Absa Joburg City Festival gears up the main events

The second Absa Joburg City Festival, an initiative of the Joburg City Tourism Association (JCTA), has Absa as its title sponsor and DStv, Kaya FM and Newtown Junction are associate sponsors. Gauteng Tourism, the Gautrain, Pick n Pay Ticketing and Rea Vaya are partners.

The main festival programme which runs from 2-5 October 2014, covers more than 10 inner city hubs, namely Absa Campus, Braamfontein, Constitution Hill, the Fashion District, Ferreirastown (Western Edge), Fordsburg, Maboneng, Marshalltown (Corporate Mining District), Milpark, Newtown and the Retail District. Absa Campus and Newtown Junction will be focal points in terms of events and logistics.

To coincide with the opening of the festival, the Absa Art Gallery will unveil a new collection and the Absa Money Museum will showcase artefacts pertaining to the city's 128-year history. Atterbury Property will launch Newtown Junction, comprising a shopping centre, offices, a hotel, a gym and 2400 underground parking bays. It will also be the venue for a number of public performances by various artists during the Festival.

On Saturday, 4 October, the Springboks take on New Zealand at Ellis Park Stadium. To mark the occasion, Absa will align its sponsorship of the Springboks with that of the Festival by hosting the popular Boktown at Absa Campus and supporting the Fan Mile from Absa Campus to Ellis Park Stadium via Maboneng.

A Festival fringe programme includes art, film, music, poetry and theatre, as well as food, drink and a number of inner city tours. Tickets go on sale from Saturday, 16 August 2014 at www.pnptickets.co.za. A sliding scale applies, whereby the more people buy, the less they pay. For more , go to www.joburgcityfest.co.za.