Pool feed details and road closures for the special official funeral of the late Advocate George Bizos

16 September 2020

Government  notifies members of the media and motorists on the details pertaining pool feed details and road closures for the Special Official Funeral of the late Advocate George Bizos.  

1.    Pool Feed details

Members of the media who wish to cover the funeral are informed that the SABC will provide pool feed for broadcasters.  All photographic material will be distributed through GCIS.  No other media will be allowed at the funeral venues including the cemetery.  Pool feed details are as follows:

Satellite           Amos7 @ 4 West

Downlink        12649.5 Mhz V

Symbol Rate   2.7 MSym/s

Modulation     8PSK

Video              HD H.264 @ 4.2.0

The funeral service will be broadcast live on the SABC and other major broadcast channels.  In addition, arrangements have been made for  the service to be streamed live on the following government online platforms:   

• Twitter: https://twitter.com/GovernmentSA(link is external)
• Facebook: https://web.facebook.com/GovernmentZA(link is external)
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/GovernmentZA(link is external)

These measures are also to assist those who may not be able to physically attend the funeral due to the current COVID-19 lockdown level 2 regulations which stipulate that gatherings for funerals may not exceed fifty (50) people.  

2.    Road Closures:

The following roads in and around the Greek Orthodox Church where the funeral service will be held will be closed between 18h00 tonight, 16 September and 12h00 on 17 September 2020. Motorists are advised to use alternative routes.

• Nugget  and Leyds
• Nugget and Wolmarans
• Banket and Bok
• Banket and Leyds.

Advocate George Bizos passed away at the age of 92 in the afternoon of Wednesday, 09 September 2020.  President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared that he will be honoured with a Special Official Funeral Category 1. 

His funeral service will take place on Thursday, 17 September 2020 at the Greek Orthodox Church in Johannesburg starting from 11h00. This will be followed by a burial at Westpark Cemetery in Randburg. 

Messages of condolences to the family and friends of Advocate Bizos  can be sent through an online tribute page as well as the email address provided below:

Tribute page: https://www.gov.za/GeorgeBizos

Email address: condolences@gcis.gov.za(link sends e-mail)

Enquiries:
Phumla Williams, GCIS Director-General
Cell:  083 5010 139