PORT ELIZABETH CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS (28 July 1913 – 28 July 2013)

Nelson Mandela Bay (NMB) will reach another important milestone on 28 July 2013, as it will mark one century since Port Elizabeth was declared a city on 28 July 1913.  Interestingly, other parts of NMB that have already reached this milestone, including the first settlement which was established in 1799 which coincided with the building of Fort Frederick and then later in 1820 with the landing of British Settlers and the naming of Port Elizabeth; Uitenhage, which was founded in 1804 and celebrated its double century in 2004, and New Brighton, which was established in 1902 to house families who had been displaced during the plague outbreak at the time.

 The launch of the Port Elizabeth Centenary celebrations will include a Black Tie event on Friday 26 July 2013 at the Boardwalk Convention Centre to commence the centenary activities.  This will be a high-profile gala dinner with an artistic and elegant flair.   Guests will be treated to an exhibition of the exclusive centenary stamp collection produced by the SA Post Office, as well as a three-course dinner, with musical accompaniment from local Jazz Bands. 

Nelson Mandela Bay, in partnership with SA Port Office together with the assistance of Sanlam, Event Hire, The Boardwalk and Frontier Events, amongst other companies has made this event possible.

Nelson Mandela Bay plans to commemorate this milestone by compiling an events calendar which lists a series of events throughout the year, starting in July 2013 until July 2014.  NMBT’s strategic goal is to grow domestic tourism to the destination through this calendar.  Therefore partnerships with national events on public relations and marketing to increase awareness about the destination will be a top priority. 

Further objectives will include activities such as lobbying for additional national events to be hosted in the city, encouraging packages to be put together for these events, etc.  Through these activities, our visitors will get to explore all that Nelson Mandela Bay has to offer as well as encourage locals to become tourists in their own City, which includes the rich heritage and cultural experiences, wild life, outdoor experiences and water sports  which will be show-cased through the Nelson Mandela Bay Pass.
 
The expected return on investment for this centenary calendar is economic injection and development for the area, as well as the profiling of the destination through an integrated marketing plan, with major event organisers.