About Johannesburg

Johannesburg grew up around a gold reef discovered in 1886, and the mining industry that followed built it into the largest city in South Africa and one of the continent's major financial centres, despite lying nowhere near a coastline or navigable river. Its skyline and suburbs still bear the marks of that boom and bust history, from the mine dumps visible around the city to Ponte Tower and the reinvented industrial precincts of Maboneng and Braamfontein. The city was also central to the struggle against apartheid, with Soweto, the Apartheid Museum and Constitution Hill standing as reminders of that period, while areas like Sandton and Rosebank have grown into Africa's busiest business and shopping districts. Johannesburg is known locally as Jozi or Egoli, "place of gold," and remains Gauteng's economic engine.

Theatre leads Johannesburg's calendar this season, with A Good House running at the Market Theatre in Newtown and Agatha Christie's The Murder of Roger Ackroyd opening at the Pieter Toerien Theatre in Fourways. Dance fans can catch Swan Lake at the Teatro at Montecasino, while classical audiences have the JPO Early Spring Season 2026 at the Linder Auditorium in Parktown. The Kaza Kamba Pan African Theatre Festival brings a multi-day program to the Market Theatre in Newtown, rounding out a stretch heavy on stage productions. Together these shows span drama, ballet, orchestral music and festival programming across the city's main theatre venues.