The Event November 2011

R22.80 November 2011 www.theevent.co.za

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DURBAN READY FOR COP 17 EVENTS

ICC Durban

THE 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) takes place from 28 November - 9 December 2011 at the ICC Durban.

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S previously reported in The Event Newspaper, COP 17 was a hotly contested bid among the country’s major centres. It is the world’s biggest climate change conference and is set to attract 30 000 visitors from 190 countries to Durban at the end of November. This is the largest event of its kind to be hosted on African soil. Delegate spend alone is estimated to tally around R300 million.

Supplier tenders were also highly sought after. The Conference Company was appointed by the eThekwini municipality as the project manager.

Oasys Innovations received the tender from the City of Durban to supply all goods, works and services for the event. Brian Kennedy says that the experience that Oasys gained as a service provider during the FIFA 2010 World Cup and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup, (the company provided and managed the entire overlay project), assisted the team in un-

derstanding the diversity and magnitude of COP17.

Thompson’s Africa was appointed as the official accommodation service provider to ensure that conference delegates have access to sufficient, reasonably priced accommodation.

At a press briefing city manager Michael Sutcliffe explained that the entire conference will be held on a single,

secure site encompassing the ICC and adjoining exhibition centre. Only accredited delegates will be granted entry.

Over the period of COP17, a number of related events will be held which the public can also participate in.

As part of its preparations, Durban was tasked with calculating the local carbon footprint of the event and then

finding ways to minimise the footprint and, where necessary, to offset the unavoidable portions through appropriate means. An experienced team of professionals from ARUP Consulting were appointed by the municipality to calculate the local carbon footprint of COP17/CMP7. Icologie, responsible for the green audits of Meetings Africa and Rock-

ing the Daisies, will also be involved in the project.

Greening initiatives include: use of Green Guideline series as framework; renewable energy projects initiated under Greening Durban 2010; the application of ICC Durban’s Environmental Policy; and the expansion of existing Buffelsdraai Reforestation project.

Cycle routes will also be established to reduce transport emissions.

As part of the COP17/ CMP7 greening programme, the eThekwini municipality also aims to create awareness and promote the adoption of “responsible tourism” approaches among the accommodation sector.

UNFCCC recognises that the climate system is a shared resource whose stability can be affected by industrial and other emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. COP 17/CMP 7 will mark a critical moment in the ongoing international climate change negotiations. The event gives world governments the opportunity to gather and share information on greenhouse gas emissions, national policies and best practices.

For more information visit www.cop17-cmp7durban.com.

Sally Fink

CAPE TOWN NAMED WORLD DESIGN CAPITAL 2014 Cape Town’s V&A Waterfront

NEWS CAPE Town has been named World Design Capital for 2014, ahead of Dublin and Bilbao. The announcement was made at the International Design Alliance (IDA) Congress in Taipei on 26 October 2011.

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HE World Design Capital 2014 title results in a year-long programme of design-focused

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events that will see world-wide creative communities turning to Cape Town for social, economic and cultural solutions.

Executive mayor of Cape Town, Patricia de Lille, accepted the award on behalf of Cape Town. “A city belongs to its people and it must be designed for and with them and their communities,” she says.

“For many years, people have been applying innovative so-

lutions to our challenges. They have been using design to transform various aspects of life. But they have often been working without an overarching social goal in mind.”

“The World Design Capital bid process and title have helped to bring different initiatives together and have made us realise that design in all its forms, when added together, creates human and city development.”

“The World Design Capital designation gives cities like Cape Town additional motivation to actively think of transformative design in development plans. We look forward to learning from other cities that are using design as a tool for transformation, including past winners Torino, Seoul and Helsinki and our fellow short-listed cities, Dublin and Bilbao.”

The Cape Town Partnership started the World Design Capital bidding process over a year ago, on behalf of the City of Cape Town. A bid committee was tasked to frame the theme of the bid and to source content and case studies for the bid book. It included design case studies in the Stellenbosch area.

On 31 March 2011 the 465-page bid book was formally submitted to the International Council for Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) in Canada, with the theme, “Live Design. Transform Life”.

Explaining the importance of the year 2014, Patricia said it will be the celebration of 20 years of democracy in South Africa. “That celebration will allow for a time of reflection, to think about how far we have come as a country and a city. We will also be positioning ourselves to plan for the future. The next 20 years, and the 20 years after that, demand nothing less if we are to prosper as a city and a society and truly mature into

our full potential.”

Cape Town’s bid has gained widespread public and private sector support at City and Provincial level. It provides the opportunity to embed design thinking into urban development planning for social and economic growth.

Previous World Design Capital recipients have seen increased visitor numbers as a result of the title. Torino, Italy, World Design Capital for 2008, reported higher visitor numbers in their title year – which coincided with the global economic downturn – than in 2006, when they hosted the Winter Olympics.

Bulelwa Makalima-Ngewana, managing director of the Cape Town Partnership says, “The real key to our success has been the partnerships that have been forged during the bid process, and the unwavering support of the City of Cape Town and the provincial government of the Western Cape. Being named World Design Capital is a unique opportunity for us to reposition Cape Town on the world stage and to continue to foster and promote our design industries at home and abroad.”

The City of Cape Town will now be required to pay a licensing fee of 160 000 Euros (about R1.76-million) to the International Council for Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) over two years, for the use of the title.

AMANDA KOTZE-NHLAPO TO HEAD UP CONVENTIONS BUREAU NEWS CAPE Town Routes Unlimited’s Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo has been appointed as executive manager of the National Conventions Bureau (NCB), effective 1 November 2011.

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FTER a successful tenure as head: Convention Bureau and Events at Cape Town Routes Unlimited, Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo will be responsible for heading up the newly-established National Convention Bureau (NCB) at South African Tourism (SAT).

The NCB will enhance South Africa’s Business Tourism capacity and continue to grow the country’s status as a world-class destination for international conventions, exhibitions, incentives and events. The objective of the NCB is to make a significant impact in consolidating, co-ordinating and strengthening efforts to attract meetings and conventions to South Africa.

Earlier this year Minister of Tourism Marthinus van Schalkwyk announced the formation of the National Convention Bureau to provide additional support to the country’s business tourism industry in securing bids for major events and conventions. “We expect this Bureau to make a significant impact in terms of, among other things, consolidating, coordinating and strengthening our

efforts to attract meetings and conventions to South Africa. The Bureau will be established under the auspices of South African Tourism and will be operational early in the new financial year,” he said.

“Amanda’s appointment to drive the National Convention Bureau is a critical one for us at South African Tourism,” says Tim Scholtz, South African Tourism’s chief operating officer and acting CEO. “We naturally place great emphasis on leisure tourism, which is the source of the majority of our international tourist arrivals, but South Africa’s popularity as a business tourism destination is growing and holds great tourism potential. Business tourists traditionally are high spenders and the industry has the potential to add considerably to our tourism revenue. Enhancing our business tourism proposition and attracting international meetings and conferences is therefore extremely important to us and we’re delighted to welcome on board Amanda, who has a wealth of experience in the national business tourism industry through her work at Cape Town Routes Unlimited and as a member of the Board of the Southern African Association for the Conference Industry (SAACI).”

“This is an important appointment for us, at a critical time.

Over the next five years South Africa has already secured over

200 international conferences, which are estimated to attract 300 000 delegates and provide an economic boost of more than R1.6 billion. We’re looking forward of course to the United Nations COP 17 Climate Change conference coming up in Durban as the year’s business tourism highlight, as we continue to leverage our country’s status as a mega-events destination and benefit from heightened global exposure. We have world-class convention centres, hotels, transport networks and abundant high-quality business tourism infrastructure, which is complemented by our country’s leisure offering. And we are now looking to attract events and to encourage business travelers to stay longer to explore our country’s tourist offerings and of course to return with their families, so the National Convention Bureau is an important addition to our work at SA Tourism,” added Tim. Calvyn Gilfellan, CEO of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, also added his congratulations.

“On behalf of everyone at Cape Town Routes Unlimited (CTRU), I would like to thank Amanda for her tireless dedication to the destination and the people of the Western Cape. We wish her all the best in her new position as Head of the National Convention Bureau.”

“We are in the process of appointing her successor and an

Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo

announcement in this regard will be made soon in order to facilitate a seamless transition and maintain Cape Town’s position as the leading convention city in Africa,” he says.

He concluded: “We are extremely proud of her achievement as she follows in the footsteps of other former managers on my team, who have also moved on to greater heights in

the South African tourism industry. [Editor’s note: former CTRU executive manager: Tourism Operation, David Frandsen has joined ICC Durban] Her elevation to head of the first ever National Convention Bureau is confirmation of CTRU’s status as one of the best run destination marketing organisations in South Africa.”

Sally Fink

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THE EVENT NEWSPAPER VISITS THAILAND Centara Grand at Central World

EVENTS IT&CMA and CTW Asia-Pacific is Asia’s only doublebill event in MICE and Corporate Travel.

IT&CMA is widely recognised as the premier MICE show in the Asia-Pacific region. The Event Newspaper’s publishing editor, Lance Gibbons, attended.

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T& CMA and CTW was attended by 2 457 delegates from 60 countries. It is considered the largest MICE and corporate travel showcase in Asia.

It is also one of the few shows that can boast a ratio of 1.5

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Wat Pho

buyers to one exhibitor.

