Iconic showground in South Africa’s capital city now a dilapidated mess

The Tshwane Events Centre was once considered a world-class facility that hosted numerous high-profile events, but today it is a shadow of its former self.

Formerly known as the Pretoria Showgrounds, the centre has its origins in the Pretoria Show, which began in 1939 as the Transvaalse Landbouskou.

The show originally functioned as a regional agricultural exhibition, but expanded over the decades into a more diverse community and lifestyle festival.

It became one of the largest springtime shows in South Africa, featuring a variety of entertainment and activities for families.

While the show was originally restricted to white visitors during the apartheid era, it was desegregated and opened its doors to people of all races on 22 August 1977.

The event underwent several name changes over the years, briefly being renamed to the Tshwane Show and then the Spring Show before settling on the Pretoria Show.

In 2009, the show was renamed once more as the Tshwane International Show under the leadership of the Tshwane Business and Agricultural Corporation (Tshwabac).

At the time, former chief executive Wim du Toit said the show contributed R50 million annually to the City’s economy.

Tshwabac had acquired the land of the Pretoria Showgrounds free of charge from the City of Tshwane in 1995, on the condition that it be used as a public events centre.

Tshwabac ran into financial difficulties in 2016 and approached the City the following year to request consent to sell the property, but the request was refused.

Because Tshwabac also owed the City of Tshwane money for rates and services, the proceeds of the sale would have been used to pay off these debts.

The City demanded that the property be handed back, as it was no longer being used for its intended purpose, and said Tshwabac could not cash in on the sale of the land it had received for free.

The showgrounds were returned to the City of Tshwane in September 2021 after a multi-year legal battle, and were registered back under the City’s name.

Falling into disrepair

In October 2023, the City of Tshwane announced a R1.5 billion plan to develop the Tshwane Events Centre into a commercial mixed-use precinct.

This would have included a hotel and conference centre, as well as retail areas, office spaces, and residential properties.

The property, estimated at the time to be worth R500 million, had been approved for an open, competitive bidding process in June 2022.

The lease was set to run for 50 years, allowing the developers to make investments in the property that would benefit the City and its residents.

MMC Kingsley Wakelin said the Independent Electoral Commission had shown interest in using the facility for the 2024 general election and the 2026 local government election.

“To make the property attractive to developers, the City is busy with consolidation and rezoning processes to get the best bids possible,” Wakelin said.

“Development will then take place as soon as the winning developer is announced. The bidding process will be open and fair, and no trace of corruption will be tolerated.”

As of November 2026, these plans did not materialise, and the IEC elected to find a new election results centre for the last two elections.

Today, the Tshwane Events Centre is in disrepair, with broken windows, spilt sewage, tall grass, broken toilets, and dilapidated infrastructure.

The facility was heavily vandalised in 2022, with almost all of its electrical cables being stolen, along with aluminium materials such as door handles.

Wakelin said security companies that had been contracted by the City to guard the centre had been negligent in their duties, resulting in widespread vandalism and littering.

He also said that the centre’s management under Tshwabac had allowed it to deteriorate to its current state, and said the municipality would work to save it from further decay.

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Photos of the Tshwane Events Centre:

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