The registration of delegates has started in Bloemfontein on Saturday for the first national conference of the newly emerging political party, Congress of the People (Cope).

Some 4000 delegates from across South Africa were expected to arrive in the Free State capital on Saturday for the inaugural conference of Cope which starts officially on Sunday.

At the registration venue at the former Vista University campus, south of Bloemfontein, all things were running smoothly and quiet with only the busses from Limpopo visible in front of the campus. They arrived at about 7am on Saturday and were the first delegates to be registered from about 10am.

Several Free State delegates also arrived during the morning to be registered.

Inside the big assembly hall, delegates are quickly helped through about twenty registration points.

A yellow Cope t-shirt and black conference bag, with the big round Cope circle in front, forms part of the conference material at the end of the registration point, before delegates leave with a food parcel in hand to their accommodation.

Many of the delegates would stay in student residences at the University of the Free State's city campus, where the conference would start at the Callie Human Centre on Sunday.