Darren Ng, managing director of TTG Asia Media, gave the opening address, which took place at the InterContinental Bangkok. “This year is extremely special, as we celebrate a decade in Thailand. As organisers, we attempt to better our own record each year. We take pride in the fact that we still have the power to grow and to pleasantly surprise our delegates with a winning event every year,” he says.

Darren believes that the continuous growth of Thailand as a MICE destination, is the perfect backdrop for the event. “We have won the support of the MICE and corporate travel industry in Asia and across the world.

This year’s show statistics clearly

IT & CMA

reflect the event’s success.”

This year’s event outsold last year’s record with 335 exhibiting companies (45% being new participants), and attracted more than 600 international IT&CMA MICE buyers and CTW corporate travel managers, association executives and media.

Returning exhibitors have also increased their investment and booth space this year. “We achieved our 50% new buyers and corporate travel managers’ targets,” says Darren.

Lance was part of a media delegation made up of more than 80 media from around the world. He says one of the highlights from the workshops was a talk by Jenny Chua, CEO of one of Asia’s largest real estate com-

panies with a distinguished track record in travel and tourism, on leadership in times of uncertainty and crisis. Jenny explained how travel is more susceptible to bad news and external shocks. She says global crisis such as natural disasters, terrorism and political uncertainty leads to a decrease in visitor arrivals.

“Uncertainty is not a recent development. It has always been with us,” she says. “What’s changed is that businesses have become global and therefore hyper-connected. Factor in social media and you have customers that are seeing what’s happening in real time and feeling like they living through it too.”

She says the implication of global events are no longer lim-

ited to affected regions but are further reaching. Speed of travel of information means its impossible to not know what’s happening around the world. “Good leadership is about managing uncertainty. You have to build a resilient company,” she advises.

Like uncertainty, travel will always be a constant. She says more people are travelling and more often. There were 940 million arrivals last year, with these travellers covering 42 billion kilometers.

Outside the event, Lance says the pre-and post show tours were an excellent opportunity to experience Bangkok outside the business district, and as Lance puts it, a “discovery of body, mind and soul.”

SAACI NATIONAL CONFERENCE ECO-AUDIT GREENING THE South African Association for the Conference Industry (SAACI) national Conference took place in July 2011 at the NH Lord Charles Hotel in Somerset West.

The eco-audit was conducted

by Grace Stead and Karin Diederichs of Icologie.

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CCORDING to Icologie’s report, the aim of the eco-audit was to determine a baseline to enable effective planning relating to future events. The recommendations from the eco-audit report aims to form the basis for the long-term planning around the greening of future SAACI national conferences. The report is based on interviews, on-site inspections and data capturing done during and after the event by Icologie.

The organising committee of the SAACI annual national conference decided from the outset to host a green event. To this end Robyn van Oudtshoorn of the Vineyard Hotel was appointed by the committee to run with the event greening programme of the conference. Robyn has extensive experience in event greening and has implemented several event greening interventions at the Vineyard Hotel.

The SAACI National Conference organising committee adopted a greening policy after a meeting held in June

which aims to: • Actively reduce the amount of waste generated prior to and at the event.

• Ensure that water is used in a responsible manner. Participants and sub-contractors were encouraged to implement water conservation principles • Encourage energy efficiency through energy saving technologies, management systems and responsible behaviour.

• Promote accommodation that complies with minimum environmental standards • Ensure that the procurement of goods and services were done in a sustainable manner, including the use of local products that have a minimal negative effect on the environment • Ensure that the event greening principles were well communicated and marketed to the delegates, exhibiters, sub-contractors and suppliers.

• Ensure that all the staff and subcontractors were trained around implementing event greening • Promote local economic and social development by using only local suppliers and entertainers.

Robyn confirmed that the NH Lord Charles was chosen as a venue due to its sound environmental policy and practices. The conference could not be held in Cape Town as it took place in Cape Town a few years ago.

The following greening initia-

tives were in place at the hotel: • Eskom issued shower-head diffusers were installed to allow a maximum of nine litres per minute.

• Only borehole water was used for irrigation.

• Fruit juice containers were returned to the supplier for recycling / reuse.

• Old cooking oil was sold for biofuel replacements.

• Delivery days were minimised to ease carbon footprint.

• Informal staff training was conducted at monthly meetings.

• Suitable food waste was recycled to the worm farm.

• Waste disposal team brokedown all hotel waste into recyclable units.

• Recyclable printing paper was used for the note books in C&B. The NH Lord Charles has a waste management programme in place which includes on-site sorting.

In terms of catering the following waste reduction endeavours were made: • Organic waste went to composting.

• The hotel does have a worm farm, but during the conference period it was under maintencance. All the worms were put in the garden and the landscaper collected the food/wet waste for composting.

• Fresh water with glasses was available in the conference rooms.

SAACI National Conference

The SAACI national conference aimed to encourage energy efficiency. Prior to the event a total of 2,5 MWh of renewable energy was purchased from the Darling Wind farm via City of Cape Town.

The NH Lord Charles implemented the following initiatives to reduce energy consumption: • Motion detector light sensors were installed in all public toilets.

• Energy saving light bulbs were installed whereever possible.

• A power factor unit was on line, which stopped power spikes and kept power supply constant.

• Elements in water heaters were replaced by hot water pumps.

• Eskom issued shower head diffusers were installed.

The SAACI national confer-

ence contracted the Green Cab to transfer the speakers and VIPs for the conference.

A total carbon equivalent of 87.6 ton CO2eq was generated during the conference. The report recommends that 36.51 ton CO2eq is required to off-set this. A total of 40.91 MWh was consumed. The recommended offsetting requirement is 12.5 CO2eq. 23.6 reams of paper were used. To offset this, 2.8 trees need to be planted. In terms of transport, a total of 23 576 kg CO2eq was generated. It would take 0.49 ton CO2eq to offset this.

To download the full report visit https://eijnb.globalconf. co.za/ei/aortic/saaci_eco_audit.pdf.

Sally Fink

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EXSA MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS SEMINAR Dirk Elzing and Adele Eloff

ASSOCIATIONS EXHIBITION Association of South Africa (EXSA’s) Marketing and Communications Seminar took place at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) on 18 October 2011.

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XSA chair Natalie Naude said in her opening address that sharing of information is essential in the events industry, driving the need for seminars such as this one.

The first speaker, Winnifred Knight, MD of marketing consultancy Cube (On the Square), spoke about events in a connected world. At 66, Winnifred describes herself as a “silver surfer” of marketing.

She explained that marketing must be measurable and accountable. “Every Rand spent

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has to be accountable. Companies need to see a return on marketing investments. “Event marketing allows for more sales and qualified leads although there is no quantitive information available. Marketing budgets and staff are cut and companies investment in time, people, money and opportunity costs is being examined more closely.”

She says that this is why the costs of events are very important as traditionally no one really looks at measurability of events.

“Budgets are dead. You use investments. What is your marketing investment? Are you investing in your customers?”

Another fundamental is communication.

“Communication is gone. Its now conversation.

Marketers need to look at multi channel marketing. You need to have one consolidated mes-

sage, and that message must fit the medium.”

Winnifred believes that databasing fits in to this point as most marketers don’t understand their databases. “Do you know who your clients are? How many are inactive? If marketers need to move forward they have to be open minded. Marketing changes by the minute,” she says.

Events industry stalwart Dirk Elzinga discussed the importance of traditional and futuristic communication tools for event organisers, putting special focus on digital.

He explained that communication encompasses advertising, PR, web, face to face, social media and virtual events.

“PR creates a climate for successful promotion and selling.

Consider why the campaign is needed. Companies can’t afford to just use above the line media (TV, radio).”

He echoed Winnifred’s advice about database management, but also the simple press release, which he believes is a marketing tool that is often overlooked. “Keep them simple, always in third person, and always start with the news,” he says.

Other essential PR tools for events are press conferences, visitors numbers, photos, new product releases, surveys, official opening and closing ceremonies, celebrity visitors, sub events, press days or pre-visits, and indus-

try trends.

Dirk explains that event technology has exploded onto the scene with a bang with more and more events utilising mobile apps, gaming, webcasting, QR codes and even iPads. “At the Cisco conference there were 19 000 virtual attendees and 13 000 gamers. Games can be used to guide people through exhibition halls and it’s fun and engaging.”

He also spoke about the trend towards hybrid and virtual events. “This is where face to face and virtual are combined.

Remote participants are engaged. It provides excellent promotion for future events.”

He also introduced the concept of 3D events where online visitors have a 3D view of the exhibition hall and are able to click on individual stands to find out more information. “Trade Show news Network (TSNN) reported that virtual events show a 74.8% success rate. They also open up new revenue streams with online banners. “ Corporate magician Marcel Oudejans shared his insights on practical marketing. He lamented what he calls “accidental marketing” which includes last minute exhibition stands, no customer engagement, and no effort at exhibitions.

“A well planned marketing plan has realistic objectives that leads to valuable future relationships,” he says. “Lead to cus-

tomer conversion is achieved through captivation. We live in an attention economy. Once you have the customer’s attention you can convey your message. The number one goal at trade shows is to get potential customer’s contact information.”

Marcel specialises in a concept called Profitable Promotions which sees him perform at exhibitions to draw attention to stands.

Marcel’s talk was followed by a Q&A featuring the aforementioned speakers as well as Adele Eloff, John Victor, Bryan Prime, and Jane Steele.

