been seen driving around empty and have obviously left the delegates behind.
The venues have been spotlessly clean and the city and suburbs have been bright with fresh green spring leaves and blossoms.
Reports from the delegates who stayed in township and suburban houses have been full of praise for the hospitality received.
Big credit should go to the smart black-suited guides at venues, who have not only been able to answer questions quickly, but have usually taken the trouble to walk the delegates to where they wanted to be. The guides are always smiling and helpful.
Although tours to the various showcase projects and gardens and heritage sites around the city have been slow, Thandi Davids, communications executive of the Johannesburg World Summit Company (Jowsco), believes that delegates will start booking for the tours once the meetings are out of the way. She says delegates are also now planning their trips around the country.
Restaurants in the vicinity of Sandton have been enjoying brisk business, and the restaurants in the host hotels have also been busy. Wandi Ndala of the popular Wandi's restaurant in Soweto, says he has been very busy and that visitors have been overwhelmed by the friendliness and hospitality of the people of South Africa.
Moss Mashishi, CEO of Jowsco, says: "Fortunately for South Africa, most foods are still grown organically and the difference can be tasted. Many of the visitors also said that they will encourage their countries to hold future conferences under our sunny skies."
At the end of the day, the test of whether Johannesburg has pulled off the event successfully is whether people want to come back to the city. Says Mashishi: "Many people have expressed a desire to come back after the Summit, partly because the hospitality they have experienced in these few days has impressed them with high standards of service and professionalism."
Anytime.
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