World orchid show in Sandton

JOHANNESBURG will welcome one of the world’s most prestigious and spectacular floral shows during Tourism Month – the 21st World Orchid Conference & Exhibition – taking place at Sandton Convention Centre from September 10-14.

This coveted international event, the 21st WOC, was bid for by a group of South African orchid enthusiasts and won in partnership with the Joburg Convention Bureau three years ago in Singapore. This is the second time that South Africa is hosting a World Orchid Conference, as the 10th WOC was hosted in Durban in 1981.

“Dubbed the Orchid Olympics, this promises to be one of the most extraordinary botanical events and floral extravaganzas ever held in South Africa,” says Anthony Grohovaz, who has led the initiative to bring the WOC back to South Africa and win the bid for Johannesburg.

“A World Orchid Show is one of the biggest flower shows held anywhere in the world – and comparatively bigger than the famous Chelsea Gardens Show held annually in the UK,” says Pumla Ntsele, deputy director of Joburg Tourism’s Convention Bureau.

The exhibition is open to the public and tickets can be purchased online from www.woc21.org