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Welkom received municipal status in 1961 and was declared a city in 1968. The Thabong township lies on its outskirts. It is now the second largest city in the Free State.
The town was named after the farm Welkom where gold was first found. The word welkom is Afrikaans for welcome.
Welkon is home to the for the Phakisa Freeway Grand Prix racing circuit.
Phakisa (pron: pra-KEE-sha - which means “be swift”, "hurry up" or "get moving" in Sesotho) is located amongst both active and exhausted gold mines in the flat plains outside the town.
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Construction of the track commenced in September 1998, on the site of the old Goldfields Raceway. By late April 1999 the first National Race event was held there.
The entire facility was completed in time for the penultimate leg of the 1999 FIM Motorcycle Grand Prix held in October 1999. The track boasts a 4.24km road course as well as a 1.5 mile banked oval track similar to the highly acclaimed Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada, USA.
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