• The 2023 BRICS Summit is happening next week with road closures planned in Sandton starting from Sunday.
• Roads around the Sandton Convention Centre will be closed or limited to one lane from Sunday through until Saturday 26th August.
• City of Johannesburg has asked residents to be aware of these closures as well as their potential impact on their commute.

Next week, after much controversy surrounding the potential attendance of Russian President Vladimir Putin, the 2023 BRICS Summit will take place in Sandton.

The Summit will welcome leaders from the BRICS nations including Brazil, India, China and South Africa. Given his current reputation and the ongoing war in Ukraine, Putin will be dialling in remotely while Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov will attend the meeting on behalf of Russia.

As it turns out, Putin may have the right idea as the City of Johannesburg has announced a number of road closures that will be in effect from Sunday 20th August through to Saturday 26th August.

The municipality reports that all roads surrounding the Sandton Convention Centre will be partially or entirely closed.

Maude Street will be open but traffic will flow in one direction. The lane closest to the convention centre on West Street will be closed while the lane furthest from the centre will be open to traffic. This advice is the same for Alice Lane and 5th Street.

We have mapped these road closures in Google Maps below.

“The community is requested to be aware of the impact on routes during the Summit and follow traffic updates when travelling around the Sandton Convention Centre,” City of Johannesburg said.

The municipality also warned residents that there will be a “significant security presence around the Sandton CBD for the duration of the summit”.

These road closures, along with loadshedding are sure to cause chaos in the already chaotic Sandton CBD. As such, it may be best to consider working from home or staggering arrivals at the office for the duration of next week.

We also highly recommend carpooling or using public transport in a bid to avoid causing even more congestion in the area next week.

[Image – 15th BRICS Summit]