TIM, The Immigrant Experience
For a nation that hosts as many major international sporting events including the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 2003 Cricket World Cup, the Women’s World Cup of Golf in 2005 and 2006 and, in January 2006, the only street race in the inaugural A1 GP World Cup of Motorsport. South Africa is no stranger to world attention and scrutiny. In 2010 however South Africa will become the first African nation to host the Football World Cup, considered the world’s biggest sporting event after the Olympic games.
Beginning on June 1st 2010 at the Kings Park stadium in Durban and culminating on June 29th, the world will be watching a post apartheid era of South Africa. For four weeks in South Africans and soccer fans around the world will be glued to TV screens in homes, sports bars and town plazas to watch the grandest sporting event in the world simply referred to as the World Cup. Popular in Africa, Europe, Asia, South America and recently gaining major attention in North America many young players are opting for soccer rather than other more popular sports or a combination of both. In the same way basketball, baseball, football are regarded in the USA, soccer is the most widely played sport in South Africa and like most sporting events will not only be a symbol of unity for S Africa but a reminder of how far this nation has come since apartheid. How ready is South Africa in engaging the world for this tournament, beating out major nations to host the World Cup? With billions of television viewers worldwide and an estimated three million visitors in S.Africa suffice it to say that major infrastructure projects are underway and have been. As you will soon discover there is no place for disappointment.
Infrastructure upgrades
In choosing South Africa to bring the World Cup to Africa for the first time, Fifa was not only looking at what the country already offers – world-class transport, telecommunications, tourism and sporting infrastructure, and a people renowned for their hospitality and passion for the beautiful game. They were looking ahead.
In 2010, football fans will enjoy the benefits of a host of multibillion-rand infrastructure projects recently announced by the government.
Between now and 2010, South Africa will spend in the region of R5-billion on building and renovating 10 World Cup stadiums, R5.2-billion on upgrades to the country’s airports, and R3.5-billion on improvements to the country’s road and rail network.
The country will also be working to tight deadlines to ensure that the Gautrain, a high-speed rail link between Johannesburg, Pretoria and Johannesburg International Airport, is up and running in time.
Ten stadiums
Five of South Africa’s football stadiums will undergo major renovations for 2010: Soccer City and Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, the Royal Bafokeng stadium in Rustenburg in North West province, and Vodacom Park in Bloemfontein in the Free State.
New stadiums will be built at Mbombela in Mpumalanga and in the Nelson Mandela Metro (encompassing Port Elizabeth) in the Eastern Cape.
Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane in Limpopo will be rebuilt, as will Kings Park stadium in Durban and Cape Town’s Green Point stadium. Kings Park and Green Point stadium will become completely new multi-sport facilities, Green Point complete with a retractable dome to protect fans and players from the Cape’s unpredictable winter weather.
Boost for the economy
According to consulting firm Grant Thornton, the World Cup will pump around R21.3-billion into South Africa’s economy, generating an estimated R12.7-billion in direct spending and creating an estimated 159 000 new jobs.
The country’s tourism industry will benefit from the estimated three million visitors expected for the tournament, while construction and engineering companies will look to a slice of the billions to be spent on infrastructure in the lead-up to the event.
However, the indirect spin-offs of an improved image abroad could have an even greater impact on the economy.
“There will be a big direct injection for the economy”, Standard Bank economist Goolam Ballim said after Fifa announced the 2010 host. “But the indirect impact may be more meaningful for a sustainable economic lift in subsequent years … it will help change the perceptions that a large number of foreign investors hold of Africa and South Africa.”
In his 2006 State of the Nation address, President Thabo Mbeki said the World Cup would make a huge contribution, not only to South Africa’s socio-economic growth, but to the development of the continent as a whole.
“In return for these irreplaceable benefits, we owe it to Fifa and the rest of the soccer world to prepare properly for 2010,” Mbeki said, challenging South Africans to work together to ensure that the country hosts “the best Soccer W.
Travel/Tourism
South Africa is one of the most diverse, enchanting countries in the world. Exotic combinations of landscapes, people, history and culture offer the traveller a unique experience. South Africa boasts some of the best, least crowded beaches in the world, renowned wildlife parks such as Kruger Park, beautiful natural scenery and a stable post-apartheid environment.
South Africa’s immensely varied terrain supports a rich diversity of wildlife, birdlife, and plant-life and offers an incomparable range of experiences and natural beauty for which tourists flock to the country. Whether you’re in South Africa on safari or to enjoy the beaches, SA-Venues.com strives to help you experience the very best that South Africa has to offer.
Poaching in Mugabe’s Zimbabwe
Zambia Angola Namibia Botswana Part of Kavango Zambezi
Free Entry to SADC
Tied to the common visa is the decision of the six Southern African nations of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe to start a first-ever common-user wildlife conservation area that will help visitors travel easily between countries, on tour packages, and save them the headache of wading through border control restrictions.
It is in this connection that countries of Southern Africa now want to share in the spoils of the fiesta by opening their doors to foreign teams so that they may acclimatize in their towns ahead of the main competition and that is why they are introducing a common visa known as the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Univisa, according to strategic objectives of SADC on its website (www.sadc.int).
Starting next year, in 2009, Southern Africa will have the first ever ‘border free’ tour packages that will enable visitors booked into natural attractions of 14 individual countries of the region have the freedom to travel to other countries without ever producing individual country visas at border control offices.
Amazing Visits to Victoria Falls and Drakensburg
South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique have already started an initiative known as the Limpopo-Zambezi Destination that will position the region as a tourist destination of choice for World Cup visitors and brand the region as a single destination for tour packages.
Accommodation
Comprehensive directories of hotels and accommodation in South Africa, safaris and tours, South Africa car hire and South Africa travel packages and more are all accessible from one site. Information about popular destinations and “must-see” attractions, 8 World Heritage Sites, game and nature reserves, 18-hole golf courses and a comprehensive set of maps, is provided for each province in South Africa … [cont.]
South Africa Accommodation Guide / SA-Venues brings you a fine selection of South Africa accommodation establishments to choose from, for your holiday and business travel accommodation. Whether you are planning a luxury vacation to South Africa or backpacking from region to region, South Africa offers a range of accommodation options to suit every budget and travelling style. Luxury 5 star hotels and South African game lodges or, to suit the more budget conscious traveller, small hotels, lodges, inns, South Africa guest houses, South Africa bed & breakfast, luxury and budget self catering accommodation, guest farms, golf lodges, caravan parks and camping sites, can be found on SA-Venues.com.
South Africa Travel Arrangements / From Cape Town to Hermanus or the Kruger National Park to Sandton … the options are endless. South African Airways, our domestic airline, offers regular scheduled flights between the major centers, as do many international airlines. Day tours and fully organised extended tours are available from Tour Operators, all of whom are registered with either SATSA or FGASA. Or, go it alone and rent a car or camper, and use the info on this website to plan your own itinerary.
Travel & Recreation
2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa™ Hospitality Programme 11 June – 11 July
Aimed at corporate customers, our hospitality packages comprise a 2010 FIFA World Cup ™ match ticket with certain on-site match-day hospitality benefits (i.e. food, beverages and entertainment in a private area within or close to the stadium, a match programme, a gift and preferential parking). NB. Travel and accommodation are not included in the hospitality package.
Sources: SouthAfrica.info reporter
World Cup South Africa 2010
South African Travel Guide
Exploring South Africa
FIFA.com
2010 World Cup Tour Packages Southern Africa to Abolish Border Controls, SUITE101.COM
S-Africa –Venues..com
