After fading into obscurity for more than a decade, the iconic flag on the R24 has been brought back to life through passion, teamwork and a deep love for this country.
Johannesburg, South Africa (23 November 2025) – This week, the RSA Flag Restoration Project was officially completed, bringing back to life the massive South African “Highway” flag that lines the road from OR Tambo International Airport.
The same flag that once welcomed the world during the 2010 FIFA World Cup… and then slowly faded away.
Until now.
But the restoration didn’t come from a government directive or a big municipal plan. It came from heart. From community. From corporate goodwill. From people who still believe in the power of pride and colour and effort.
South Africa Day, Plascon and Alan Ford Agency and Productions teamed up to repaint and restore the iconic symbol, using an incredible 4,000 litres of paint, so that every person landing in our country for the upcoming G20 Summit (and long after that) is greeted with something unmistakably South African.
But this wasn’t a rush job for an international event. This was about home.
Speaking to Good Things Guy, Alan Ford was clear: this was never just a G20 makeover.
“This wasn’t just done for G20, it was done as it is so beautiful, and what a way to welcome people to South Africa,” he explained.
He remembers the pride of 2010 like it was yesterday.
His social media post, which is going viral, captured it perfectly:
“I was so proud in 2010 (with the World Cup Soccer) to see the South African Flag painted on pebbles on the highway as you left OR Tambo International Airport. It was short-lived, and became an utter mess and kind of disappeared! So ‘South Africa Day Project’, ‘Plascon’ and ‘Alan Ford Productions’ decided to clean it up, and bring it back to life, with durable Plascon Paint (4000 litres to be exact)!!”
“As thousands of international dignitaries, heads of state and visitors leave the airport on the R24 towards Johannesburg (Africa’s Financial and Economic Hub), they get to see this, and we proudly brought it back!”
“We didn’t rely on government to make this happen, but a corporate, aka PLASCON, and proud South Africans, like myself, and others simply just did it!”
“We are proud of our flag, our country and wanted to show it off in this manner.”
“We need to stop depending on government to clean up things and make us proud!!! Hope this inspires you!!!”
And judging by the reaction, it already has.
Barend Le Grange, Convenor of the Dialogue of Action Network, shared why the initiative carries so much weight.
“In 2010, in preparation for the soccer World Cup, the Parks Department of Johannesburg actually created this flag, and now, in 2025, with the G20 coming up, we have decided that we are going to restore this flag again. Not only for 2025 but also for the future. This is the way that we, as South Africans, must welcome visitors to South Africa.”
It’s not just new paint. It’s a message stitched into the ground.
A reminder of unity.
A reminder of pride.
A reminder of what we can achieve when we stop waiting for someone else to do the work.
Bheki Shongwe, CEO of South Africa Day, captured that perfectly, “It’s something that signifies who we are as South Africans because this flag unites all of us. And this is how it should be. And that’s the country that we want. One that is united in diversity. Working together to rebuild this country to become stronger and to be successful.”
Plascon didn’t hesitate when the call came.
“We’ve done this by staying true to our mission, which is to enable and inspire the community and the customers in which we operate and this is an example of that where we’ve undertaken an initiative that inspires the country and makes South Africa proud of our flag and our heritage,” Leslie Frank, Head of Marketing Decorative Paint, explained.
“At Plascon, we say ‘together we’ve got this’, and our flag manifests that unity and coming together, so South Africa, together with Plascon, you’ve got this.”
When asked what this project means to him, Alan said something quietly powerful.
“We can’t rely on the government to fix the things around us that are broken. So if you can make a change, within civil society yourself, or as a human being… and want to change something around you and make something pretty around you… you can do it! It’s like mowing the lawn outside your house, even though it’s government land, you can do it.”
And he’s right.
“It’s often the role of the individual South African to get their hands dirty and do things to make this a better country and that’s what you’re all about.”
“But it’s also great when corporate South Africa get involved, like in this case, Plascon, who provided 4000 litres of paint to do the project. We all need to play our part.”
Sometimes all it takes is a splash of colour on the side of the road to remind us that people still care. That unity is not an old slogan but something you can see from the sky. That pride doesn’t have to wait for permission. And that hope… bright, bold, stitched in red, blue, green, yellow, black and white, can be painted back into the landscape whenever we choose.
South Africa… look what we can do when we decide to do it together.
Source: Interview with Alan Ford
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