Final draw for the FIFA 2010 World Cup soccer
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Final draw for the FIFA 2010 World Cup soccer (Source: Leadership: 24 November 2009)
The television audience has swollen to an estimated 700 million viewers from 200 countries, and during the 90-minute live show, the Grammy award-winning Soweto Gospel Choir, Beninese singer-songwriter Angelique Kidjo and Johnny Clegg will provide entertainment: The challenge for South Africans to survive the year 2010 with their sanity intact begins next week...
Although the '‘live show' on Friday, 4 December at the Cape Town International Convention Centre is part of the Final Draw for next year's Soccer World Cup in South Africa, it is only the prelude to what will be an extremely challenging year for the country on countless fronts, involving much more than only the World Cup event per se.
It is a year that will call for careful planning by businesses, service providers, individuals and parents of school-going children.
Whether you are a sports fan or not; the logistics manager of a big company; merely an ordinary working individual who wants to get to the office and back with the least possible disruption; or simply a parent who expects your kids to be attending school during 'normal' times – does not matter: not a single South African will be left unaffected by the mega sports events of 2010.
And if you think it is only the FIFA Soccer World Cup that will disrupt your life, think again.
Those of us living along the route of the Argus Cycle Tour have become accustomed to the frustrations of a particular Sunday in March, drinking black coffee because you forgot to stock up on the milk while effectively under 'house arrest'. Even normal church services are suspended on that day.
It just so happens that part of that route is also used for the Two Oceans Marathon, the Big Walk and a wide variety of lesser sporting events.
The rest of the country is about to discover what we have had to deal with on a regular basis, when the disruption and frustration is spread all over the country by World Cup 2010.
Added to the list of things such as being unable to get to the supermarket for milk, are other disruptive factors:
Non-availability of flights for normal routine company meetings or to attend to urgent family matters;
An extended winter school holiday stretching over five weeks, adding even more pressure on the transport and road infrastructure – and on parents' nerves;
Regular traffic disruptions and road closures in host cities on match days;
Overly full and overpriced restaurants and accommodation when on business trips; and
Rental cars that will be hard to come by if they are not booked just about now for the period starting mid-April next year until the last week of July.
Remember that besides the World Cup, events such as the Argus Cycle tour (14 March), Cape Epic (21 to 28 March), the Two Oceans Marathon (3 April), Durban July Handicap (3 July), the KKNK and Grahamstown art festivals, the Super 14 rugby tournament, Currie Cup rugby season, some provincial cricket matches, to name but a few, will also go ahead.
And, of course, there is no way that South Africans will give up their beloved public holidays – seven of them falling within the period between 21 March and 16 June!
Imagine the logistical challenges, depending on next week's draw and what happens during group matches, associated with the possibility of 10 000 German fans moving from Cape Town to either Durban or Gauteng within a period of three days. Brazilian fans will be moving from one city to another three times during the first round of matches alone.
Consider next week
The events surrounding the Final Draw include:
The switch-on of the festive lights in Adderley Street on Sunday, 29 November 2009, and some streets in the Cape Town CBD will be closed for the event;
The Fifa executives, including Sepp Blatter, arrive in Cape Town on 30 November;
A mayoral reception for visiting dignitaries will be held on Signal Hill on 2 December;
A reception for the "Fifa family" will be held at Leeuwenhof, the official residence of the Premier of the Western Cape Helen Zille. Fifa executives will visit Robben Island on 3 December;
While the Final Draw is taking place inside the CTICC at 19h00 on 4 December, a public viewing and street party will be held in Long Street – Cape Town's party location – which would also entail special traffic and security arrangements;
To welcome VIPs at the CTICC, the City of Cape Town will host a Red Carpet event from 16h00. Although the Final Draw ceremony will be closed to the public, the City has organised a one-day festival in Long Street where Capetonians can view the Final Draw on large TV screens;
The Fifa World Cup bidding country media expo will take place in the CTICC on 4 December.