Jane says, “Exhibitors need to look at how to use their exhibition stands. Exhibition organisers need to set the standard from the start. The Design Indaba floor plan starts months before the show begins. You want exhibitors to come back, and you achieve that by attracting visitors. There is a need for professionalism.”

John believes event companies need to start utilising rands wisely. “Trade shows are an effective medium if they are used wisely.”

Bryan echoed this. “We put a lot of effort into building a stand but at the show there’s a woman sitting behind her Blackberry. We need to educate exhibitors on how to use their shows and the value of trade shows. “ Sally Fink

A QUICK LOOK AT EVENTING IN DURBAN EVENTS DURBAN’S reputation as an attractive venue for conferences and meetings has enjoyed a massive boost in recent times thanks to an overhaul of its infrastructure such as the King Shaka International Airport and Moses Mabhida stadium.

WHERE TO START THE Durban KwaZulu-Natal Convention Bureau exists to promote the city, so it’s a great resource for anyone planning an event of any size. Its services include identifying the most appropriate professional conference organiser, and its website at www.durbankzncb.co.za links to directories listing event organisers, exhibition designers, venues, caterers, audio visual companies and anything else you might need.

VENUES USHAKA Marine World is a lot older than the stadium and the airport, but it’s a Durban stalwart and a fun place to host company functions or private parties. Its in-house events team can help to plan events outside or inside the aquarium or in the Cargo Hold, a restaurant with glass walls keeping the ocean predators at bay. The shipwreck themed aquarium can be transformed into an evening venue with an unusual ‘after-dark’ un-

derwater experience.

Across the city the International Convention Centre (ICC) is one of the most advanced conference facilities in the world.

It has three convention halls where moveable walls can create 40 different configurations, ranging from one large venue seating 5000 people or 7,000m square of open floor space. By combining with the adjacent Exhibition Centre, the ICC can double its capacity to accommodate 10 000 delegates.

The shiny new Moses Mabhida Stadium is a less formal venue available for cocktail evenings, banquets, product launches and conferences. Its Presidential Suite can seat up to 160 people for a casual event or a more intimate 40 for a formal dinner function. Two Business Clubs can host up to 250 people for a dinner and the airy atriums can hold up to 700 people for a cocktail function.

It’s also ideal for sporting events and concerts, of course, with a staging system, intelligent lighting and sound system that can be hired to support an event.

EVENT PLANNERS PMG Events & Promotions is a well-established business that organises all types of events, conferences and exhibitions, with divisions covering decor, marquee hire, venue inspection, exhibition stand design and sort-

ing out accommodation for delegates. On the entertainment side it can book motivational speakers, industrial theatre performers, singers and dancers, and a technical division supplies the appropriate sound, lighting and video facilities.

Durban Beachfront

FOOD THE aptly named Durban Caterers and Event Organisers promises a full planning service for corporate and private events.

Its team can dream up a theme for an event based on your wishes, sort out the invitations, decor, entertainment, venue or marquee, and run the bar and supply the food. One of its most popular menus revolves around a lamb spit braai.

GOLFING CAPITALISE on Durban’s subtropical weather by holding a golf day instead of a normal meeting. Better still, combine the two. Durban Country Club ranks as one of the top courses in the country and the elegant white gabled clubhouse boasts a range of function rooms for meetings first and dinners afterwards. Eight different venues can accommodate groups from 10 to 250 people, and the club’s function coordinator helps with the logistics. For golf days the Country Club provides registration tables, scoring staff, marshals, caddies and photog-

raphy, and it also caters for the lunches, dinners and prize giving ceremonies. The Waterman bar overlooking the first tee and the 18th green has panoramic views of the Indian Ocean too, reminding you that business can often be a pleasure.

ON THE BEACH DURBAN has brilliant beaches, so make the most of them by having a party on the sand. Star Hire International specialises in hiring out and setting up marquees and aluminium frame

tents complete with glass panels and doors so you don’t feel like you’re roughing it. They also lay carpets or flooring and furnish the temporary venue with tables and chairs, barstools, linen, crockery and cutlery.

They can build you a stage inside the marquee, then erect picket fencing outside to make it look pretty and toilets to make it practical.

Lesley Stones

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A QUICK LOOK AT EVENTING IN JOHANNESBURG The Wine Garden at Gallagher Convention Centre

EVENTS WHETHER you’re organising a Coldplay concert for 64,000 fans or a cocktail party for 20 private clients, Johannesburg has the most mind-boggling choice of venues and eventing facilities in the country.

WHERE TO START? THE internet is the obvious place to search for everything your event will need, but where do you start? Try Joburg Tourism,

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which offers a comprehensive outlook on services available in the City of Gold.

VENUES IF you want to go big and hold an event for 3,000 people or more, Gallagher Convention Centre or Sandton Convention Centre (SCC) are the two choices. Bigger than that and you’re looking at a sports stadium run by Stadium Management South Africa, which can hire you Soccer City to seat 88 500, or smaller stadia

for rallies and music festivals. The Coca-Cola dome is popular for exhibitions and trade fairs, with plenty of parking and a reasonably central location. More unusual venues are the SAB World of Beer and the Forum at Turbine Hall, both in popular and increasingly safe Newtown.

Turbine Hall has rooms to host exhibitions and conferences for 10-500 people, dinners for almost 400 and cocktail parties for 1000. The hall dates back to the industrial heritage of the 1920s, although its Champagne Bar is anything but working class.

SOUND AND LIGHTING GEARHOUSE started out with a little equipment and a lot of imagination, and now has more state-of-the-art equipment and experience than any other event technical supplier in the country.

It builds stages, rigs up sound and lighting equipment, and provides the systems that support many of the largest concerts in the country. It won’t say no to supporting a business event or a small-screen presentation either.

STAND BUILDERS IF you’re taking part in an exhibition, you may need to build your own stand – and you don’t want to be outclassed by your rivals. Set Squared loves to build sets and backdrops for the film industry, but finds more opportunities in designing and build-

ing stands for exhibitions, as well as offering stage building and shopfitting services.

EAT IT UP JOHANNESBURG has numerous excellent catering companies, including By Word Of Mouth and its team of creative chefs. The size of the event is irrelevant, as they’ll impress at a formal banquet or a dinner for eight. The food is fabulous and the service slick, as the company’s offerings include designing menus, hiring tables, chairs, crockery and cutlery and supplying the waiters and front of house managers. To ensure everything is of the same calibre,

By Word Of Mouth branched out into beverages, event designing, invitations, flower arrangements, décor and even operates an historical venue, Hazeldene Hall, for people who want them to cater their party but can’t decide where to hold it.

They have an unusual collection of portable venues too, and can set up anything from a gazebo for a tea party to a transparent cathedral under the African sky.

DRINK IT UP HAVING a party doesn’t necessarily involve copious amount of alcohol, but the two do generally coincide. Keep it classy with Liquid Chefs, a mobile bar service that specialises in cocktails but isn’t above pulling pints or

stirring up smoothies. The masters of mixology shake it up at many corporate functions, product launches, year-end bashes and even bachelorette parties, because some of their staff look as good as the drinks taste.

ENTERTAINMENT WHETHER you want men on stilts, a wicked comedian or a full troupe of tap dancers, knowing the people who know the people is crucial. A good MC or guest speaker is often key to a nicely flowing event, which makes Prime Talent a handy resource. Their repertoire of wellknown faces includes film guru Barry Ronge and radio presenters Bruce Whitfield and John Robbie.

For a merry evening Corporate Entertainment SA has a range of top comics on its database as well as magicians, bands and dancers who can choreograph a custom-made show.

ACCESSORIES THE delightfully quaint Propstars can hire you anything from feather boas to a New York taxi, as well as entirely practical accessories such as chairs, tables, stages, room dividers and cocktail bars. Often it’s the little touches that make the difference, though, with offbeat and imaginative décor that cements the theme of the event and takes it to a higher level.

Lesley Stones

A QUICK LOOK AT EVENTING IN CAPE TOWN EVENTS CAPE Town has a reputation for being a creative hub, not only because we were a finalist for World Design Capital, or because Capetonians tend to draw inspiration from the city in everything we do, but also because the city has a range of creative spaces and services making it an attractive alternative to other, more traditional meeting destinations.

WHERE TO START? THE first stop for any meeting or event planner is undoubtedly the Cape Town Convention Bureau, a strategic business unit of Cape Town Routes Unlimited, the official tourism destination marketing organisation for Cape Town and the Western Cape.

The bureau provides destination expertise and support to associations, corporates, professional conference organisers, event organisers and destination management companies. Since its inception in 1999, the bureau has achieved great success, with numerous conferences having been hosted in the city since then.

A stop at Cape Town Tourism is a good way to get an idea of what’s happening in the city.

VENUES CAPE Town’s premier meetings venue and exhibition space is undoubtedly the CTICC which boasts 56 000 square meters of usable space. 2015 will see the completion of CTICC 2, effectively doubling the capacity for the centre.

If you’re looking for something more unusual why not try the Two Oceans aquarium which has a fully geared function and banqueting department to help put on a killer event among the fishes. The team recently hosted the Flash Republic Halloween party for over 500 guests.

There is also a host of hotels situated in and around the city centre as well the Pavilion Conference Centre, a stones’s throw from the V&A Waterfront.

WINE WHY stop at the city? The picturesque winelands village of Franschhoek hosts approximately an event a month, such as Franschhoek Uncorked, The Franschhoek Literary Festival, The Bastille Festival and the Magic of Bubbles Champagne Festival. The main street can handle a capacity of 5 000 people, making it an ideal location for smaller expos and festivals. There are multiple hotels and guesthouses in the area to accommodate guests. And besides, a meet-

Cape Town

ing amidst the mountains and vineyards is better than a city hotel any day.

