Last night Western Cape Minister of Economic Opportunities Alan Winde officially opened the new Century City Conference Centre & Hotel, a R1 billion investment by the Rabie Project Group. The opening ceremony coincided with ‘Valentine under the STARS‘, the third hosting of the event in three years, and the first time at this 
new venue, serving as the inaugural event for the Century City Square.
Minister Winde said that the new conference centre and hotel would help to draw in and accommodate new conference business, and offer employment to 300 staff, and increase the number of visitors to our province. The conference development will include a conference centre, a hotel, offices, restaurants, and apartments. The new conference can host 2000 delegates per day in 19 venues, and the hotel accommodates 150 rooms. The Century City Conference Centre has already secured 75 conferences for this year.
Minister Winde said that in the past financial year the Western Cape has secured two major conferences with 16300 delegates, to the value of R2 billion: the World Ophthalmology Congress 2020, and the International Fiscal Association 2022 conference.
For two nights running this past weekend, ‘Valentine under the STARS‘ was hosted by Opulent Living Experiences, and organized by its Barbara Lenhard and Florian Gast as an open-air concert to celebrate love, set up in the Century City Square between the new conference centre and hotel buildings. It was the first time that the Valentine concert was held over two evenings, expanded due to ticket demand. The Cape Philharmonic Orchestra,
under the baton of Xavier Cloete, and with top singing stars such as Jonathan Roxmouth, Magdalene Minnaar, Lynelle Kenned, and the Gugulethu Tenors, performed songs of love. German harpist and singer Cornelia Patzelsperger impressed with her two numbers, and Expresso presenter and concert MC Katlego Maboe is an excellent singer too!
The highlight of the evening was when Marvin Bourne, who arranged a number of the songs, was called to 
the stage to be thanked, and he in turn called up his girlfriend, only to go down on his knees to propose to her in front of the audience of 1000 guests.
‘Valentine under the STARS‘ was a love-ly way to spend the special event of the year, and there was definitely ‘Love in the Square‘!
‘Valentine under the STARS’, Opulent Living Experiences, Cape Town. Tel (021) 433-1699. www.opulentliving.co.za. Twitter : @LiveOpulent @ValentineSTARSSA
Chris von Ulmenstein, WhaleTales Blog: www.whalecottage.com/blog Tel 082 55 11 323 Twitter:@WhaleCottage Facebook: click here
