The 37th J&B Met will be held at the Kenilworth Racecourse today, the longest standing sport event in the country. More than 50000 fashionistas, socialites, and horse racing fans are expected to attend the event which has a jackpot of R2,5 million generates about R68 million for Cape Town and the Western Cape, and creates an income of R14 million for fashion design alone.
The theme this year is ‘Made to Conquer – Dress Victoriously’, and will inspire the J&B Met attendees in buying their outfits for the most prestigious society event. The J&B Most Elegant Couple Competition will acknowledge the most creative interpretation of the theme. Shop windows of fashion outlets in top Cape Town shopping malls will be dressed to match the theme.
Western Cape Tourism Minister Alan Winde lauded the economic impact of the event: ‘The J&B Met illustrates the importance to our economy of events tourism. It’s one of 19 events which contribute more than R1.3 billion to our regional GDP. In the previous financial year, these major events attracted close to 200 000 tourists to the Western Cape. Over the next few weeks several signature events will be taking place including the Mining Indaba, the Design Indaba and the Old Mutual Two Oceans Marathon. With its R2.5 million main prize, the J & B Met is a premier fixture on the Western Cape’s events calendar. I believe the Western Cape economy is the real winner of the Met, as the event attracts over 50 000 visitors and generates an estimated R68 million for the province. It’s a key economic driver and plays an important role in job creation, most notably in the events tourism space‘.
Entrance to the J&B Lifestyle Village ‘powered by 5FM’ costs R495 (includes entrance, parking, entertainment such as Goldfish, three complimentary J&B cocktails, massages, and access to the 5FM After Party); The Jet Lounge ‘powered by 5FM’ costs R1140 (includes entrance to a Bedouin tent, dancing on a raised dance floor, plasma screens, private tote, a food voucher for ‘well-known Old Biscuit Mill food vendors‘, access to ‘VIP toilet trailer units’, and three complimentary cocktails!); and The Official 5FM J&B Met After Party, which costs R150 (and allows access to the bar and food vendors, and music).
Wesgro, the provincial trade, investment and tourism promotion agency, welcomed the visitors attending the event, and reinforced how valuable events are to grow the economy of our province.
The J&B Met is a stylish affair, but seems to attract a decreasing number of out-of-town visitors, if accommodation bookings (or lack of) for the event is an indicator, a trend we have observed over the past few years. Cape Town is so heavily booked due to the Mining Indaba starting on Monday that it would have made sense to have moved the J&B Met to the last weekend of January, which was the timing in the past! The event clashes with the Closing Ceremony and two matches of the African Nations Championship 2014 at the Cape Town Stadium this afternoon, a date announced a long time ago. Interestingly the publicity insert into local newspapers does not refer to Cape Town’s role as host of the World Design Capital 2014, which one could have expected!
J&B Met, Kenilworth Racecourse. www.jbmet.co.za. Tickets at Computicket. Twitter: @Official_JB_Met
Chris von Ulmenstein, Whale Cottage Portfolio: www.whalecottage.com Twitter: @WhaleCottage
20
3070
27k
20