DECOR THE Petals Group consists of a team of creative designers specialising in decor, planing and staging of corporate events or private parties. The team pride themselves on being able to tranform ordinary spaces into sumptuous theatrical environments.

TEAMBUILDING CREATING a dynamic team calls for a dynamic leader and who better than the charismatic South African personality, Ferdiannd Rabie?

Ferdi is the owner of Ferdinand’s Tours, a tour operator that covers wine, cultural and golf tours as well as corporate events and team building, all with Ferdi’s signature love of life style. “I understand clients and their needs and have had first hand experience in organising and booking events.

Over the past year, Ferdinand’s Tours have concentrated more on corporate events and have built up a huge client base. Some of our major clients are Nashua, Sanlam, FNB, ABSA, KPMG to name just a few. I have been personally involved in all of our big events, from the planning to the actual hosting and have had no complaints so far,” says Ferdi.

Sally Fink

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EVENT LISTINGS

DIARISE NOVEMBER ATF – 13th International Apparel, Textile, Footwear & Machinery Trade Exhibition 1 November, CTICC, Cape Town

Extreme Fighting Championships 10 November, Coca-Cola dome, Johannesburg

FNB Whisky Live Festival takes place from 9-11 November at Sandton Convention Centre

AgriWorks Farmers Expo 10-11 November, Van der Stel Sport Grounds, Stellenbosch Dan Patlansky and Farryl Purkiss 11 November, Durbanville Hills Wines, Cape Town

ITEX 1 November, Fairground Holdings, Botswana

Eleven – a Requiem to a Parent 11 November, St. George’s Cathedral, Wale Street, Cape Town

NSBC Annual Dinner & Small Business Champion Awards 2 November, Gauteng

The Music Travel Earth Event 11 November, The Warehouse, Randburg, Johannesburg

EXSA Annual Awards 3 November, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg

Swartland Revolution 11-12 November, Riebeek Kasteel, Western Cape

ICCA Congress & Exhibition 5-9 November, Leipzig, Germany WTM 7 November, Cape Town, Western Cape

Janet Jackson 11-12 November, Montecasino, Johannesburg

The Loeries Travelling Exhibition 7–11 November, DV8 Saatchi & Saatchi, Namibia

Audio Video & Appliance expo 11-13 November, SCC, Johannesburg Durban Youth Fashion Week 12 November, Max Institute of Fashion Art, Gateway, Durban

World Travel Market 7-10 November, London, United Kingdom International Banking Conference 10-14 November, UNISA, Durban, KwaZulu Natal FICP Annual Conference 13-16 November, Miami, USA 2nd International Conference on Human Rights Education 14 November, University of KwaZulu Natal, Durban IP Africa 15 November, Sandton Convention Centre, Gauteng Emergency Medicine in the Developing World 15-17 November, CTICC, Cape Town

November Alice in Wonderland panto From 1 November, Suncoast Casino & Entertainment World, Durban SABC Crown Gospel Awards 1-6 November, IcC Durban Jonathan Butler 2 November, Carnival City, Big Top Arena, Johannesburg FNB Whisky Live Festival 2-4 November, CTICC, Cape Town

CrashDance 2-6 November, State Theatre, Pretoria, Gauteng

EnviroCon 17-18 November, Hartebeespoort Dam, Gauteng, South Africa

Bloom fashion show and auction 3 November, Civic Centre, cape Town

Information Security Expo & Conference 17-18 November, Johannesburg, Gauteng

EXSA Annual Awards 3 November, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg

Cape Town Entrepreneurship Week 17-19 November, City Hall, Cape Town Limpopo Small Business Summit 21-23 November, Oasis Lodge and Conference Centre, Mokopane, Limpopo

ENCHA Trade Fair 3-5 November, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, Gauteng Jonathan Butler 4 November, Grand Arena, Grand West, Cape Town The Fabulous French Friday Market 4 November, Alliance Française of Cape Town, Cape Town

Mediaeval Fayre 6 November, Pretoria Showgrounds, Pretoria, Gauteng

Cape Dairy Experience 4-5 November, sandringham Farm, Stellenbosch, Western Cape

The Mike Campbell 18 Piece Band ft.

Melanie Scholtz 7 November, Trinity Restaurant & Superclub, Green Point, Cape Town

Contego Wines2Whales MTB Adventure 4-6 November, Lourensford Wine Estate, Somerset West, Western Cape

Cape Town Military Tattoo 2-5 November, Castle of Good Hope, Cape Town

Africa Electricity 15–17 November, Gallagher Convention Centre, Gauteng

Trinity Presents Goldfish Live 4 November, Trinity Restaurant & Superclub, Green Point, Cape Town

Your Family Creative Crafts & Arts Expo with Christmas Twist 4-6 November, Kempton Park, Gauteng Sarie Kos Extravaganza 5 November, CTICC, Cape Town Julio Iglesias 5-6 November, Carnival City, JHB Living Amongst the Stars 5 November, Maropeng, Johannesburg, Gauteng ZONE Festival 5 November, Buffalo Drift, Ruigetvlei Farm The Official Wine Wobble 5 November, Oude Libertas Amphitheatre, Stellenbosch, Western Cape LiquidBASS Version High 5 5 November, Emerald Casino Resort, Vanderbijlpark, Gauteng Soweto Marathon 6 November, Soweto, Gauteng Global Diabetes Walk 6 November, Durban Beachfront, KwaZulu Natal

SERA Focus Area Workshop 7 November, CSIR, Pretoria

Janet Jackson 15 November, GrandWest, Cape Town IP Africa 15-16 November, SCC, Johannesburg Africa Electricity 15-17 November, Gallagher Convention Centre, JHB

CSIR MSM Workshop 7 November, CSIR, Pretoria

Emergency Medicine in the Developing World Conference 15-17 November, CTICC, Cape Town

The Loeries Travelling Exhibition 7–11 November, DV8 Saatchi & Saatchi, Namibia Julio Iglesias 8 November, GrandWest, Cape Town Africom 8-10 November, CTICC, Cape Town Freshlyground 10 Year Birthday Tour 9 November, The Lyric At Gold Reef City Casino, Johannesburg Environmental Management in Tourism Conference 9-10 November, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg FNB Whisky Live Festival 9-11 November, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg Flick, Pick & Mix 10 November, The Fugard Theatre, District 6, Cape Town BME Conference 10 November, CSIR, Pretoria

Freshlyground 10 Year Birthday Tour 12 November, Meropa Casino, Polokwane, Limpopo

Food, Foodie and Food Films 16 November, Freeworld Design Centre, Cape Town ATF - Textile & Footwear Trade Fair 16-18 November, CTICC, Cape Town Armscor 17 November, CSIR, Pretoria ABSA Cherry Festival 17-19 November, Ficksburg Festival Grounds, Ficksburg, Free State AFDA Film Festival 18-19 November, Cinema Nouveau Rosebank Mall, Sandton, JHB The Green Expo 18-20 November, CTICC, Cape Town The Freedom to Create Prize Concert 19 November, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town Musiq Soulchild Concert 19 November, Coca Cola Dome, Johannesburg, Gauteng

Join us www.facebook.com/Event.Newspaper twitter.com/TheEventSA • PUBLISHER: Film & Event Publishing

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December booking deadline 9 November 2011 December material deadline 11 November 2011

• COPY EDITOR: Kate Hodges (kate@thecallsheet.co.za) DISCLAIMER: Opinions expressed in The Event do not necessarily represent the official viewpoint of the editor or the publisher, while inclusion of adverts/advertising features does not imply endorsement of any business, product or service. Copyright of this material is reserved. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, The Event and/or its employees may not be held liable or responsible for any act or ommission committed by any person, including a juristic person, referred to in this publication. It and they furthermore accept(s) no responsibility for any liability arising out of any reliance that a reader of this publication places on the contents of this publication.

