25 000 participants of varying age groups (including babies in prams and toddlers on shoulders) from different walks of life descended on the Johannesburg CBD and its outskirts to walk in the 702 Jozi My Jozi Walk the Talk, on the Sunday of July 26.
Commencing and concluding at the Emirates Ellis Park Stadium in New Doornfontein from early in the winter morning, the multitude of irrepressible 702-landers arrived from various park-and-ride pickup points located around Gauteng to participate in 5km, 8km and 15km distances respectively – with the start of each route accentuated by the singing of the National Anthem en masse.
An event which has been staged for more than 20 years, the 2026 iteration surpassed previous ones as the largest – according to a publicity release from partnering organizer, Primedia Broadcasting – to had ever been realized, and boasted impressive logistic statistics as it provided more than 6000 jobs and was safeguarded by over 800 security clusters.
The logistics included portable loos and water points located at incremental distances along the different routes – and Johannesburg Metro Police officers posted at most traffic intersections utilized mainly by the ubiquitous minibus taxis.
The media release further claims that there were 138 road closures which allowed safe passage for walkers who participated in the three routes. The scale of logistics involved extended to the number of buses, Metrorail trains and Gautrain coaches which transported participants to the starting and finishing point – and back to the park-and-ride points.
In this regard, exception was effected for the Metrorail service – which normally doesn’t operate on Sundays – to carry substantial loads of participants to and from various pickup points.
According to a Primedia Broadcasting statement, this year’s event was a social and civic initiative which, inter alia, redefined urban renewal and community unity – as well as the fostering of sustainable pathways out of homelessness.
Initiators of the event and long-term sponsor Primedia Broadcasting was this time around partnered by Jozi My Jozi, a non-profit citizen movement founded in 2023 to unite business leaders, civil society and residents for the purpose of restoring safety, cleanliness and pride across Johannesburg.
Ahead of the event, Primedia Broadcasting had issued a media statement exhorting participants, entities and citizens to engage in giving towards the city’s homeless through
innovative vouchers geared towards their rehabilitation. (The co-partners face some challenges in that regard as scores of homeless people could be spotted throughout the routes walkers utilized during the event.)
Purposeful and principled as this year’s iteration was, yet participants – particularly those who seldom visit the inner city – visibly relished trudging the McAdam streets of the 140-year-old “City of Gold” (which it is celebrating this year, after its founding back in 1886) .
They were not to be disappointed as the routes made for worthwhile sightseeing, with locations such as Constitutional Hill, Nelson Mandela Bridge, City Hall, Newtown, et cetera, providing photo opportunities galore.
The organizers also provided imaginatively curated entertainment along the routes, with performers ranging from musicians providing live soundtracks, to others dressed up in retro clothing and offering selfie moments next to vintage automobiles lent from the James Hall Transport Museum in La Rochelle.
Junctures of razzmatazz played out across the CBD as enthusiastic participants interacted with the artists by joining them on stages sans being invited, in outpourings of camaraderie. Even as they were sweating it out, participants contributed to the value chain as along many streets, many were seen getting their caffeine fixes from numerous coffee shops.
It was quite a sight to behold children aged betwixt 7 and 10 walking alongside their parents in the longer 15 and 8 kilometer routes. Numerous parents were also spotted pushing prams occupied by their young ones.
Personalities such as Talk Radio 702 presenters Bongani Bingwa and Nothemba Madumo were also spotted tackling the bold streets.
Processions of walkers were rewarded with medals on the premises of the home of South African rugby – with the route towards the finishing point according them the opportunity to walk on a part of a pitch normally reserved for the country’s sporting heroes.
Polar Ice Cream, one of the sponsors of the event, handed out free ice cream to every finisher before they retreated to a hospitality village located on the premises of the adjacent Johannesburg Athletics Stadium for refreshments, networking and entertainment.
Later the City of Johannesburg Deputy Mayor, Councillor Loyiso Masuku briefly appeared with MMC for Community Development Thapelo Amad on a stage where DJs and musicians performed to express her council’s gratitude for the success of the event made possible by both organizers and participants.
The future appears to bode well for the event as it had the buy-in of three of the country’s major banks, which organizers interpreted as showcasing a unified and resolute commitment to Joburg’s revitalization. Such commercial engagement was manifested in the selling out of 162 hospitality sites well ahead of the staging of the well-planned event.
Offered Primedia Broadcasting’s head of events Keitumetse Madisha: “The 2026 edition of Walk the Talk was a powerful testament to the spirit of social cohesion and collective purpose that defines Johannesburg.”
The event came to pass by the streetwise slogan, “Babize Bonke” (gather them all) – a clarion call certainly responded to by the diversified multitude!
Image Jacob MAWELA (Participants limned walking along Gandhi Square in the Joburg CBD during the 702 Jozi My Jozi Walk the Talk event on Sunday, July 26, 2026.)
