Joburg city celebrates its 135 birthday
ROSEBANK – The city of vibrant, diverse, global, and all-year-round destination for business.
As Joburg celebrates its 135th birthday, we reflect on what makes the City of Gold so remarkable.
At the ripe old age of 135, Johannesburg is one of the world’s youngest major cities, the only one not settled on a major waterway or bay, as well as being home to the world’s largest man-made forest and fabulous weather.
According to the Mastercard Global Destination Cities Index, released in December 2018, Johannesburg is Africa’s most visited city since 2013. It is a vibrant, diverse, global, all-year-round destination for business, leisure and lifestyle, sports, the arts, fashion, and design.
Councilor Tom Mofokeng, MMC for the Department of Economic Development in the City of Johannesburg said, Joburg was the African continent’s business hub and the fastest growing and developing metropolitan centre, which is often overlooked, by residents and visitors alike.
“Joburg retains the boomtown spirit of diversity, hustle, and possibility, as it did when it sprang to life when the world’s richest gold reef was discovered here in 1886,” Mofokeng said.
“The establishment of a riotous tented mining camp on the dusty savannah plains where we now stand was followed by rapid, pioneering developments and advancements which have never ceased, to the phenomenal, pacy city of today.
“As Joburg tourism and in line with our #Welcome2Joburg campaign, we’re passionate about and dedicated to showcasing its vigorous charm to both locals and visitors. We work to foster an increase in knowledge, civic pride, and a growth in tourism awareness, whilst also encouraging locals and visitors just to get out and about and to enjoy exploring the cultural, heritage, and hidden gems of Joburg.”
Despite Joburg’s youthfulness in global city terms, it is undeniably a treasure trove of economic, social, political, and anthropological history.
Urban tourism has flourished in Johannesburg, with a large number of visitors eager to explore the city’s diverse aspects from its exciting inner-city redevelopment and creative arts precincts, to its established heritage routes and sites in Soweto and Alex.
Among these are the development of public street art, pedestrian zones, heritage sites, and weekend markets. These are just a few of the multitudes of characteristics available in a city which is home to about 5.9 million people.