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EVENT LISTINGS The Old Mutual Summer Sunset Concerts: Locnville and Jax Panik 20 November, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town

DIARISE NOVEMBER

Lira will be performing at the Old Mutual Summer Concert on 4 December 2011

The CIO Show Africa 21-24 November, The Michelangelo Hotel, Sandton, Gauteng

Momentum 94.7 Cycle Challenge 20 November, Johannesburg, Gauteng

The Food Safety Conference 22-24 November, The Wanderers Club, Illovo, Gauteng

The CIO Show Africa 21-24 November, The Michelangelo Hotel, Sandton, Gauteng

Chamber Forum 24 November, TBC

The Food Safety Conference 22-24 November, The Wanderers Club, Illovo, Gauteng

Construction Management 40 27-29 November, NMMU, Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape

Apricot Picking At De Krans 23 November- 7 December, De Krans Wine Cellar, Calitzdorp

2nd Annual Women In Engineering Convention 28-30 November, Gold Reef City, Johannesburg, Gauteng

Freshlyground 10 Year Birthday Tour 23 November, Boardwalk Casino Amphitheatre, Port Elizabeth

Manufacturing Show Africa 28 November - 1 December, Sandton Convention Centre, Gauteng

Freshlyground 10 Year Birthday Tour 23 November, CTICC, Cape Town Beer Essentials 24-26 November, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg

CEO Indaba on Climate Change 28 November - 2 December, ICC Durban, KwaZulu Natal

The Baby Expo MamaMagic 24-27 November, Coca-Cola dome, Johannesburg SA Open Championships 24-27 November, Serengeti Golf and Wildlife Estate, Kempton Park 4U Rage Festival 25 November- 10 December, Umhlanga, Ballito, Plettenberg Bay Synergy Live Music Festival 25-27 November, Boschendal Wine Estate, Franschhoek FoodWineDesign Fair 25-27 November, Hyde Park Corner, Gauteng The Cape Town Festival of Beer 25-27 November, Hamilton’s Rugby Club, Cape Town East Rand Rocks Music Festival 26 November, Springs Old Boys Club, Springs An Evening With Josh Groban 26-27 November, Sun City Superbowl, Sun City, North-West Faerie Realm Midsummer Festival of Enchantment 26-28 Riversands Farm, Fourways BookEx 26-28 Sandton Convention Centre, Sandown, Gauteng The Old Mutual Summer Sunset Concerts: Van Coke Kartel, Jack Parow, Die Heuwels Fantasties & JR 27 November, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town

17th Conference of Parties of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP17) 28 November-9 December, ICC Durban Joburg Luxury 29 November- 2 December, Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg An Evening With Josh Groban 29-30 November, The Fields At Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth

December An Evening With Josh Groban 2 December, Sun City Superbowl, Sun City, North-West Jingle Bells Rock 2 December, Paarl Amphitheatre, Paarl, Western Cape The DigitalLife Expo 2-4 December, Coca-Cola dome, Northgate ‘Magic of Bubbles’ Cap Classique and Champagne Festival 2-4 December, Franschhoek Die Burger Cycle Tour 4 December, Stellenbosch, W Cape The Old Mutual Summer Sunset Concerts: Lira 4 December, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town Carols on The Square 5 December, Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton, Gauteng

Lil Wayne 7 December, Bellville Velodrome, Cape Town

Knysna Rocks Music Festival 23 December, Knysna Sports Ground, Knysna, Western Cape

Jimmy Carr 8 December, Grand Arena, Grand West, Cape Town, Western Cape

Al-Ansaar Souk 23 December - 1 January, ICC Durban, KwaZulu Nata

Lil Wayne 9 December, The Coca-Cola Dome, Johannesburg, Gauteng

The Old Mutual Summer Sunset Concerts: Zebra & Giraffe 26 December, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town

Canon SA Expo 9-11 December, SCC, Johannesburg Jimmy Carr 10 December, Sandton ICC, Johannesburg, Gauteng Durban Wine Festival 10 December, Munies Hockey Club, Durban, Kwazulu-Natal East Rand Summer Festival 10-12 December, Boksburg, Gauteng The Old Mutual Summer Sunset Concerts: The Parlotones 11 December, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town The Games and Gadget Expo 15-18 December, Good Hope Centre, Cape Town, Western Cape Cape Town Bike Festival 16-18 December, Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town Vodacom Jazz Picnic 16 December, Kempton Park, Gauteng

Garden of Lights 28 December - 3 January, Kempton Park, Gauteng BOO! 29 December, Mercury Live & Lounge, Cape Town Kirstenbosch Amarula New Year’s Eve Concert with Prime Circle 31 December, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town, Western Cape

January The Old Mutual Summer Sunset Concerts: Mango Groove 1 January, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town The Phantom of the Opera 3-8 January, Artscape Theatre, Cape Town The Old Mutual Summer Sunset Concerts: Plush and The Graeme Watkins Project 8 January, Cape Town, Kirstenbosch The Old Mutual Summer Sunset Concerts: Johnny Clegg 15 January, Kirstenbosch, Cape Town

17th Conference of Parties of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP17) 28 November-9 December, ICC Durban ETF & Indexing Investments Africa 29-30 November The Michelangelo Hotel, Sandton, Gauteng Investments in Africa 29-30 November Radisson, Sandton, Gauteng Provinces United Conference 2011 29 November - 1 December Barcelona, Spain EIBTM 29 November - 1 December Barcelona, Spain Africa Meet Africa Conference 29 November, Birchwood Hotel & OR Conference Centre, Johannesburg, Gauteng HELTASA 29 November - 2 December, NMMU, Post Elizabeth, Eastern Cape Virology Africa 29 November - 2 December, Graduate School of Business, Cape Town China Sourcing Fairs 30 November - 2 December, Gallagher Convention Centre, Gauteng For more or to add your own: www.theevent.co.za/diarise charl@filmeventpublishing.co.za

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BRINGING TOUR OPERATING CLOSER TO THE ARTS Dame Helen Suzman

THEATRE COFFEEBEANS Routes is slowly but surely creeping deeper into the character of the Mother City by expanding their unusual and intimate tours.

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OFFEEBEANS’ various tours take visitors into the homes of Capetonian artists, musicians, poets, gardeners, entrepreneurs, journalists and even praise-singers. The concept behind Coffeebeans Routes is that visitors get a personal insight into the lives of locals, on their home turf. Some of the routes include Cape Town Jazz Safari, Cape Town Fashion, Township Futures, Storytelling, and Cape Town Cuisine. Typically, visitors

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will get to catch a less familiar glimpse of Gugulethu, Hout Bay, Woodstock, Nyanga, Khayelitsha Sea Point, Simonstown, Philippi, Diep River and Manenberg; to name but a few.

The Secrets of the Baxter is their latest addition. This experience includes a taste of the Cape dinner, behind-the-scenes tour, show, and the possibility of hanging out with some of the performers after the show at the Theatre bar.

Iain Harris is the brain behind the company that was launched in 2008. He explains how Secrets of the Baxter came about.

“Michelle Constant, the CEO of Business Arts South Africa, came on one of our Jazz Safari tours,” says Iain. “A day later she met

Lara Foot, CEO of the Baxter, and after their conversation told Lara that she needed to connect with us. We did. We looked at some possibilities. We did some testing of the format and the stories. It’s new, so we’re still tweaking here and there.”

Iain says it’s still early days to comment on how the tourism market is receiving it but the response from those they have invited - industry players and the press - has been great. “Theatre is excluded from tourism,” says Iain. “Very few international visitors come to our theatres, which is a loss to both them and us.

Secrets of the Baxter is a product designed to tell stories of our theatre; behind the scenes and on stage. So it fills that gap, and I think we have something that will become popular.”

“In the new economy, our gold is not under the ground. It is on top,” Iain explains, “Our gold is human capital. It is skill, ideas and expression that can grow our economy. Culture is the channel for identity. Identity and self-confidence, are the backbones of a thriving economy.”

Iain says. Typically their guests are well-traveled, well-educated, eccentric and curious.

Their Storytelling Route is a very entertaining way for visitors to get insights into the psyche of South Africans. Such a route typically includes a visit to the homes of two different story

tellers with dinner, coffees and night caps included. One of the storytellers en-route is Samkelo Tukulula, a praise-singer in Montclare. Others include performer Janine van Rooy (aka Blaq Pearl) and Hazel Allies, who is a journalist from Bonteheuwel.

On the Musical Dinner Tour visitors get the opportunity to dine in the home of a resident Capetonian, experience local cuisine, wine, and then a bit of local music and even some dancing in the house’s garden.

The Township Futures Tours include visits to Langa, Manenberg, Khayelitsha, Guguletu, and Rylands –“which was a sand dune with zinc houses many years back,” Iain explains, “and it is now full of Taj Mahals, so we like our visitors to get a perspective on what things can become.

We want to see how places connect, or don’t. We want to explore the city from the point of view of the townships being centres, rather than, as tourism puts it – ‘places on the periphery where the real people live’. Like everybody who doesn’t live in a township isn’t real? We want to play between the lines of these generally accepted misnomers.”

Iain says he is happy with Coffeebeans Routes’ progress.

“Look at where Cape Town Tourism is positioning the city – a place about its stories as much as its natural beauty. So, the space we’ve been working in, creating

experiences around the stories of the city, is a space that is becoming more and more recognised as the future. Once you open up tourism to the stories of the city, the possibilities become endless.

Tourism becomes more relevant and more engaging, both for us as locals and for the visitor. So yes, there is a growing appetite for cultural or creative tourism.

There’s nothing wrong with great sightseeing. The thing is that there is more. We have been offering the more for a while now, and I am delighted that the more is slowly becoming the mainstream. We are certainly, in a tangible way, contributing to a new wave of thinking that is shaping new ways of doing things. And over time that will contribute to urban-regeneration.”

In 2009, Coffeebeans Routes worked with the African Arts Institute to build a business plan for a set of Pan-African Festival tours. “We are slowly working on making these a reality,” says Iain, “There are great possibilities.

So we have a plan to expand on a Pan-African basis, but the first step is creating a presence in Johannesburg. Jozi is a good gateway for us. We are not rushing. We still need a period of sustained success to be able to show that not what do has legs and legs to stand anywhere. So probably around 2014 we’ll start playing in Jozi.”

Astrid Stark

RE-INVENTING THE MUSIC FESTIVAL Rocking the Daisies © Warr Talmarkes

EVENTS ROCKING the Daisies is positioning itself as a premier green event, paving the way for others to follow.

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OCKING the Daisies is becoming one of the most popular music festivals in the country, not only because of the line up of ocal and international bands, including headlining act Band of Skulls, but also because it caters to a variety of demographics.

