The drab old Sea Point Civic Centre will be transformed into a gay paradise next month to host the SA Pink Lifestyle Expo, which is aimed at the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual community.

It is only fitting that the expo - from July 26 to 28 - will be hosted in Cape Town, which is known as the gay capital of Africa and one of the world's top gay holiday destinations.

Expo director Tommy Patterson said this would be only the third such event in the world at which "the pink community" - which has significant buying power - will be targeted by big businesses.

"It [represents the] acceptance of a community that until now has been hidden in the closet," said Patterson.

Though he promised that not everything would be "pink and fluffy", he said there would be an air of "elegance and fun". More than 80 exhibitors will show off their wares - from cars and fashions, to banking services and wedding organisers.

He said this event would be subtly different to the usual lifestyle expos.

"Pets are given a lot of attention. You will find couture dog collars with little diamond studs. There will be an owner and dog lookalike show," said Patterson.

"Instead of bangers and mash, there might be a demonstration of preparing chateaubriand."

Interior decorators would be hard at work transforming the old venue on the upmarket Atlantic seaboard which, according to Patterson, has a "high concentration of gays".

Donovan Steyl, owner of Lunchbox Media, which specialises in gay advertising and marketing, wished Patterson and his team well. Last year Steyl's company released a national gay and lesbian survey of the community's purchasing patterns.

The gay population of South Africa is around 4.9million people, the survey revealed. It is a large but mostly ignored demographic when it comes to marketing.