| Joahnnesburg: WC plans addressed 10/03/2010 |
Park and ride, park and walk, public transport and taxis will all be used to get soccer fans to the game on time during the 2010 World Cup. The City’s Transport Department is ironing out various transport plans to get spectators to and from stadiums, public viewing sites and fan fests. ’Part of the physical infrastructure is Joburg’s flagship initiative, the Rea Vaya Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system,’ said Yolisa Mashilwane, the director of management support for transport in the City.
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Full SA2010 report
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| Port Elizabeth: Drought scorches WC pitch 09/03/2010 |
The green pitch at Port Elizabeth’s 2010 World Cup stadium has become an island in a sea of brown, exempt from water limits imposed due to a drought that has scorched the land outside. Sports24 reports that five people work day and night to maintain the grass inside the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, designed to resemble a flower that now appears to blossom from the baked earth. ’To reduce our water consumption, we water in the morning at two o’clock. It’s more economical,’ said Rob Hitchens, manager at the 46 000-seat stadium that will host eight World Cup matches.
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Full Sports34 report
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| Durban: Future of old airport up in the air - 07/03/2010 |
Durban International Airport will close at the end of April when the new King Shaka International Airport on the North Coast opens ahead of the 2010 World Cup. But the sale of the old site now hangs in the balance. The Times has established that: ’Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) wants to decommission the runway immediately after the World Cup; the SA Air Force, which has a base on site, needs to use the runway for another five years; no budget has been allocated to establish a new air force base at the King Shaka airport; the task team assessing the sale of the old airport has been meeting only for the past five months and two major potential bidders, Toyota SA and Transnet, are no longer bidding for the site.’
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Full report in The Times
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| Cape Town: ’Great inner-city park’ in Green Point - 05/03/2010 |
The City of Cape Town is set to unveil a multi-million rand park in the next few months, with officials saying the facility would become a ’great inner-city park’, similar to those in cities around the world, notes a report on the IoL site. And while attention in recent years has been almost exclusively focused on the park’s R4.5 billion neighbour, the Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium, the Green Point Park is bound to lure Capetonians and tourists alike far into the future.
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Full IoL report
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| Port Elizabeth: Perfect score for Bay stadium 03/03/2010 |
Nelson Mandela Bay’s 2010 World Cup stadium received a perfect score from FIFA general-secretary Jerome Valcke. The Herald reports that Valcke said of all the stadiums visited so far including Cape Town’s Greenpoint Stadium and Johannesburg’s Soccer City, the Port Elizabeth stadium was the one venue that stood out in terms of readiness.
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Full report in The Herald
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| Cape Town: Thumbs-up for city’s health system 02/03/2010 |
The Western Cape has ’impressive’ health services that will certainly deliver excellent medical care to international visitors during the 2010 World Cup, says Deputy Minister of Health Molefe Sefularo. The Cape Argus reports that during his tour of several provincial hospitals, Sefularo said that apart from the ’disturbing’ substance and alcohol abuse that burdened health services here, he was generally happy with the level of public health care. Sefularo joined other senior health officials to inspect Groote Schuur Hospital, the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) centre at Tygerberg and Somerset Hospital to check their state of readiness ahead of the soccer showpiece.
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Full Cape Argus report
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| Cape Town: Africa’s largest ’accommodation hub’- 01/03/2010 |
The University of Cape Town (UCT) said it would become Africa’s largest ’accommodation hub’ when it opens its doors to 2010 World Cup fans. It said that from June 9 its residences would become a home-from-home for thousands of visitors to the Mother City. The Star reports that the head of UCT’s 2010 task team, John Simpson, said UCT and its huge residence infrastructure were ideally placed for fans. Guests would have access to the university’s extensive shuttle system.
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Full The Star report
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| Johannesburg: R9m facelift readies market for 2010 28/02/2010 |
Johannesburg’s Fordsburg Flea Market has undergone a R9-million revamp in time for the 2010 World Cup. Nestled in the bustling city of Johannesburg is the Fordsburg Flea Market with its irresistible appeal of oriental, middle-Eastern and Indian cultures. The Times reports that the bazaar, which is said to be the Grey Street of Johannesburg, offers a medley of wares, ranging from food, spices, clothes and accessories to gifts. Now, thanks to a R9-million upgrade to the market and surrounding precinct, the square is set to become one of the prime hot spots for tourists ahead of the 2010 World Cup.
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Full report in The Times
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| Durban: Medical check-up ahead of WC 28/02/2010 |
Ahead of the massive celebrations in Durban to mark 100 days before the 2010 World Cup kickoff, Molefi Sefularo, the deputy minister of health, is to inspect critical health facilities in the city. Sunday World reports that the deputy minister’s tour will start at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. This will be followed by an inspection of the newly renovated, state-of- the-art emergency medical services control centre in Wentworth. His final stops will be Addington Hospital and the medical centre at Moses Mabhida Stadium.
