In the wake of a lively winter season when Joburg revelled in its role as the principal host of the 2010 Football World Cup, the Joburg Tourism Company is set to sustain the positive momentum with lively spring and summer promotional campaigns, entrenching the city as a leading year-round global destination for business and leisure tourism, sporting, music, cultural and lifestyle events.

“The action in Joburg certainly never stops and from hosting a successful World Cup spectacle and its plethora of attendant events we’re moving ahead apace – launching our Spring campaign, where we look forward to promoting a three month programme packed with the sights, sounds, textures, tastes and smells of arts, culture, music, fashion and food,” says Lindiwe Kwele, CEO of the Johannesburg Tourism Company.

“Besides being the start of a new Spring Season, September is a wonderful month of celebration – including Tourism Month, Heritage Day and Arbour Day, all of which speak to our strategy to also grow and develop environmentally responsible, sustainable, community-based domestic tourism,” says Kwele.

“While never losing sight of our global marketing objectives and the allure of overseas travel,  it’s also important to take time out to enjoy being a tourist in our own backyard and to discover how rich our country is in terms of colourful historical, cultural and lifestyle experiences!”.

COLOUR YOUR SENSES IN JOBURG THIS SPRING

“Launching next week, the Colour Your Senses in Joburg campaign is a collaboration between the Johannesburg Tourism Company and various stakeholders and partners in the tourism, hospitality and events industry, to co-promote and showcase the extensive programme of events taking place in the City during the months of September, October and November,” says Kwele.

“Aside from a fabulous programme of events, we also have hotels throughout the city participating through special accommodation packages and food and beverage promotions, all of which go in to building the Joburg brand as a sophisticated, diverse and cosmopolitan brand.”

Starting the lively line-up of cultural events is the most extensive-ever Joburg Arts Alive International Festival, which runs at locations throughout Joburg, from Thursday 2 to Sunday 26 September – and includes the fabulous Jazz on the Lake headline event at Zoo Lake on Sunday 5 September.

“Last year close to 70 000 people experienced the 2009 Joburg Arts Alive International Festival – and this year the city’s flagship arts event is set to be bigger and better,” says Steven Sack, Director, Directorate of Arts, Culture & Heritage at the City of Joburg.

“It’s been said many times before, that Joburg is a city with a diverse cultural identity and is also the gateway into the rest of the country and Africa,” Sack comments. “This means any arts event hosted here needs to reflect that in its line-up – and I think that this year’s programme does that superbly.”

Now celebrating its emergence into adulthood with its 18th birthday, the Joburg Arts Alive International Festival delivers a standout programme of hundreds of events, across more than 30 venues spread throughout the city.

The 2010 programme builds on the diversity of last year, delivering a line-up of shows, exhibitions and events covering music, dance, theatre, poetry, comedy, visual arts and film.  In addition, the programme boasts several Festivals within a Festival and a number of workshops that dovetail with the City of Joburg’s commitment to include a developmental element to the event’s programming.