Sun City Resort | |
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.jpg) Sun City Casino | |
  Sun City Resort  Sun City Resort | |
| Coordinates:25°20′25″S27°5′27″E / 25.34028°S 27.09083°E /-25.34028; 27.09083 | |
| Country | South Africa |
| Province | North West |
| Municipality | Moses Kotane |
| Established | 1979 |
| Time zone | UTC+2 (SAST) |
| Postal code (street) | 2999 |
| Area code | 2999 |
| Website | www |
Sun City is a luxuryresort andcasino, situated in theNorth West Province ofSouth Africa. It is located between theElands River and thePilanesberg, built on the land of Bakubung Village (known as Ledig) about 140 km (90 miles) northwest ofJohannesburg, near the city ofRustenburg. The complex borders thePilanesberg National Park. It is made up of a number of themed sub-resorts with hotels on each, including the original Sun City Resort, The Cabanas, The Cascades and the Lost City (The Palace).
Sun City was developed by the hotel magnateSol Kerzner as part of hisSun International group of properties. It was officially opened on 7 December 1979, then located in theBantustan ofBophuthatswana.
As Bophuthatswana had been declared an independent state by South Africa'sapartheid government (although unrecognised as such by any other country), it could provide entertainment such as gambling andtopless revue shows, which were banned in South Africa. Those factors, as well as its relatively close location to the large metropolitan areas ofPretoria andJohannesburg, ensured that Sun City soon became a popular holiday and weekend destination. During apartheid, Sun City imposed severe restrictions on the ability of black South Africans to enter the Sun City area legally.
TheUnited Nations had imposed a cultural boycott on South Africa in condemnation of apartheid. To overcome this, Kerzner offered substantial financial incentives to performing artists to use Sun City as a venue. Several acts disregarded the boycott and performed at the venue, such asThe Beach Boys,[1]Linda Ronstadt,[1]Cher,[1]Ray Charles,[2]Millie Jackson,[1]Liza Minnelli,[1]Frank Sinatra (1981),[3]Shirley Bassey (1981),Olivia Newton-John (1982),Dolly Parton (1982),Neil Sedaka (1982),Paul Anka,[3]Status Quo,[4]Rod Stewart (July 1983),[3][4]Elton John (October 1983),[3] andBoney M. (1984).[5]
British rock bandQueen's series of performances at the venue in October 1984 in transgression of the boycott caused considerable controversy, prompting criticism in the British music press, a fine from theMusicians' Union and their inclusion on the United Nations'blacklisted artists. Following the criticism, Queen strongly defended their decision, saying they "play to anybody who wants to come and listen" and were "a very non-political group", but donated to a school for the deaf and blind to assert their philanthropic values.[4] In 2021, drummerRoger Taylor voiced regret for the Sun City shows, stating that "We went with the best intentions, but I still think it was kind of a mistake."[6]
On 25 October 1980, Sun City's "Superbowl" hosted a racially mixed world heavyweight boxing championship fight between champion AmericanMike Weaver and challenger South AfricanGerrie Coetzee. Weaver won the fight by knockout in the 13th round, successfully defending hisWorld Boxing Association world heavyweight title.[7]
In 1985,E Street Band guitaristSteven Van Zandt made the venue the focus of his music-industry activist groupArtists United Against Apartheid. Forty-nine top recording artists collaborated on a song called "Sun City", in which they pledged they would not perform at the resort because of their opposition to apartheid. Additionally,Simple Minds included the song as part of a live medley on theirLive in the City of Light double album in 1987. The same year,Black Sabbath played six shows in Sun City with a short-lived line-up featuring original guitaristTony Iommi, keyboardistGeoff Nicholls, then-new vocalistTony Martin, and a rhythm section with drummerTerry Chimes (The Clash) and bassistDave Spitz (Great White).[8]
In January 1986 the Skytrain people mover, built withOtis Hovair technology, took its first trip on a 1.71 km (1.06 mi) line that connects a remote parking lot to the Entertainment Centre. Two trains of three cars shuttle on the route.[9] According to Sun City staff, the skytrain no longer operates due to high maintenance costs and lack of parts.
Sun City has continued since Bophuthatswana was re-incorporated in the new South Africa in 1994.
The resort has four hotels:
Sun City has the Vacation Club which is a hotel but also sold in atimeshare scheme.
Sun City also has two international-standard 18-hole golf courses, theGary Player Country Club and the Lost City Golf Course, both designed by Gary Player.[13] The Gary Player Country Club is home to theNedbank Golf Challenge (formerly the Nedbank Million Dollar Golf Challenge) that is held annually.
The Sun City resort has hosted various concerts and events, including theMiss South Africa and Miss South Africa Teen Pageant. These pageants take place annually in Sun City's Super Bowl Arena and the Valley of Waves. It also hostedMiss World pageant five times, from 1992 to 1995, and 2001. The resort was also the site of theSun City Agreement.
In 2001, Sun City was the site of the 2ndIIFA Awards. Held at the Superbowl Arena, it honoured both artistic and technical excellence of professionals inBollywood, for that year. Also on that year on 19 May, Irish vocal pop bandWestlife held a concert for theirWhere Dreams Come True Tour supporting their albumCoast to Coast.
In 2014, the filmBlended starringDrew Barrymore andAdam Sandlerpremiered on the premises after being filmed mostly at the resort, as was the 2017 film10 Days in Sun City.
In 2022, the World Classic Powerlifting Championships 2022 was held in Sun City.In 2024, the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships and the World Masters will also be held in Sun City.
Media from Commons
Travel guides from Wikivoyage
Data from Wikidata| Preceded by | Miss World Venue 1992–1995 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Miss World Venue 2001 | Succeeded by |
Municipalities and communities ofBojanala Platinum District Municipality,North West | ||
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District seat:Rustenburg | ||
| Moretele | .svg) | |
| Madibeng | ||
| Rustenburg | ||
| Kgetlengrivier | ||
| Moses Kotane | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
