Johannesburg , Joburg, Jozi , Egoli… a city with as many names as it has faces. Vibrant, energetic and dynamic, its diversity is both intriguing and exciting. It is a city of contrasts where the soul of Africa is fused with eastern and western influences. Joburg, as it is most commonly known in South Africa , is one of the 40 largest metropolitan areas in the world and is South Africa 's largest and liveliest metropolitan area.
Not only is it an area of commerce and industry, generating more than 35% of the country's gross domestic product, it is also an area of friendly people, large open spaces, sport and culture; truly a sunshine city built on gold. Situated at the heart of South Africa's communications network and boasting an excellent infrastructure, the Johannesburg of today offers easy and immediate access to many of the country's major tourist attractions such as the Kruger National Park, private game reserves and stylish resort hotels at Sun City, including the Palace of the Lost City, acclaimed as one of the world's finest hotels.
Taking place from 11 June to 11 July 2010, the Fifa World Cup is expected to attract thousands of football fans from across the world. This tournament will be played at 10 stadiums across the country, including Johannesburg ’s Soccer City which is a unique venue, designed to look like an African pot being warmed by flames from a pit of fire.
Centrally located within the heart of Joburg lies the Sandton International Convention Centre where XX INCOSAI will be held. Sandton and its surroundings have many riches to offer.
Soweto provides a living monument of the history of political struggle as well as a dynamic and multi-cultural community. Soweto is the most populous black urban residential area in the country. Thanks to its proximity to Johannesburg , the economic hub of the country, it is also the most metropolitan township in the country and sets trends in politics, fashion, music, dance and language. With a population of over two million, the township is the biggest black urban settlement in Africa with a rich political history. Soweto was the centre of political campaigns aimed at the overthrow of the apartheid state. The 1976 student uprising, also known as the Soweto uprising, started in Soweto and spread to the rest of the country. Many of the sights on the heritage route therefore have political significance.
About 50 km to the north of Sandton is Pretoria , the seat of government administration of South Africa . The city is renowned for its historic buildings, monuments and museums. It is also the diplomatic capital of South Africa and a major academic and research centre.
The Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg has already become the city's leading tourist attraction, an obligatory stop for visitors and residents alike. The museum, with its large blown-up photographs and numerous monitors recording continuous replays of apartheid scenes set in a double-volume ceiling, concrete and red brick walls and grey concrete floor, is next to the Gold Reef City Casino, five kilometres south of the city centre.
The Cradle of Humankind, a 45-minute drive west from Johannesburg , has been declared a World Heritage Site. It includes 12 key sites where fossils of early humans, animals and plants have been discovered. A selection of wildlife venues are all within a comparatively short drive from Sandton. Pretoria , Johannesburg and the entire Gauteng province have outstanding zoos, botanical gardens, game reserves and bird sanctuaries. Many of the conservation areas have opened hiking trails.
The city is the hub of South African tourism and the central point for all transport and tourism routes. O. R. Tambo International Airport serves all major regional destinations with scheduled flights. Three smaller airports, namely Lanseria, Grand Central and Rand Airport , provide scheduled and chartered flights to the tourist and nature conservation areas throughout Southern Africa . There are also many reliable scheduled coach services that use Johannesburg as their central point of departure and return.