Traditional musical festivals, such as Oppikoppi, tend to attract a more hardcore clientele – that segment of under 25s that can’t think of anything better than to spend three mud-caked days in the boiling heat, partying like its 1999. Rocking the Daisies has set its sights a little higher, aiming to attract not only the serious partygoers but also families and a somewhat older crowd by offering activities such as wine tasting, film festivals and designated kiddies areas.

Sponsors have also bought into the idea, which is why Red Hot Events came on board to kit out the Brutal Fruit Daisy Den – a dedicated bathroom and rest area for ladies, while Wrigleys built a custom viewing area in front of main stage with comfortable shaded seating and additional bar. Fish Eagle Brandy had a similar idea.

Once again the Kreef Hotel was on hand for those campers not too keen on roughing it.

South African Breweries (SAB) took the idea of VIP camping to heart, providing exclusive tents with double beds and butlers to VIP guests. SAB also sponsored various hydration stations throughout the festival which many were grateful for in the scorching heat. And for those not content with portaloos? Woshbox was on hand with clean portable toilet facilities ( at a small fee of course).

Organisers Seed Experiences, formerly known as Complete Events, have also aimed to reduce the carbon footprint of RTD by calling on the services of Icologie to conduct an eco audit for the past three years. Icologie’s Grace Stead explains that planning for the event begins a year in advance. She and her team look at factors such as energy ef-

ficiency and renewable energy such as tapping into the energy produced by the nearby Darling Wind Farm.

Grace explains that all waste separation is done on site, and then transported to a recycling plant nearby. Organisers reduced the amount of tickets to 5000 to manage the effect of festival goers. They also offered a reduced rate to ticket holders who chose to walk or cycle to the event. Approximately 200 took up the challenge. Last year’s greening efforts earned Rocking the Daisies a SA Climate Change Leadership Award.

Entry management was made simpler by designated Webtickets lines where tickets and Webticket cards were scanned for easy movement of attendees through the lines.

Parking was also neatly organised with no congestion upon entering and leaving the event.

Organisers decided to separate the parking from the camping area, which assisted in making the camping experience a lot more pleasant for all involved.

Except for a few hiccups, such as ATM failure and some staff of the hydration stations refusing to provide water to anyone without a sponsored SAB bottle, the event was exceptionally well planned.

Rocking the Daisies featured multiple stages with a line up of over 20 artists including Civil Twilight, Prime Circle, The Arrows, Jack Parow, Just Jinger, Lark, Ga-

zelle and Tumi and the Volume.

Gearhouse were responsible for building the main stage for the event and provided an impressive light display during South African rockers, Prime Circle’s, performance.

The Jozi cousin of the festival, Rocking the Gardens, will not take place this year, but Sowing the Seeds will take place next year in Joburg and Durban.

Rocking the Daisies (RTD) took place from 7-9 October 2011 at Cloof Wine Estate in Darling.

Sally Fink

We’re distributing 4 000 copies a month free via bulk distribution at event industry organisations and associations; key industry meeting points like convention centres, hotels and rental houses; and at key industry events.

This means we’ll remain the most read events industry trade publication.

After seven years of carrying the cost of mailing another 4 000 copies direct to everyone else, we’re asking for subscriptions to help us cover our rising distribution costs.

Subscribe now for just R22.80 pm to keep receiving your copy, delivered to your door every month.

Please contact us for a subscription debit order form: nadia@filmeventmedia.co.za or 021 674 0646.

13

Sustainability News CTICC FIRST IN AFRICA TO ALIGN ITS REPORTING TO GRI CTICC

GREEN THE Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) is the first convention centre in Africa to have had its sustainable initiatives aligned to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework.

S

PEAKING at the centre’s Annual Results Press Conference in October, CTICC chief executive officer, Rashid Toefy, says “As a convention centre, whose values are entrenched around economic, social and environmental advancement, sustainability con-

siderations permeate every aspect of our business. It’s what drives us to innovate, create opportunities and effect change in the meetings and events industry in terms of sustainability”.

“Aligning our reporting standards to GRI was the final step in the centre’s journey to achieving complete sustain-

ability,” says Rashid. “The first step was making a commitment to becoming sustainable, and then putting international measures in place to achieve these objectives, like ISO 14001 (Environmental Management) standards and then lastly to be able to effectively measure and report on progress on these initiatives. The centre has successfully met and exceeded all three objectives, achieving its goal of being a leading environmentally sustainable convention centre.”

“Embedding sustainability into your long term strategy is vital if you want people to invest in you. If you don’t have sustainability at the core of your operations, society will reject your products and services,” he added. “Ethical considerations are a key driving factor behind consumer behaviour and being GRI checked means that our organisation has met the most stringent regulatory requirements possible in terms of fair, sustainable and ethical business practices.”

“South Africa is one of the world’s leaders in terms of cor-

ANOTHER DIAMOND ARROW FOR JOBURG GREEN THE Johannesburg Tourism Company (JTC) has received the PMR Diamond Arrow Award for the second consecutive year, for the company which has done the most to promote tourism and conservation in Johannesburg.

“

THE JTC team is a small, dedicated team of individuals who are passionate about their work, and it is wonderfully encouraging to receive this type of unsolicited recognition from our peers and stakeholders,” says JTC CEO, Lindiwe Kwele.

The Diamond Arrow is the highest award in the category (and overall) winner for the company which has done the

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most in the City of Johannesburg during the past year to promote tourism and conservation. Category achievers were rated in an annual survey - by 250 CEOs, MDs, owners of companies, company directors and senior local and provincial government officials – on contribution to the economic growth and development of the City of Johannesburg.

In terms of the recentlylaunched Mayoral Outreach campaign to discuss the City’s Growth and Development Strategy 2040, tourism remains an economic growth imperative on the City’s agenda. “It is an important catalyst to encourage the development of the SMME sector in order to encourage the growth and development of a vibrant second economy,” says Lindiwe.

“It is the Johannesburg Tourism Company’s mission to attract visitors to our city, encourage them to stay longer, spend more, improve seasonality patterns and the spread of visitors across the City.

As the city’s destination marketing organisation, JTC therefore remains focused on positioning Johannesburg not only as the continent’s leading business hub, but also as an exciting, vibrant year-round destination for signature events, lifestyle, the arts, culture, fashion, sports – and of course, mega-events.”

The annual Professional Management Review magazine’s Africa Leaders and Achievers Awards Breakfast was held at The Hyatt Regency on 3 October 2011.

Sally Fink

The City of Johannesburg

porate governance and it’s fitting that Cape Town is one of the few cities in the world that boasts a convention centre that has been checked by GRI,” says Rashid.

CTICC has produced a comprehensive sustainability report that measures the centre’s successes in terms of its sustainability accolades, which include being one of the few international convention centres to belong to the United Nations Global Compact and the Green Meetings Industry Council.

Rashid concluded that while the centre has made significant strides towards achieving its sustainability objectives both locally and internationally the challenge that lies ahead is how to further enhance and improve in order to take sustainability to the next level and further raise the bar for the meetings and events industry.

The GRI is a global networkbased organisation that produces a comprehensive international sustainability reporting framework for leading organisations.

Sally Fink

COMPREHENSIVE ONLINE TICKETING SOLUTION FOR EVENTS SUPPLIER PROFILE EVENT organisers have a lot on their plate. The least of their worries should be tickets. Webtickets offers a complete ticket management system that simplifies pre-sales, access control, and even visitor number management.

“

WEBTICKETS offers the full ticketing service; from online sales to ticketing at the door. Everything is done online, so event organisers can monitor sales in real time and record visitor numbers to the second,” says Webtickets Christy Turner.

The online event management system allows event organisers to control the details of their event themselves through the client portal as well as access vital information like client databases and busy/slow show times.

Event organisers can also control the issue of complimentary tickets themselves, and monitor how many tickets were complimentary, how many were allocated to the media, how many were purchased online and how many were bought at the door.

This information is available in real time, 24/7.

“Whether event organisers want to sell tickets, register attendees or communicate with their customer base, Webtickets can offer a unique solution,” says Christy.

An added incentive for companies to use the service is that the e-ticket offers advertising space as it is in A4 format.

Webtickets receives 100 000 unique visitors a month and sells approximately two million tickets a year (this works out to approximately 5000 tickets a day). There are currently 200 000 customers registered on the site and the number is growing.

What makes Webtickets an attractive alternative to other ticket providers is the convenience it offers customers. Each ticket has a unique barcode that can be printed at home or the office or sent directly to a cellphone where it can be scanned for entry into an event.

This eliminates the need to visit a supermarket to pick up tickets and shortens queues at the event itself.

Webtickets have also introduced the Webtickets card

which allows customers to purchase event tickets online, the details of which will be loadedstraight onto the card that can be used time and time again.

These cards can also be branded, such as the Go Cape Town card that grants access to the Table Mountain Cable Car, the Two Oceans Aquarium and the City Sightseeing bus; as well as the Cable Way card for the Table Mountain Cable Car. Onsite services include electronic point of sales systems that tie in with the website as well as a professional staff compliment to facilitate entry and take custody of funds on behalf of clients. “We take care of all front of house activities and pre sales to take the pressure off event organisers at events,” says Christy.

Webtickets is also integrated with the IT infrastructure of the major convention centres, which lessens the risk of technical issues at events.

“The overall message we’d like to get across to event organisers is that we are a dedicated wholesale ticketing solution that operates across multiple sectors, and we are especially strong in the tourism and entertainment sectors,” says Webtickets Jonathan Wayne.

