Sun City, North West
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Sun City is a luxury South African casino resort, situated in the North West Province. It is located about two hours' drive from Johannesburg, close to the city of Rustenburg. The complex borders the Pilanesberg National Park.
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 (although unrecognized as such by any other country), it was allowed to provide 'immoral' entertainment (in the eyes of the South African government) 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 musicians such as Queen and Elton John also performed at the 'Sun City Super Bowl', a large auditorium which seats 6,230.
Sun City became the subject of considerable controversy in 1985 when E Street Band guitarist Steven Van Zandt made it the focus of his music-industry activist group, Artists United Against Apartheid. Forty-nine top recording artists - including Ringo Starr, Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Run DMC, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Duke Bootee, Afrika Bambaataa, Kurtis Blow, Big Youth, David Ruffin, Pat Benatar, Peter Gabriel, Eddie Kendrick, George Clinton, Joey Ramone, Jimmy Cliff, Daryl Hall, Darlene Love, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Bonnie Raitt, Ruben Blades, John Oates, Lou Reed, Bobby Womack, Jackson Browne, Peter Garrett, Nona Hendryx, and Kashif - collaborated on a song called "Sun City", in which they pledged they would never perform at the resort.
Sun City has continued to flourish since Bophutatswana was re-incorporated in the new South Africa in 1994.
The resort has four hotels:
- Sun City Hotel;
- Cascades Hotel;
- The Cabanas;
- The Palace of the Lost City.
Sun City also has two international-standard 18-hole golf courses, the Gary Player Country Club and the Lost City Golf Course, both designed by Gary Player. The Gary Player Country Club is home to the prestigious Nedbank Golf Challenge (formerly the Nedbank Million Dollar Golf Challenge), while the Lost City Golf Course is noted for the 38 real crocodiles in the water feature of the 13th hole.
The resort was also the site of the Sun City Agreement.
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