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Overture to a massive challengeThe statistics and figures are gigantic and positively staggering. In all, 135 million people from 130 countries around the world will view the Fifa Soccer World Cup’s Final Draw in the Mother City in the week of 4 December. The draw is a precursor to next year’s tournament that will bring to South Africa and its host cities huge opportunities but also massive challenges.
The December event is set to raise a substantial R35 million from revenue attributable to the visit of tourists and the 8 000 special guests in Cape Town witnessing the Final Draw.
Pieter Cronje, director of communications of the City of Cape Town, says that 80% of the 450 000 estimated 2010 World Cup visitors will come to Cape Town before, during or after the World Cup itself.
"While not every individual or suburb of Cape Town will benefit directly from the World Cup, improved facilities, services and infrastructure will benefit all indirectly,” said Cronje.
He supplied the following calendar of events surrounding the Final Draw:
The Christmas lights will be switched on in Cape Town on 29 November;
The new Cape Town Stadium will be completed on 14 December;
On 2 December, the local organising committee for the Fifa World Cup will meet at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC), which will be followed by a media conference;
The executive committee of Fifa will meet on Robben Island on 3 December; and
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 2009 and will include interview opportunities with representatives of the bidders.
That will be followed by the worldwide broadcast of the Final Draw, to be watched by an estimated audience of 135 million viewers.
The first Football for Hope Centre in Khayelitsha will be opened on 5 December at the CTICC.
Cronje told "Leadership Bulletin" that there may be 100 000 locals expected during the week of the Final Draw.
In all, 500 producers and broadcasters, who will be directly involved with the Soccer World Cup, will arrive in Cape Town from around the globe to witness the Final Draw, and to broadcast the event internationally.
There will also be 200 news media representatives in Cape Town during the Final Draw.
Cronje said the Cape has invested R12 billion in infrastructure improvements to prepare itself for the Soccer World Cup.
That includes the Green Point stadium, the upgrading of the Grand Parade, the airport as well as Granger Bay Boulevard and the upgrading of Green Point, as well as road works along the Western Boulevard into the city from Sea Point.
Without sounding alarmist or sensationalist, two areas of concern will have to be addressed prior to the Final Draw.
Firstly, South Africa’s image as one of the crime capitals of the world may dilute Cape Town’s message to the world that it is a safe, sought-after tourist destination and one of the global village’s premier cities.
For example, on Monday the "Cape Argus" reported that four brutal deaths rocked Cape Town over the weekend. In Mitchells Plain, the body of Moegamat Yunus Desai was found beneath a tree about 500 metres from the busy Vanguard Drive and Morgenster intersection.
A 40-year-old woman was shot dead at her house in Tafelsig and the body of a man, apparently her husband, was found inside the house.
In Khayelitsha, a woman was raped and beaten to death and police say one of the suspects arrested is the victim's brother.
Guarding Cape Town’s image would be important, and one cannot blame the media messenger for conveying the truth about crime.
If possession is nine-tenths of the Law, perception may be nine-tenths of tourism. And that perception would be important not only for increased international tourism to Cape Town, but also for its suitability as a possible headquarters to some of the qualifying teams.
Already, Paraguay has indicated that it would use Mossel Bay as its headquarters in preparing for the World Cup.
Brazil has provisionally indicated it may view Cape Town as a possible base. Other teams could follow suit, but the way in which Cape Town and its people present themselves before and during the Final Draw, will have a massive bearing on whether some of the 24 qualifying teams may opt for Cape Town or not.
Also, international visitors who will have to book flights six months in advance, will make a decision on whether to return to Cape Town based on their experience – and their safety – in the Mother City during the Final Draw.
Nicole Moody, communications and public relations manager of Cape Town Tourism told "Intelligence Bulletin": “A large part of Cape Town’s success will be its people, who are a natural expansion of ‘Brand Cape Town’ and key destination ambassadors. Cape Town Tourism’s ‘Live it! Love it! Louder!’ campaign has been embraced by the tourism industry and aims to encourage Capetonians to be proud of who they are and where they come, making them warm and welcoming hosts and ambassadors for the 2010 Fifa World Cup and beyond.”
If this campaign succeeds, the long-term effect of the Final Draw as well as the Soccer World Cup would be staggering and extremely positive.
But the opposite is also true and that is why the South African Police Service and diligent communities are vital in safeguarding Cape Town and its surround for the benefit of the locals, international visitors and for the growth of the tourism economy.
A second area of concern is the flow of traffic. It is estimated that the traffic flows of the major metropolitan areas in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg increase by 6% annually.
But what complicates matters in Cape Town in December, is major roadworks along Granger Bay Boulevard, Western Boulevard into the city bowl from Sea Point, as well as the closure of several key areas in the city during the week of the Final Draw.
This will give Capetonians and visitors to the city at the time of the draw a taste of the sort of challenges that await host cities during next year’s tournament.
"Leadership Bulletin" will keep you posted on those closures. Next week, we will also provide our readers with some critical intelligence to assist with proper planning to survive 2010 with the least possible disruption.
Provisionally, it should be noted that Long Street would be closed down, as well as the area from Wale Street to Buitensingel Street during the week of the Final Draw.
Expect massive queues and slow-moving traffic from Sea Point, the V&A Waterfront, from the R27 (West Coast Road where roadworks are in progress) and from Mouille Point, into the City Bowl. Also, there will not be traffic possible from Kloof Street into Wale Street.
Obviously, large traffic volumes would have a bearing on economic activity in the city hub from the end of November until 10 December, and that is a factor that will have to be factored in when people make predictions about the tourism benefits of the Final Draw.
It is also a factor that businesses in the area and beyond should take into account when they plan activities – such as meetings or visits from clients and/or employees from outside Cape Town – during that period.
Ultimately, the Final Draw could be a catalyst for a tourism boom in Cape Town, and something that observers predict could increase international tourism to the Mother City by more than 30%, on the scale last seen with Barcelona after the 1992 Olympic Games.
