Following its successful debut in Great Britain, the Automechanika Body & Paint World Championships are moving on to South Africa for round two. The next national winner for the grand finale in Frankfurt in 2020 will be determined at Automechanika Johannesburg, which is taking place from 18 to 21 September 2019. 

Automechanika is holding the second round of its international Body & Paint competition in South Africa, where talented painters will once again be showing off their skills for a panel of experts. Their challenge: to design the hood of a car using a variety of techniques. Each hood design should be inspired by the country in which the Automechanika event is taking place. At the first round of the competition at Automechanika Birmingham in June, participants opted for a wide range of motifs, including Union Jack flags, poppies and Brexit. The national winners from Great Britain and South Africa will be joined by four other contestants for the grand finale at Automechanika Frankfurt 2020. One of the remaining participants will be chosen later this year at Automechanika Shanghai, with two more being chosen next year at Automechanika Dubai and Automechanika Mexico City. The German finalist will be determined on the first two days of Automechanika Frankfurt, after which an international grand prize winner will be selected. 

Automechanika Johannesburg has been taking place once every two years since 2009, with the most recent event welcoming some 600 exhibitors and over 12,000 visitors. A look at the applications submitted for the contest reveals that we can look forward to some impressive and colourful motifs. Etienne DuToit is one of the entrants in the Johannesburg event: “I am planning to integrate the colours of the South African flag into my entry. My artwork will show our hero ‘Madiba’ (Nelson Mandela), as well as our ‘big five’: the lion, leopard, rhino, elephant and cape buffalo. I will be spraying the rhino red to raise awareness of the danger the species is in due to poaching. This competition gives me the opportunity to showcase my skills using different techniques and shows how proud I am to be a South African citizen.” 

The participants’ car hood creations can be viewed in Hall 6, Stand 6E017 throughout the event. The national winner will be announced on 21 September at 10 a.m. The competition is being supported by various international and regional firms in the field of body and paintwork, including SATA GmbH & Co. KG, Kansai Plascon, Kapatal Brands and Launch Technologies SA. 

You can take part: Voting for the people’s choice award winner

At the event or at home – every vote counts! Just like in Birmingham, we want to find out who is the favourite of trade visitors at Automechanika Johannesburg. The competition’s voting page will be open from 8 September to 2 October 2019, and trade fair visitors and painting enthusiasts alike are free to view the motifs and vote for their personal favourites right here: www.automechanika.com/competition. The people’s choice award winner will receive a surprise package from SATA valued at 700 euros. 

You will find more information at: www.automechanika.com/competition

Facebook: www.facebook.com/automechanikaInstagram: www.instagram.com/automechanika_officialTwitter: www.twitter.com/automechanika_

Competition locations and dates:

Background information on Messe Frankfurt

Messe Frankfurt is the world’s largest trade fair, congress and event organiser with its own exhibition grounds. With more than 2,500 employees at 30 locations, the company generates annual sales of around €718 million. We have close ties with our industry sectors and serve our customers’ business interests efficiently within the framework of our Fairs & Events, Locations and Services business fields. One of the Group’s key USPs is its closely knit global sales network, which extends throughout the world. Our comprehensive range of services – both onsite and online – ensures that customers worldwide enjoy consistently high quality and flexibility when planning, organising and running their events. The wide range of services includes renting exhibition grounds, trade fair construction and marketing, personnel and food services. Headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, the company is owned by the City of Frankfurt (60 percent) and the State of Hesse (40 percent). 

For more information, please visit our website at: www.messefrankfurt.com