Webtickets has a credible track record, and are the exclusive ticket provider for among others, Rocking the Daisies; Whisky Live Festival; Soweto Wine Festival; Old Mutual Kirstenbosch Summer Concerts; The J&B Met and official 5Fm events.

“Table Mountain Aerial Cableway had been looking for some time for a local supplier that could design and implement an on-line ticketing system that would suit our very unique needs. Webtickets were able to understand our need and designed a system that was flexible and adaptable to our customer needs, business requirements and regulatory control. The system implemented was quicker and more user friendly than the imported system we had to work with in the past,” says Sabine Lehmann, CEO, Table Mountain Aerial Cableway For more information visit www.webtickets.co.za.

Photo & Film Expo

Sally Fink

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Innovative Exhibition Sponsored by Complete Exhibitions COMPLETE EXHIBITIONS PUT SOME SPRING INTO 2012 Spring Show

Spring Show

COMPLETE Exhibitions has received notification of the intention of Tshwabac to reappointment the company to manage and organise The Spring Show (formally the Pretoria Show) for at least the next three years.

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AVING worked on the Spring Show for the first time this year, this early engagement will allow Complete Exhibitions the time to both strategically plan and implement a series of improvements for next year’s event.

Complete Exhibitions is confident that with the knowledge and insights gained this year, they will build and strengthen the Show going forward. “Our vision is to serve all our stakeholders, ensuring a return on investment for all participants.” says Nigel Walker, Director of Complete Exhibitions.

The Spring Show is building on the rich 70 plus years history of The Pretoria Show, it is part of Pretoria’s heritage and Tshwane’s future. Complete Exhibitions is immensely proud and excited to be part

of this multi-faceted event.

“The Show’s growth will most definitely be realised through a more focused approach to commercial exhibitors and the sectors they serve, through the development of focused Pavilions for the visitor. The visitors to the show expect to be wowed at every corner and we will endeavour to give them this. We visualise expanding the agricultural component of the show. Already two National championships, for the Dorper sheep and the Boerbok, have been confirmed for 2012.” continues Walker who sees this event as a highlight on the calendar for the Tshwane community and National agricultural sector.

The Spring Show is scheduled to run from 31August - 9 September 2012 at the Tshwane Events Centre (Showgrounds).

For more details you can also visit www.thespringshow. co.za.

Sally Fink

THEBE INTRODUCES ATOMIC FEST FOR ADRENALINE THE Thebe Exhibitions and Projects Group (TEPG) has introduced Atomic Junkies, an extreme sports and adrenalin fest that will take place at Johannesburg’s Coca-Cola dome over Easter next year, from 6 -9 April 2011.

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EPG managing director Carol Weaving says Atomic Junkies will be a hype driven event that will appeal to all race, gender and income groups.

“We strive to attract the top talent. We will present what’s ‘cool’ and reach a target audience that is ready for a new culture of sports. Traditional sport is no longer enough. Activities continually evolve as participants look for new ways to challenge themselves and perform increasingly dangerous feats.”

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She says Atomic Junkies will showcase the most famous names in extreme and adrenalin sports, generating renewed interest in Johannesburg’s sports tourism industry post the 2010 FIFA World Cup. “The event will represent a funky, adventurous and exciting approach to celebrating life as a youth or a young adult in South Africa.”

With at least 15 top international athletes and over 3 000 national participants and thousands of visitors, the Atomic Junkies Live Adrenalin Theatre will be the must-see event of the festival. Each day spectacular displays of the most unbelievable stunts will be performed by world class athletes. The shows will be hosted by extreme sports participants and will showcase the

best in drifting, spinning, skateboarding, vert ramps, FMX, BMX, supercars and modified performance car stunts. The shows will be high energy, action packed and visually spectacular, accompanied by car and bike demos to amaze and please crowds of all ages, race and gender.

Local and international athletes will be available for autograph signings after each show, enabling fans to meet their extreme sports idols in person.

Extreme or action adrenalin sports usually include a high level of danger, involving speed, height, high levels of physical exertion and highly specialised gear or spectacular stunts. They include snowboarding, skydiving, bungee jumping, free climbing and base jumping.

Extreme Sports will be highlighted at Atomic Fest

“Extreme sports has a massive following and has developed a culture that is well-established amongst the younger generation,” says Weaving,

“and with Atomic Junkies we hope to grow it even more – to push adrenalin to new levels!”

Sally Fink

Training and education highlights SSETA ROAD SHOW PAVES THE WAY FORWARD Lerato Bogoshi

ON Friday 14 October 2011 the Services SETA (SSETA) held a stakeholder roadshow in Cape Town to address the current state of the organisation as well as developments on National Skills Development Strategy (NSDS III).

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SETA Administrator Dr Sihle Moon delivered an overview of the organisation’s new strategic plan. He explained that the key purpose of the SSETA is to identify new opportunities in the economy with a special focus on rural development.

SKILLS DEVELOPMENT DR Moon explained that in the past there had been a disjuncture between education and training, which is the reason the SSETA has relooked at the strategic imperatives of the NSDS III. In a country such as South Africa with high unemployment and a low skills base rates Dr Moon believes that it is imperative that the SSETA act in the interest of society, rather than sectional interests and help stimulate sustainable growth and development.

He used the World Cup as an example where many of the skilled labour required to build the

stadiums and the Gautrain had to be imported. “The last ten years have been a lost opportunity,” he says. “The funds were available, but they were not focused on skills development. This is why we repositioned. The SSETA must make a social-economic intervention in order for us to succeed.”

SKILLS STRATEGY DR Moon explained the strategic plan going forward will operate in three key areas, namely: the services sector; the labour market and through rural penetration in order to create local economies.

“Our aim is to support Small medium Enterprises (SMEs) and co operatives as well as to support Further Education and Training (FET) colleges, to help them deliver the essential skills needed for school leavers to start their own businesses,” he says.

CHAMBERS DR Moon has directed the chamber managers to identify industry specific challenges within their areas. Part of the SSETA’s reorganisation process involves re-advertising the above positions, grading these positions and redefining the role of the regional offices.

Dr Sihle Moon

“We have instituted an HR audit where we have changed the entire organogram of the organisation,” says Dr Moon. “We have advertised all senior positions and we aim to have these filled by December/January.”

NEW CONSTITUTION ON 17 November 2011 the SSETA will hold a special general meeting where a draft constitution and names will be elected to sit on the SSETA board. Other changes in the transformation of the organisation will include a scrutiny of the companies registered on the database.

With regards to training and development Dr Moon explains that special focus will be placed on rural areas in Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal and Limpopo. “Stakeholders need to understand that we want to make a bigger impact, a real difference, in the economy. This is the reason we will be profiling FET colleges.”

To this end the Services SETA has identified 200 learners from rural areas as a pilot for the next financial year.

“Indeed, quality management processes are being put

in place to ensure that compliance to NSDS III is not tentative and innocuous, but really goes to the heart of our country’s socio-economic needs,” said Dr Moon in the SSETA annual report.

INTERVENTIONS DR Moon was followed by SSETA Project Management Office manager Rajan Naidoo who spoke about the interventions for the 2011/2012 financial year as well as amended funding processes.

Rajan explained that going foward there will be a budget of total planned intervention of R522 million. This will be allocated to the following areas: •30 074 bursaries •3 500 short courses •7 500 tool kits •25 expos and exhibitions •20 roadshows •7 international engagements •9 industry journals •15 industry interventions Rajan echoed Dr Moon’s emphasis on the importance of supporting FET colleges and explained that the FET budget will stand at R10 million which equates to 1 250 FET bursaries.

VOCATIONAL THE intern process has also changed. In the future, 60% of interns must be graduates from FET colleges. This equates to 900 of the 1 500 interns sponsored by the SSETA. With regards to career and vocational guidance, funding will be allocated as follows: •career expos •youth guidance DVDs •printed career guides •South Africa Qualifications Authority (SAQA) career guidance R20 million will be dedicated to rural projects.

PRESENTATION ON TRADE RAJAN’S talk was followed by a presentation of the latest developments of Quality Council for Trades and Occupations (QCTO); Occupatitional Framework for Occupations (OFO) and the Education and Training Quality Assurance (ETQA) by Lerato Bogoshi, SSETA Industry Council for Trades and Occupations manager.

The Cape Town road show was the eighth stop on a national tour.

For more information www.serviceseta.org.za.

Customer Care customercare@serviceseta.org.za

Bloemfontein Tel: 051 430 6223 Fax: 051 430 8771

Durban Tel: 031 207 1761 Fax: 031 207 1766

Kimberley Tel: 053 833 7447 Fax: 053 833 7452

Polokwane Tel: 015 296 4858 Fax: 015 296 4729

Head Office Tel: 011 276 9600 Fax: 011 276 9623

Cape Town Tel: 021 425 0417 Fax: 021 425 1575

East London Tel: 043 743 5410 Fax: 043 722 9587

Nelspruit Tel: 013 752 2207 Fax: 013 752 6434

Port Elizabeth Tel: 041 582 2033 Fax: 041 582 2040

visit

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SAT TO LAUNCH NATIONAL CONVENTION BUREAU AT EIBTM Nomasonto Ndlovu

announcement on 14 October 2011 of Amanda Kotze-Nhlapo as executive head of the NCB starting 1 November 2011, we will be using EIBTM as a platform to launch the NCB to the international business tourism industry.

