Company to tent Gold Reef City for World Petroleum Congress party

Loudfire CEO Bruce van Halderen stands beside one of the freeform tents his company manufactures and owns.

The Africa Night party at Gold Reef City caps the fourth day of the World Petroleum Congress, which is hosted by PetroSA and takes place from Saturday, 24 September to Thursday, 29 September at the Sandton Convention Centre.

CEO Bruce van Halderen comments: "The Gold Reef City Theme Park is an excellent showcase of Old Johannesburg and therefore a lovely choice of venue for the Africa Night party, in particular the 'old town' in which the party takes place. The venue is not without its risks, however, which is why the tents have come into play. One of these risks lies in the fact that the 'old town' is comprised of many disparate venues, which could result in a lack of cohesion and leave guests feeling unsettled. Rain is another risk factor that needs to be taken seriously at this time of year, and were it to rain, would make the entire situation untenable, as guests would get soaked moving from one building to the next.

"That said, these risks will be mitigated by the 1650m2 of freeform tents that we will be erecting on the streets of the old town. The tents will serve at once to extend the indoors venues to the outdoors, providing additional entertainment space, while also connecting the disparate venues into a single, multi-faceted venue. Our R&D department has also managed to successfully waterproof our freeform tents, so protection against this risk is also guaranteed."

The freeform tents that Loudfire will use for the World Petroleum party are an excellent and visually exciting alternative to traditional marquees which, while they provide excellent wind protection, are square and unimaginative, lacking the style and flair of freeforms.