Design

The design of the stadium was selected from a series of concept designs ranging from acknowledgement of Johannesburg’s disappearing mine dumps; the kgotla (defined by the tree) of the African city state; the African map as a horizontal representation, which included the roof as a desert plane supported on tropical trees set within the mineral wealth of Southern Africa; to a representation of the protea, our national flower.

The calabash, or African pot, was selected as being the most recognizable object to represent what would automatically be associated with the African continent and not any other.

The calabash, or melting pot of African cultures, sits on a raised podium, on top of which is located a pit of fire. Thus the pot sits in a depression, which is the pit of fire, as if it were being naturally fired.