What are your planned activities at EIBTM? AS mentioned, we would like to use EIBTM as the platform to launch the convention bureau and introduce the executive director to the international Business Tourism trade and press. In this light, we are currently looking to organise a press event that is scheduled to take place during EIBTM, targeting 10-20 key international BT press present at EIBTM.

EVENTS THE Event Newspaper spoke to Nomasonto Ndlovu, global manager: Business Tourism at South African Tourism (SAT) about EIBTM taking place from 29 November 1 December 2011.

What does SAT hope to achieve at EIBTM? EIBTM this year will be a very ex-

citing year for South Africa. At the beginning of 2011, South Africa’s tourism minister Marthinus van Schalkwyk officially announced an initiative to launch a National Convention Bureau (NCB), expected to make a significant impact in terms of consolidating, coordinating and strengthening the countries efforts to attract meetings and conventions to South Africa. With the official

How is South Africa setting itself apart from its competitors in the European market?

ONE of the factors that makes South Africa easily attractive, especially to potential clients in Europe, is the fact that there is no time difference (only one hour in winter) between most European destinations and South Africa.

This is important because of the current trend of conferences and business trips having to become shorter. With no time difference in South Africa, this means that delegates can arrive in South Africa in the morning, freshen up and get to work directly without having to adjust to a different time

zone and losing any precious time. In a world where “time is money”, this is a very important consideration, and definitely makes South Africa more accessible in the minds of the business tourist. Easy access and value for money are definitely two of the destination’s “hygiene factors” that we punt to promote the destination in Europe.

With respect to the association meeting sector, many international associations have Africa on their rotation but have not yet brought their meetings to the continent. Because of our easy access, wide and varied range of quality conferencing venues and accommodation options, highly developed transport (road, rail and air) and telecommunications infrastructure, South Africa comes to mind as Africa’s top Meetings destination.

In addition to the fact that we have a number of new hotels and new or modernised airports, we now have a formalised public transport system and Africa’s first rapid rail link service – the Gautrain – which really is key for European travellers who are used to having public transport at hand.

What is the outlook for business tourism from the Europe?

THERE is definitely a lot of interest in South Africa from both the European market in general, and France in particular. Compared to the onset of the first economic

crisis in 2009 - which was a dramatic year especially for incentive travel, where the French market saw many smaller incentive agencies close down, and a sharp decline in the number of long-haul corporate trips - business is definitely starting to take off again: we are receiving more and more demand.

Research has shown that the need to keep clients loyal and staff motivated is always there.

There are trends that show how many corporates and incentive planners have found ways to cut costs, for example, opting for three and four star products or guesthouses, through arranging less activities in incentive programmes. For conference delegates, research has shown that in order to reduce costs, many delegates choose not to bring accompanying partners and often opt not to stay for a post-conference tour to decrease costs.

Despite the challenges in the current economic climate, there is a lot of interest in South Africa, and, unlike other short haul destinations, the first question they ask is not “how much does it cost?” – people remain curious about the destination, fascinated about culture, wildlife and rich diversity, and definitely aspire to visit one day.

Sally Fink

ROBE LIGHTS CLOVER ANNUAL CONFERENCE EVENTS

Clover Annual Conference

Clover Annual Conference

LIGHTING supplier helped take the recent Clover Annual Conference to new heights.

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OUTH African lighting designer, Denis Hutchinson, joined creative forces with Robert Grobler from rental company Techrig to produce a masterpiece of imagination and style for the Gala Dinner event at food and beverage brand specialist Clover’s Annual Conference. This was staged in the Royal Ballroom venue at the Sun City resort, in the Pilansberg Mountains, South Africa.

Robe moving lights - including 24 ROBIN 600 LEDWashes – were the key fixtures of the design, supplied by Johannesburg based Techrig, who provided lighting equipment and crew to the entire Clover event for the first time.

Acclaimed set designer Michael Gill produced a large and innovative scenic design for the gala dinner. Robert initially gave Denis a basic show brief, which included several high profile live performances, plus an idea of the look they wanted to achieve, to which Hutchinson soon added a myriad of ideas of his own and produced the lighting plot, all based around Robes.

The main challenges of working in the room were getting sufficient height and lighting positions in the right places above the stage, whilst also avoiding a series of large and prosaic chandeliers which

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can’t be moved. The lateral solution was to install a series of short trusses hung in an up/ downstage orientation ensconced as much as possible into the ceiling coves, which maximized the available height and avoided the chandeliers!

The ROBIN LEDWash 600s were hung on these trusses, together with 16 x Robe ColorSpot 700E ATs, with a few other moving lights, plus a selection of profiles, PARs and some LED fixtures hung on FOH trusses.

It was the first time that Denis has used the Robe LEDWash 600s - Robe’s fastest selling luminaire of all time.

He was “well pleased”

with the wide beam angle of the LEDWashes, which enabled him to cover the entire stage and set with ease when needed for the large production numbers. The 15 degree narrow beam angle reminded him of classic beam projectors from his theatrical roots, and he really enjoyed playing with their ‘fat beams’.

Robe LEDWash 600s were specified for the job for a number of reasons including their light weight which helped enormously in dealing with the venue’s weight restrictions. Added to that was the versatile 15 – 60 degree zoom, the super bright light output and smooth colour

mixing and also because it was the first chance that Hutchinson has had to have a good play with them.

It was Robert’s first time seeing them in action on a show as well, and he was also well impressed.

Robe CitySkape48s – another ever popular fixture – were used to internally light seven black-and-white fronted light-boxes, which broke up the walls and stairs of the streamlined, very ‘televisual’ set. Robert describes these as “Little Killers”. In fact, so much was this the case that the black vinyl fronting turned grey, and so they ended up

pulling them right back and running at very low levels.

All lighting was programmed and operated on a grandMA lighting console run

by Denis.

The lively entertainment line up included performances by George Meiring, Vicky Sampson, Jay and Lianie, Yollandi Nortjie, Flip A Coin and Dozi and Nianell, all of whom went down a storm, together with the stunning environment created by the technical and creative team, which provided a colourful, dramatic and interesting setting for the 800 guests.

Louise Stickland

NEWS HIGHLIGHTS GENERAL INDUSTRY IF you have any news highlights to share please visit our web portal www.theevent.co.za and load your own stories for consideration in next month’s edition.

Thulani Nzima new CEO of SAT THE ninister of Tourism, Marthinus van Schalkwyk, has announced the appointment of Thulani Nzima as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of South African Tourism (SAT).

The minister says, “I am very pleased with Thulani’s appointment. He not only has a wealth of knowledge and experience of the tourism industry, but his management skills will certainly steer SAT to greater heights. The tourism industry globally has faced many challenges. Therefore, we need capable and strategic leaders who will not only create opportunities for tourism growth, but will take advantage of new opportunities that lie ahead. I am confident that he will lead with integrity and courage.”

Thulani currently holds the position of director: sales and marketing at the car rental company Avis. His term of office will be for three years, with effect from his date of appointment.

Loeries CEO steps down LOERIES CEO, Andrew Human, has stepped down after seven years at the Loeries.

Andrew will end his tenure as chief executive officer of The Loerie Awards at the end of February 2012. He will however be staying on with the association as an advisor and as a member of the committee.

After the success of the 33rd Annual Loerie Awards in Cape Town in October, Andrew leaves a great legacy behind him – a fertile ground for his successor.

“I would like to thank Andrew for his dedication and commitment to continuously improve the Loeries,” comments Boniswa Pezisa, chairperson of the Loerie Awards. “His passion for creativity and creative excellence is what has propelled the Loeries to become the industry benchmark that it is today.”

SA scores at Crystal Awards AT the Crystal Award ceremony held during the Society of Incentive Travel Executives (SITE) Conference in Las Vegas on 14 October 2011, two South African destination marketing companies (DMCs), Dragonfly Africa and Walthers DMCs, came up tops.

Walthers DMC was announced as the winner in two categories, namely: Most Impactful Effort Toward Corporate Social Responsibility and Exceptional Motivational Travel Program – Africa Middle East.

Dragonfly Africa was the winner of the Best Destination Based

Thulani Nzima

Experiential Incentive Travel Program for their Fuji Xerox Top Tier campaign.

The SITE Crystal Awards were designed to elevate the global standard of motivational experiences and honor creativity and excellence.

TPSA Awards postponed DUE to unforeseen circumstances the Cape Town and Durban legs of the Technical Production Services Association (TPSA) awards scheduled to be held in October have been postponed to May 2012.

In light of the above the TPSA committee would like to propose

Michael Waller CEO of Dragonfly Africa & Yolanda Woeke-Jacobs

that the awards functions for the regions be streamlined and hosted during May 2012.

The TPSA committee will visit Cape Town and Durban during February 2012 to discuss the regional awards with the members, to generate technical sponsorship, venue sponsors and national sponsor.

EXSA 2012 conference THE 2012 EXSA Conference will be held from 5-7 February 2012.

According to organisers, plans are underway for an exciting array of speakers and two headline industry experts have already been confirmed. “From

Germany we have Hans Bruder of Octanorm and from Australia we have Kristian Willand of the ESG Group,” says EXSA GM Sue Gannon. The conference committee are busy putting the programme together and it will be launched to the industry shortly.

CORRECTION IN last month’s issue, we incorrectly published Sandton Convention Centre (SCC) GM Karin White as Karin Swart.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused by the error and offer our sincerest apologies.

Sally Fink Andrew Human

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