With a month to go before Nelson Mandela Bay plays host to one of its biggest international showcases – the Ironman 70.3 World Championship – the municipality is in a mad scramble to put the finishing touches to its preparations.
Parts of the roads that had to be resurfaced to meet international Ironman standards are still under construction.
Municipal officials said the work was expected to be completed by the end of the week.
However, contractors were still hard at work on Tuesday, with a stretch of the Seaview Road yet to be fixed and visible potholes at the intersection of Seaview and Heron roads.
The Ironman event will be held on September 1 and 2.
Meanwhile, hotels along the Port Elizabeth beachfront are already fully booked for the international spectacle, with 5,000 entrants,15,000 visitors and a total of 100,000 spectators expected.
Fan parks will be set up in Gelvandale, Walmer township, KwaNobuhle and Motherwell for those unable to watch at the beachfront.
Entertainment will be provided at the fan parks.

“Nelson Mandela Bay is ready to host Ironman,” the municipality’s head of sports, recreation, arts and culture, Noxolo Nqwazi, said on Tuesday.
The city is shelling out R44.5m for the event, comprising host city fees (R8.5m), services (R8m) and roads (R28m).
It excludes the complimentary accommodation – 340 rooms – that the metro is obliged to pay for and trophies for the winners.
The municipality stated they had secured sponsorship for the accommodation and trophies. 
The event would create 215 jobs in the Bay and benefit 10 small businesses, Nqwazi said.
In addition, 18 informal traders, 30 crafters and two performing artists would benefit through the craft village.
But the hospitality industry was likely to be the biggest beneficiary.
Presenting the city’s state of readiness report to the portfolio committee, Nqwazi said the planning was in its final stages, with compliance issues being ironed out with the police.
Ironman South Africa managing director Keith Bowler said the cut-off for athletes to qualify was last week.
“A lot of planning has gone into this to make sure that we are ready for it,” he said.
“Nelson Mandela Bay is as ready as it can be at this stage.”
In her report, Nqwazi said an Ironman international delegation had visited the Bay recently for the third technical site visit of the year, and Ironman vice-president Diana Bertsch gave positive feedback.
“The roadworks was not what was initially agreed upon but it was a good compromise to make the event work,” Bowler said.
The municipality ditched the idea of resurfacing a 40km stretch of road along the Ironman route when it could not source the money from the provincial government, and elected to tar only parts of the road instead.
“We are all waiting for this to now come alive,” Bowler said.
“The big thing is for the people of Nelson Mandela Bay to come out in numbers – we are regarded as one of the top races in the world and we are number one with athletes’ support.”..