Seoul to host arbitration congress in 2030 after failure to secure backing from South African government.
Just six months after it was awarded the event, Cape Town has withdrawn from hosting the 2030 congress of the <a href="https://absafricatv.com/ebola-outbreak-raises-international-travel-concerns-as-cases-surpass-10000/” title=”Ebola outbreak raises international travel concerns as cases surpass 10,000″>International Council for Commercial Arbitration (ICCA).
The host committee, led by the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA), decided to relinquish the right to host after the South African government declined to provide funding.
ICCA has now awarded the 2030 congress to Seoul, South Korea, which was one of seven bids originally defeated by Cape Town.
In a statement to ALB, AFSA said: “AFSA was actively involved in and fully supported Cape Town’s bid to host the 2030 ICCA Congress. Unfortunately, the necessary governmental support and commitments could not be secured within the required timeframe and the bid was consequently withdrawn.”
“AFSA remains committed to strengthening South Africa’s position as a centre for international arbitration and advancing the development of arbitration across the African continent. We value our relationship with ICCA and look forward to continued cooperation and future opportunities to bring major international arbitration events to Africa.”
The loss of the event is a blow, not just to the promotion of arbitration in South Africa but the continent as a whole. It would have been the first time the event had taken place in continental Africa, after the 2016 edition was hosted by Mauritius. Kigali has bid unsuccessfully on multiple occasions and was another city which lost out to Cape Town, although it did host a one-day ICCA event in 2025.
However, Cape Town is due to host the much larger International Bar Association Annual Conference in Cape Town in 2028.
South Africa was awarded the 2030 congress during this year’s 27th edition, hosted in Madrid. Other recent editions have been hosted in Hong Kong and Edinburgh. Taking place every two years, the congress is one of the largest events in the arbitration calendar. The past three editions have each attracted over 1,300 attendees from around the world. A statement announcing the decision on 26 October, said: “ICCA extends its sincere thanks to the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA) and the Cape Town bidding team for their efforts and commitment, and looks forward to collaborating with AFSA on future projects.”
