Sun City

Sun City is a luxury casino and resort, situated in the North West Province of South Africa. It is located about two hours' drive from Johannesburg, near the city of Rustenburg. The complex borders the Pilanesberg Game Reserve. Sun City was developed by the hotel magnate Sol Kerzner as part of his Sun International group of properties. It was officially opened on 7 December 1979; at the time it was located in the Bantustan of Bophuthatswana. As Bophuthatswana had been declared an independent state by South Africa's apartheid government it was allowed under the South African law at the time to provide entertainment such as gambling and topless revue shows, which were banned in South Africa.

These factors, as well as its relatively close location to the large metropolitan areas of Pretoria and Johannesburg, ensured that Sun City soon became (and stayed) a popular holiday and weekend destination. Many famous performers such as Dame Kiri Janette Te Kanawa, Elaine Page, Frank Sinatra, Queen, Elton John, Sarah Brightman, Julio Iglesias, The O'Jays, Boney M., Black Sabbath, Rod Stewart, Tina Turner, Dionne Warwick, Laura Branigan and Thomas Anders (of Modern Talking fame) also performed at the 'Sun City Super Bowl', a large auditorium which seats 6,230. Sun City also became the site of several important Heavyweight boxing matches during the late 1970s and early 1980s. One such boxer was Gerrie Coetzee, who later (1983) became heavyweight World champion.