South Coast Bike Fest officially biggest in South Africa, says event organiser
There was countrywide support for the South Coast's new motorcycling event.
WITH more than 60 000 visitors taking part in the inaugural event last weekend, the South Coast Bike Fest has been declared the biggest annual biking event in South Africa.
“With our registration data capturing system in place we are confident our attendance figures are at least 90 percent accurate and that we exceeded the hoped-for attendance figure of 60 000, making this festival bigger than any other South African one,” festival organiser, Vicky Wentzel of Wozani Africa Events, was pleased to report.
She was thrilled with the positive response, enthusiasm and support she and Ugu South Coast Tourism, the owner of the event, had received from bikers from all over South Africa.
The local biking fraternity and the South Coast community had also come to the party, she said. There had been a wonderful atmosphere throughout the festival, thanks in part to the support and assistance she had received from the 755 South African biking clubs that had been part of the festival.
Ugu South Coast Tourism chief executive Justin Mackrory also declared the inaugural festival a roaring success, adding that it had certainly boosted South Coast visitor figures over the Freedom Day long weekend when many accommodation establishments had reported full houses.
“I’ve received heaps of compliments from local people and hundreds of positive emails from bikers who visited us during the festival,” he said.
He had also spent much of the weekend mingling with the visiting bikers and listening to what they’d had to say.
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The feedback had been extremely positive and many of the visitors had commented on how relaxed and laid-back the event had been. There had also been plenty of praise for the musical entertainment, he added.
With two stages, the Carling Black Label Main Stage at the Margate main beach and the free Village Pier Rock Stage at the pier, offering top class South African acts, music was an important component of the festival and this appears to have contributed to its popularity.
The bike show decks, dealership decks, Mardi Gras market, pop up food truck court, assorted entertainment venues and the popular Experiential Energy Zone also appear to have been been well received.
Justin praised the organisers for ensuring the programme had included some excellent biking action including the mass ride from the Shelly Centre and the first round of the Powasol EnduroX Series, held under the auspices of Motorsport South Africa at the Margate fishing pier venue on the final festival day. These had both been great hits, he said.
Another popular attraction had been the Classic Bike Club display, said Vicky.
“It was excellent. I have to say a big thank you to Ken and Barbara Sink for all they did to put this wonderful show together.”
Both she and Justin were pleased to report the inaugural festival had run amazingly smoothly with minimal teething problems. There had been some congestion concerns on one of the evenings, but plans were already in place to address this in future years, Vicky said.
The bike fest had certainly revved up April and the Easter holiday season on the South Coast, Justin said. Now with the South African National Eight-Ball Pool Championships and the annual Margate Week bowling tournament taking place, the South Coast’s tourist trade and the economy in general was receiving a “triple whammy’ of a welcome boost.
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