Small towns within the metropolis

The Expo Centre Johannesburg is located outside the provincial capital of Gauteng. Jo'burg is often seen as the capital of the Republic of South Africa; the official capital is Pretoria about 50 km further north. With 3.5 million inhabitants, Johannesburg is the country's biggest city and the entire conglomeration its largest metropolitan area with almost 8 million inhabitants.
The Expo Centre provides about 42,000 m2 of exhibition space and parking facilities for 25,000 cars. It has the appearance of a small urban district in its own right with banks, shops, a monorail and many restaurants. Highlights in the event calendar include the Rand Show, an international consumer goods exhibition, the international construction fair Interbuild Afrika, Mall Expo, an exhibition on shopping centres, the Plumdrain - exhibition on plumbing and drainage, sanitary, heating and air-conditioning and Woodpro, an exhibition showing machines and equipment for woodwork and cabinet making. Today, Midrand, which is midway between Johannesburg and Pretoria, is the main centre for international companies. The centre of the South African financial sector is in Sandton, north of the city centre. That is where the Sandton Convention Centre is located, surrounded by many business premises and shopping malls. A sort of multifunctional hall has capacity for up to 4,000 people to take in information or enjoy themselves, depending on the event: trade fair, concert, or sporting event. The complex also includes two exhibition sites, each with 5,000 m2 and a total of 15 meeting rooms.
A further conference facility outside Johannesburg in Midrand is the Gallagher Estate, which contains 19 conference rooms of different sizes and five exhibition halls. 5,000 cars can be parked in a guarded car park right next to the centre. The Gallagher Estate has capacity for about 8,000 delegates who can spend the night in the nearby hotels. Events for up to 1,500 people can be held in the auditorium.
In the city, 35 minutes by car from Johannesburg airport, the Dome in which large events are held on 30,000 m2 for about 16,000 participants dominates the skyline. 10,500 m2 are available in the main arena.

m+a report Nr.7 / 2005 vom 27.10.2005
m+a report vom 27. Oktober 2005