Revamped World of Windows venue unveiled at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
A new era begins for Nelson Mandela Bay's premier event space as the revamped World of Windows opened its doors to an audience of key stakeholders at an official launch to market on Friday, 13 June 2025.
The uncharacteristically balmy winter evening allowed the venue to show itself off to its best advantage as guests mingled inside and enjoyed the late afternoon sun on the promenade overlooking the North End lake.
The World of Windows has been thoughtfully renovated to create a comfortable and elegant space suitable for a wide variety of events and activities.
Mandela Bay Development Agency Board Chair, Glenda Perumal, praised what she called 'the most beautiful stadium'. Representing the operator of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, she spoke of the MBDA's pride in the unveiling of the new venue, and of the stadium itself.
'Council in 2016 tasked the MBDA with a mandate to lessen the cost of the stadium by developing alternative revenue streams and commercial opportunities. At R2.3 billion invested, it is the biggest and best facility in our metro. We have successfully seen a number of major events hosted at our stadium – 46 within this financial year, including the inaugural Home of Legends Cup, which saw the best football clubs in Africa on our pitch. Bafana Bafana met the Republic of Congo in an African Cup of Nations qualifier, bringing record attendance of almost 40 000 spectators.'
She continued: 'Events of this calibre do not simply happen by themselves. They are the result of sustained and deliberate efforts on the part of the stadium management and the Mandela Bay Develop Agency teams.'
In attendance at the event were Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Development, Agriculture and Tourism, Bassie Kamana, and Councillor Sinebhongo Kwatsha, Member of the Mayoral Committee for Sports, Recreation, Arts and Culture, as well as tourism, event and hospitality industry leaders. Shaun van Eck, a well-known figure within tourism circles currently representing Discover Nelson Mandela Bay, conveyed his excitement at the unique experience offered by the World of Windows as a venue. He praised the innovative use of space, and the venue's imposing window wall as the special, unique element that would give the stadium a unique competitive advantage.
Raaziq Poole, Executive Stadium Manager, expressed his pride and excitement in the launch of the space. 'Everything you see here was completed by local suppliers from Nelson Mandela Bay – from design and manufacturing to installation. This is a proudly local project, rooted in our community and driven by our shared ambition to make the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium truly our stadium,' he said.
The venue now offers 700 square metres of event space. It is designed to be flexible and dynamic – a multi-purpose space to host everything from live entertainment to conferences, exhibitions, product launches and more. 'This particular event space is the tangible outcome of our vision to transform the stadium precinct into the city's next premier tourism product and an entertainment hub. We believe the stadium hub has immense potential to attract mega-events in future.'
Poole praised the foresight of the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality in its vision for the stadium precinct. 'Their decision to entrust the MBDA with the maintenance, development and commercialisation of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium was done with the intention that this facility would become self-sustaining and economically impactful.'
Perumal summed up proceedings: 'This stadium belongs to all of us as the people of Nelson Mandela Bay. A busy stadium is good for the economy, and in turn, good for all of us. We hope that you choose to do business with this beautiful stadium of ours.'
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