Within the context of the Final Draw, Fifa has organised a media event in which the 11 bidders for the 2018 and/or 2022 Fifa World Cup (Australia, Belgium-Netherlands, England, Indonesia, Japan, Korea Republic, Mexico, Qatar, Spain-Portugal, Russia and America) will be able to present their bids to the international media. This event will take place at Workshop 17 (Victoria & Alfred Waterfront) from 09h00 to 12h00 on 4 December and will include interview opportunities with representatives of the bidders;
FIFA''s first Football for Hope Centre will be opened in Khayelitsha on 5 December; and
Cape Town will host the World Broadcasters Conference at Maiden's Cove on 5 December.
Do not forget that schools across all provinces close on Friday, 11 December and the summer holiday traffic should begin during that weekend!
Also remember to start making plans on how to handle the kids during the five-week winter holiday that awaits us next year to accommodate the wishes of Mr Blatter & Co.
But, then again, there may be some opportunities lurking in there for entrepreneurs with the nerve to keep bored children constructively occupied.
Things to consider
Booking frenzy and delays: Julie Fredericks, chief operating officer of Alexander Forbes Risk Services (Pty) Ltd, says 4 December will indicate where teams will be based and where their supporters will be spending most of their time.
“It will also be the date on which the booking frenzy will start,” she predicts.
“Booking and paying for flights that you can afford could also become a problem in 2010,” cautions Fredericks.
“To date, no airline has released any prices or strategies for the World Cup period. Pre- and post match-day flights into and out of the venue cities are likely to be overbooked. Due to the sheer volume of travellers, delays can be expected.
“While World Cup teams will use charter aircrafts and plan to use second-tier airports, their supporters will use the general airports,” she adds.
This is a critical factor for people who plan to visit family and friends domestically by flying from Cape Town to Johannesburg, or from Cape Town to Durban mid-year 2010.
Trading restrictions: While the Final Draw will be held at the CTICC, there will be a public viewing area at the upper end of Long Street.
Normal trading can take place within this zone, but businesses will not be allowed to do any advertising linked to the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ or the Final Draw without formal permission from FIFA.
They will also not be allowed to change their normal business operation without business license approval from the City of Cape Town.
The City is a signatory of the Host City Agreement, which obliges it to support FIFA's intellectual property and event rights protection.
Only major sponsors have the right to promote their wares in the official stadiums, fans parks and public viewing areas. This extends to commercial exclusion zones around stadiums and areas where FIFA events are taking place – such as the city centre.
Road closures: For the Final Draw event at the CTICC, there will be intermittent road closures on the Foreshore in the area of Lower Long Street, Coen Steytler and Cullinan Street, from 09h00 on Monday, 30 November to 05h00 on Monday, 7 December.
For the Long Street Festival, there will be a full closure of Long Street, from Buitensingel to Buiten Street, and Loop Street, from 13h00 on 30 November to 05h00 on 7 December.
From 01h00 on 4 December to 12h00 on 5 December, there will be road closures in the area bound by Queen Victoria Street, Green Street, Buitensingel, Loop Street and Dorp Street.
Buiten Street, Bloem Street, Pepper Street, Leeuwen Street, Wale Street, Keerom Street and Vredenburg Lane will also be affected.
On-street stopping or parking will not be permitted on Long Street from Buitensingel to Buiten from 17h00 on Sunday, 29 November.
Access control measures will enable businesses and residents entry into the affected areas.
Survival tips for travellers
If you are one argument away from full-blown road rage, the following tip applies:
Do not travel on any road to or away from the Cape Town City Bowl from 29 November to 12 December;
General tips:
Restrict travel during these periods unless it is critical. Plan your trip well in advance;
If your travel time from Mouille Point, Sea Point, Camps Bay or from the Southern Suburbs in the direction of the City Bowl was 30minutes, expect it to at least double during the period from 29 November to 12 December, and plan accordingly;
Remember the construction work in Green Point, Granger Bay Boulevard and on the R27;
Look out for shuttle services from the Cape Town CBD to the airport, and from the airport to the CBD. Additional shuttle services have been organised, according to Pieter Cronjé, director of media communication services of the City of Cape Town; and
Allow for a minimum of 75 minutes to get to the airport in Cape Town. Parking at the airport may be congested and it is advisable to get someone to drop you off or pick you up from the airport;
Remember, there may be about 100 000 people witnessing the switching on of the festival lights on 29 November, while more than 120 000 people could be part of proceedings during the first week in December when the Final Draw takes place.
About 8 000 of those would be media, the FIFA family, representatives of teams and other dignitaries.
