A month of firsts for Nelson Mandela Bay
A month of firsts for Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
Pop-up night clubs, Color Run, fashion shows & drone racing adding new excitement to stadium
Port Elizabeth, 25 October 2017 – The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is continuing to raise the bar through new events and initiatives leveraging the city’s most iconic real-estate asset as a flagship multi-purpose indoor and outdoor venue.
In October, the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium had a solid month with several new sport, recreational and arts & culture events added to the stadium’s calendar for the first time ranging from nightlife to fashion to a global franchised paint race.
This weekend, the Color Run will be hosted at the stadium. Known as the happiest 5 kilometres, the Color Run is an untimed race showering runners in various hues of coloured corn-starch powder bombs. The event kicks off 10h00.
At the start of October, a build-up fashion show was held at the stadium to kick Nelson Mandela Bay Fashion Week into gear, and earlier this month, the Panache Reunion was hosted which saw the stadium being transformed into a night club venue with incredible LED screen, visual, lighting and sound installations in an indoor environment.
“While we remain rooted in sport, we are committed to make Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium the preferred and go to destination for sport, arts, culture, recreational events and conferences,” Mpho Mokonyama, Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium Manager said.
“This strategic direction will ensure that the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is used to its fullest potential and this will also ensure that we start steering the venue into a more sustainable financial direction,” he said.
“Our medium term goal is to create an environment in which the stadium becomes a focal point and desired destination for new and exciting events.”
The line-up of bowl and non-bowl events for the year includes concerts and the stadium is also in advanced discussions to host the city’s first drone race.
“We think there is an exciting opportunity to position the city as a venue for drone racing. This new motorsport sees operators fly radio-controlled drones through several obstacles on a course. The event is usually live-streamed to spectators at the event through mounted cameras on the quadcopters.”
In August, the stadium hosted the Castle Lager Rugby Championship between South Africa and Argentina, as well as the Guinness Pro 14 – a new rugby tournament to South Africa. The Premier Soccer League fixtures will also see Mamelodi Sundowns on 25 November and Kaizer Chiefs on 06 December take on Chippa.
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