Cape Town Stadium to host upcoming soccer and rugby festivals
The first referee’s whistle will soon announce the opening of Cape Town’s R4.5 billion stadium when it hosts its inaugural soccer game, a face-off between Ajax and Santos, Cape Town’s leading PSL teams on January 23, 2010.
The match marks the launch of the Cape Town Stadium Soccer Festival. The event will draw in local musicians and artists who are so much a part of the city's Live it. Love it. LOUDER! energy and Capetonians' passion for their city.
The soccer festival will be closely followed by the Cape Town Stadium Rugby Festival on February 6, 2010, in which a Boland invitational team will take on the Vodacom Stormers after a curtain raiser between the SA 10s Legends and the International 10s Legends. Featuring the provincial team, the rugby is sure to be a local crowd pleaser. Tickets range from R50 and R80 and are available from Computicket.
Both festivals will test the stadium’s systems and processes and put Cape Town's newest landmark through its paces for the first time, highlighting its versatility as a multi-purpose venue. Tickets for the soccer are now sold out.
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Safety at the 2010 FIFA World Cup™
The attack on the Togolese football team in Angola recently created unfounded fears that South Africa will not be a safe place during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.
Three people were killed when gunmen opened fire on the Togo team bus. The team has since withdrawn from the Africa Cup of Nations, which Angola is hosting.
Although Angola does not even share a border with South Africa (Cape Town, for example, is more than 3 000km from Angola), international questions have been asked about how this may affect the World Cup, which kicks off in South Africa in June.
South African football star Steven Pienaar told News 24 that he had no fears about security during the World Cup.
“I understand how people might be worried. They have seen what has happened and think it might happen in South Africa. But it’s two different worlds. This would not happen in South Africa.”
Cape Town has hosted hundreds of high-profile international events without major incident. For the World Cup, 41 000 South African police officers will be joined by police from around the world, and the South African National Defence Force, to ensure a safe environment for visitors.
Cape Town Tourism offers a support programme for tourists should anything go wrong during their visit. The provincial Tourism Safety and Support Programme (TSSP) is a free service offering support and assistance to visitors 24 hours a day and seven days a week. Contact your local area manager to activate this programme. Services provided include:
- Helping with short-term accommodation
- Helping to contact family or friends
- Facilitating embassy and consular involvement
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Cape Town's proactive approach to pricing
Potential tourists could be panicking that visiting Cape Town during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ may not be as affordable as expected owing to rumours of exorbitant prices at tourist attractions and accommodation outlets doing the rounds.
The international press has reported that Cape Town is a costly holiday spot, with UK website pricerunner.co.uk ranking the city as the 16th most expensive global destination.
The allegations of price hikes have caused many potential tourists to rethink journeying to the Mother City during the 2010 FIFA World Cup™, though Cape Town Tourism maintains that the city will remain an affordable destination throughout the sporting spectacular.
Cape Town Tourism suggests that local tourism establishments, attractions and operators set their rates at levels similar to those of their high-season 2010 rates for the duration of the World Cup.
Accommodation providers, transportation companies and the city’s restaurants, bars and coffee shops are expected to follow Cape Town Tourism’s advice and set reasonable rates that won’t break the bank.
“We have a once-in-a-lifetime chance to reinforce our positioning as a unique, value-for-money destination,” says Lianne Burton, Cape Town Tourism's head of marketing. “If we adopt a short-term, ‘get rich quick’ attitude and raise prices to unreasonable levels, visitors will spread the word that Cape Town is officially overpriced.”
Not wanting to be seen as a “greedy” city following the World Cup, Cape Town is committed to responsible pricing and establishing itself as a world-class – yet highly affordable – global destination.
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Vuvuzela etiquette
The vuvuzela, much like the 1995 Rugby World Cup victory in South Africa, is a unifying force for South Africans.
As Nelson Mandela and Matt – I mean Francois Pienaar – showed us; when we unite behind a common purpose, colour, creed, culture and religion are no longer issues: at that point we are all simply South African.
Given that most adult locals and probably a number of foreigners (looking for an “authentic” African experience), will have their lips attached to a vuvuzela, it’s time to introduce a few ground rules.
- Never blow a vuvuzela in an enclosed space. A properly blown vuvuzela has the same effect on the ears as a car bomb exploding next to you. While the noise adds to the primal energy vital to football stadiums everywhere, blowing a vuvuzela in a bus, car, your office, your home, a restaurant, the hospital waiting room and the local pub is not nice for everyone else. Remember, the sound comes out of the end that is pointing away from you, but which is aimed at everyone else. So while your ears may not ache in protest at your strident display of patriotism, everyone else’s will.
- Blowing a vuvuzela requires a lot of effort. Given the nature of the instrument – wind – quite a lot of sputum accumulates in it after a particularly exciting match; worth bearing in mind if you are:
a. Going to lend your vuvuzela to someone else;
b. Borrowing someone else’s vuvuzela;
c. Planning to perform an emergency tracheotomy.
- Point 3 follows on closely from Point 2. Unlike Antonio Stradivari’s violin, which should only be used as a violin, the vuvuzela doubles as a drinking funnel – Stradivari must be kicking himself for that oversight. Given Point 2, it is wise to rinse out your vuvuzela before putting it to use in this capacity. Furthermore, as a courtesy to other people, please wash out your vuvuzela before you take it to the next game. Sitting next to someone who not only makes the noise of an inebriated yak, but also smells like one, is not anyone’s idea of a good day out.
Read more here.
Booking enquiries
The 2010 FIFA World Cup™ is just around the corner. Please send any booking enquries to our Contact Centre on info@capetown.travel. We are open from 08h00 to 21h00, seven days a week, on +27 (0)21 487 6800.
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