Conference Centre Johannesburg > Johannesburg Information
Johannesburg Information
Johannesburg is an extraordinary city, born just over 120 years ago with the discovery of gold and since then it always has been a city of commerce and opportunity. One of the 40 largest metropolitan areas in the world, Johannesburg is South Africa's only officially designated global city. Although Johannesburg is not one of South Africa's three official capitals it is the capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa. The South African Constitutional Court is situated in Johannesburg as well as the O.R. Tambo International Airport, the largest and busiest airport in Africa and a gateway for international air travel to and from the rest of southern Africa.
The financial and economic hub of South Africa, Johannesburg produces over 15% of South Africa's gross domestic product and accounts for 40% of Gauteng's economic activity. Johannesburg has a variety of manufacturing industries and many banking and commercial companies are located in the city. Africa's largest stock exchange, the JSE Securities Exchange, is located in Johannesburg and it is also home to some of the top private and public universities in South Africa. The public universities situated in Johannesburg are the University of the Witwatersrand and the University of Johannesburg. The most notable private university in Johannesburg is Monash University which has campuses in South Africa, Australia and Malaysia.
Conference Venue in Johannesburg
The Johannesburg inner city, abandoned by an exodus of big business that transferred to Sandton, is undergoing a complete regeneration. The area close to City Hall and Newtown Cultural Precinct, which has completely transformed the Market Theatre and surrounds, now forms the heart of urban revival, and the Johannesburg inner city remains the largest employment centre in South Africa.
Johannesburg includes Soweto, which was a separate city from the late 1970s until the 1990s. Originally an acronym for "South-Western Townships", Soweto originated as a collection of settlements on the outskirts of Johannesburg populated mostly by native African workers in the gold mining industry. Eventually incorporated into Johannesburg, the apartheid regime (in power 1948–1994) separated Soweto from the rest of Johannesburg to make it a completely Black area. The area called Lenasia is now also part of Johannesburg, and is predominantly populated by those of Indian ethnicity since the apartheid era.
Johannesburg is home to some of Africa's tallest structures, such as the Sentech Tower, Hillbrow Tower and the Carlton Centre. The Johannesburg city skyline has most of the tallest buildings on the continent and contains most international organisations such as IBM, Absa, BHP Billiton, Willis Group, First National Bank, Nedbank and Standard Bank. Many of the city's older buildings have been pulled down and more modern ones built in their place. North of the CBD is Hillbrow, the most densely populated residential area in southern Africa. Northwest of the CBD is Braamfontein, a secondary CBD housing many offices and business premises.
Johannesburg enjoys a temperate climate with dry, sunny conditions through the year with the exception of occasional late afternoon downpours in the summer months of October to April. In the winter the temperatures do occasionally drop to freezing point or below during the night. Magnificent trees have grown on what was grassland, creating the world’s largest urban forest with more than six million trees, and abundant birdlife. Johannesburg is malaria-free so no precautions are necessary when visiting. The tap water is one of the cleanest in the world and is safe to drink. Should you be concerned, bottled water is readily available throughout the city.
Located in the eastern plateau area of South Africa known as the Highveld, Johannesburg is at an elevation of 1,753 metres. The former CBD is located on the south side of the prominent ridge called the Witwatersrand and the terrain falls to the north and south. By and large the Witwatersrand marks the watershed between the Limpopo and Vaal rivers. The north and west of the city has undulating hills while the eastern parts are flatter. Johannesburg may not be built on a river or harbour, but its streams are the source of two of southern Africa's mightiest rivers. A number of streams meander through the suburbs of Johannesburg, and form the source of two of southern Africa's primary rivers – the Limpopo and the Orange. Most of the springs from which many of these streams emanate are now covered in concrete and canalised, accounting for the fact that the names of early farms in the area often end with "fontein", meaning "spring" in Afrikaans. Braamfontein, Rietfontein, Zevenfontein, Doornfontein, Zandfontein and Randjesfontein are some examples. When the first white settlers reached the area that is now Johannesburg, they noticed the glistening rocks on the ridges, running with trickles of water, fed by the streams – giving the area its name, the Witwatersrand, "the ridge of white waters". Another explanation is that the whiteness comes from the quartzite rock, which has a particular sheen to it after rain.
History of Johannesburg
Johannesburg was formally established in 1886 with the discovery of gold and the Witwatersrand reef. After the discovery, the population of the city exploded, and Johannesburg became the largest city in South Africa. Today, it is a centre for learning and entertainment for all of Africa. The discovery of Gold in the Johannesburg area set off a mass migration of people from all over the world into the settlement to find gold. The news spread like wildfire and the area experienced an unprecedented gold rush. The government sent two deputies, who founded a little settlement and named it after the first name they both had in common, Johannesburg. Three years later the place was the biggest town in the country. By 1875 almost 100,000 people lived in Johannesburg and the mines employed more than 75,000 workers ...more history of Johannesburg
