With the international spotlight on South Africa, final preparations are underway for the Group of 20 (G20) Leaders’ Summit, as tourism surges and accommodation and flights reach near-full capacity.
Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi expressed pride in the wide-ranging improvements made by provincial and municipal teams ahead of the summit.
“What they’ve done for the preparations, especially infrastructure, water, electricity and the beautification of the entire province, we requested departments to use their current budgets. So, there was no new money that was allocated specifically for the G20.”
The Premier was speaking during a media briefing, where the Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, updated the press on South Africa’s preparations to host the historic G20 Leaders’ Summit at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec.
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South Africa is gearing up to host the G20 Leaders’ Summit for the first time on African soil under this year’s theme of: 'Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability'.
Thousands of international delegates, media representatives, and visitors are expected to gather at the NASREC Expo Centre in Johannesburg for the two-day summit scheduled to take place from 22 - 23 November 2025.
Lesufi recounted the weekly meetings with the Executive and national Ministers in the past four months and highlighted the resourcefulness shown.
“We’ve worked extremely hard to ensure that we fix the street lights, the traffic lights, fill the potholes and attend to issues that need to be attended to.
“And we've long agreed together with the Ministers, even after the G20, that those meetings will continue to be held so that we can continue to attend to some of the areas.”
The Premier noted that the city was nearly ready but warned against complacency.
“We are almost there… I always appreciate the rain. For the first time, I don’t want the rain because it reopens the potholes and creates problems. We’re crossing our fingers that by Wednesday, the weather will behave, and we’ll be able to do the final touch-ups.
“But we’re quite happy and excited with the work done thus far. But until the session starts, we don’t think that we should sit on our laurels.”
In terms of the summit’s economic impact, Lesufi said, almost all hotels are fully booked.
“The airlines are fully booked to come here. Our retail stores, especially our malls, are abuzz with visitors, and our major tourist attractions [are booked]."
Lesufi stated that the province is looking forward to attracting major tourists, hoping for returns beyond billions of rands from the summit.
“... Nasrec has never looked so beautiful, and I want to thank the team, especially the team that has been working here in Nasrec. This looks beautiful,” Lesufi said. – SAnews.gov.za
