Durban — Despite power outages which saw the last three races being abandoned, eThekwini municipality mayor Mxolisi Kaunda hailed the Hollywoodbets Durban July as a big success.
Towards the end of one of the biggest events on the South African horseracing calendar, the lights went off, nearly spoiling what was to be known as the greatest Durban July of all time with an increase in attendance.
Kaunda did not mention the hiccups that were experienced but hailed the event as a big success, saying it had a big economic spin-off for the city, having created 1 500 temporary jobs and a more than R150 million injection into the city’s economy.
The mayor said the big attendance proved that the city has bounced back in terms of tourism and was recovering from the devastating Covid-19 pandemic. He said hotels and B&Bs were full to the extent that there were families who had to let their houses to the visitors.
Kaunda added that it was not only the central business district that benefited from the event but the entire municipality, including the rural areas.
“We are happy with the number of people who attended the event. We had anticipated 50 000 people and I think we surpassed that number.
“We had invited people from eSwatini, Botswana and other countries from Africa. We are busy setting up relations with cities, especially Gaborone, which we are going to sign an agreement with.”
The mayor added that the city was strengthening its ties with eastern countries under the eastern route corridor which are Mozambique and eSwatini, adding that many had attended the event on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Gold Circle said the final three races were cancelled due to power outages.
“The unanticipated implementation of power outages was made contrary to arrangements with the City of Durban which ultimately led to the jockeys citing unsafe conditions as the reason for their refusal to ride.
“This was entirely out of our control and a full investigation has been launched. The day remains an unqualified success with more than 45 000 people in attendance,” read the statement.
Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC Siboniso Duma said that to further raise the visibility and brand awareness of the Zulu Kingdom, Tourism KZN had bought the naming rights to the fifth race of the Durban July.
The safety of thousands of patrons at the event was a priority and police officers were present at all strategic areas around the Greyville area.
Duma said it was unfortunate that as the city was hosting this magnificent event, some of Durban’s most popular beaches closed after a failure of sewage infrastructure in the Umhlanga area.
“I hope that our visitors thoroughly enjoyed the electric atmosphere of thundering hooves pounding the racetrack, the frenzied shouts of jockeys charging to the finish line, and the roar of the crowd rising from their seats and of course the fashion that brought glamour to the event,” said Duma.
“We can confirm that the power dip at the Greyville Racecourse was not load-shedding related. eThekwini Electricity will assist in investigating the cause,” said eThekwini spokesperson Lindiwe Khuzwayo.
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