IN PICTURES: German vs Jap 2024 car show

The German vs Jap car show returned to the Johannesburg expo centre on 6 and 7 July.

The event hosted a record crowd of over 88 000 spectators in 2023.

But this year the event organisers, Southside Crew, had to rethink their approach after many fans complained of chaos at that 2023 show.

One of the problems faced was overcrowding which impacted exhibitions, bathrooms and food.

The congestion left many spectators and contestants vowing never to attend nor compete at the show again.

Improvements at the German vs Jap show

Southside crew made a host of changes at the German vs Jap 2024 event.

Some of these included access to more toilets and food vendors. It also banned camping chairs and hookah pipes

There was a designated hookah lounge, where access was controlled and came at a fee.

Tickets were also only available online to ease traffic at the gates and get people into the expo centre quickly.

From a competitor standpoint, there were fewer cars at the show and a bigger hall was used.

This was intentionally done so that barriers could be put up to prevent damage to the vehicles.

Non-competitors were also removed from the event. This was a section for guys with cars that are not fully pimped out, but they still wanted their cars to be put on display.

This was a smart move from the organisers to alleviate foot traffic.

The turnout at the event

One of the coldest weekends of the year didn’t stop spectators from pulling through to the show.

More than 16 000 car enthusiasts passed through the gates of the expo centre over the two-day event.

It was a notable decrease from last year’s event, but a more pleasant experience for spectators.

Many factors may have influenced the turnout, with the new rules probably the main deterrent for spectators.

Car guys usually come to these shows to chill with their friends who share the same passion.

For some car guys, this means going to a show with your camp chair, cooler box and hookah pipe.

Ultimately by changing the rules Southside Crew had taken the fun out of the event, said some fans.

But as a true car enthusiast and content creator, I prefer smaller car shows where I can actually enjoy looking at the cars.

As I get older, these bigger car shows become less appealing because the crowd is often not there for the cars.

See picture library here:

Effects of Covid on car shows

Many fans took to social media to voice their disappointment in German vs Jap 2024, citing a low turnout to the event.

But what most people don’t consider is that last year was the first event post the Covid-19 pandemic and lockdowns.

Last year, people were hungry to attend a car show again. As a result, Southside Crew were caught off guard by the turnout.

This resulted in people having an extremely unpleasant time at the event, and so many people complained and urged the organisers to make the necessary changes.

And although Southside Crew redeemed themselves this year by ironing out the issues, I think that people were still reluctant to attend and avoided the show altogether.

As for me, I had an amazing time and some of the most amazing pictures.