By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
@GalloImages.
The City of Cape Town (COCT) said the year of 2023 was a good year for events in the city, providing a R4.4 billion impact to the economy.
The City’s Events Permit Office permitted over 1 200 events in the calendar year.
Among many other events, the City hosted Africa’s first Netball World Cup, the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, its inaugural Formula E race, the Loeries Creative Week and the Tweede Nuwe Jaar Minstrel Street Parade.
Research on three key events revealed a R2 billion economic impact. This figure represents direct and indirect economic benefits and destination marketing.
Just 20 events generated an additional R1.9 billion in direct economic activity, with revenue stemming from expenditures by attendees, participants and event organisers.
Attendance figures were equally impressive, with over 1.3 million people engaging in the top 40 events.
These events have proven to be pivotal in stimulating growth in various sectors, including accommodation, food, travel, retail and tourism. A significant majority of event organisers opted for local suppliers for various services, thus bolstering the local economy.
JP Smith, the City’s Mayco member for safety and security said, “event organisers have worked hard over the last 15 months with support from the City’s Events Department to get the events back in the direction we were headed before the pandemic. We would like to salute all involved for their hard work.
“We have also seen that an overwhelming majority of event organisers use local suppliers for logistics, equipment rental, security, production, staffing and hospitality. Additionally, hosting a number of local and international events has helped tremendously in promoting Cape Town as a premier tourism destination to a global audience.
The top 20 events hosted in Cape Town in 2023 created over 26 000 job opportunities for people in the greater events ecosystem, including security, catering, logistics, production and transportation, among others.