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Full Sunday World reportSunday
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| Port Elizabeth: University lends beds for WC 28/02/2010 |
2010 World Cup accommodation blues may now be a thing of the past in Port Elizabeth as the local university has chipped in to offer beds on campus. Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University spokesperson Roslyn Baatjies says nearly 1800 beds on campus had been booked out. Sunday World reports that most of these beds will be used by the South African Police Service. Police will be brought from Eastern Cape prior to the start of the first match to assist with security until the end of the tournament.
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Full Sunday World report
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| Buffalo City: Municipality under fire for ’dropping the ball’ 26/02/2010 |
Sports Minister Makhenkesi Stofile has lashed out at the Buffalo City Municipality (BCM) for failing to secure a 2010 World Cup training venue arrangement, accusing officials of ’dropping the ball’, notes a Daily Dispatch report. Speaking at a provincial government World Cup summit this week, Stofile said the city had lost its steam generated during the tenure of former deputy mayor Des Halley, a football fanatic who died in 2004 of a heart attack. ’BCM abandoned its fight to include the city in the World Cup after Des Halley died and you can hate me for saying that, but it’s true. That is why you are not a base camp,’ he said.
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Full Daily Dispatch report
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| Cape Town: City reveals 2010 network plans - 26/02/2010 |
The City of Cape Town has unveiled its public transport plan to accommodate 2010 World Cup tourists and locals during the football tournament. The plan envisages trains, buses, minibus taxis and metered taxis ferrying tourists to and from the airport, the Cape Town stadium and public viewing areas, and on an inner-city loop. On match days, fans holding World Cup tickets will be able to travel to and from the stadium for free from more than 25 park-and-ride centres across the city, from as far afield as Strand.
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Full Cape Times report
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| Johannesburg: City speeding up liquor licences 25/02/2010 |
Gauteng has set up special measures to ensure that the Liquor Board awards licenses in time for the 2010 World Cup. ’Part of the strategy is to focus on limiting trading in the vicinity of schools, places of worship and irresponsible trading in dense residential areas,’ Economic Development MEC Firoz Cachalia said. Cachalia said the Board will also address backlogs in licensing, improve revenue collections and eliminate fraud and illegal licenses.
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Full press release
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| Cape Town: Fans set to score - 24/02/2010 |
In addition to the official Fan Fest at the Grand Parade and City Hall, four other public viewing areas will be set up in Cape Town for the 2010 World Cup, said director of operations Lesley de Reuck. These would be at the Athlone Civic Centre, the Bellville Velodrome, OR Tambo complex in Khayelitsha and the Swartklip sport complex in Mitchells Plain, notes a News24 report. De Reuck said: ’We want to be Africa’s party capital.’ The fan parks would offer free viewing of games featuring South Africa, games being played in Cape Town, and the knock-out stages of the competition.
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Full News24 report
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| Cape Town: Race to get IRT buses ready for WC - 23/02/2010 |
Ensure that the 43 integrated rapid transit (IRT) buses reach Cape Town on time is the city’s biggest transport challenge before the 2010 World Cup. The Cape Argus reports that the buses will be used to ferry soccer fans between the airport and city, and from Hertzog Boulevard, where the main IRT station is being built, to the stadium on match days. The 43 buses are designed to accommodate the disabled, with the first to be arrive next month. All the buses are due to be delivered by May. A senior member of the city’s transport directorate is to fly to Brazil next week to sign off the first prototype bus. The buses will cost the city just over R100m.
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Full Cape Argus report
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| Employers warned for tired workers during WC - 21/02/2010 |
The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration said it had set up special units in all major host cities to arbitrate, because there was an expectation that industrial action and cases between worker and employer will rise during the 2010 World Cup. CCMA Director Nerina Khan said: ’It may seem silly, but it’s not uncommon to have such cases. We’ve not hosted an event of this magnitude, so we don’t know how prevalent it will be but we fully expect to be called up to deal with these issues. What we’ve seen before is employers complaining that their workers come back to work tired and uninspired, and that will be the case again during the World Cup,’ Khan said.
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Full Times Live report
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| Port Elizabeth: City faces water ’crisis’ ahead of WC kick-off 21/02/2010 |
The shortage of clean drinking water in Nelson Mandela Bay is threatening to adversely affect the 2010 World Cup in the region. Sunday World reports that the Nelson Mandela metropolitan municipality has admitted it could run out of water before the 2010 World Cup, saying it is preparing a ’crisis plan’ to address the problem. The plan is to be finalised in March, when details will be revealed. This admission comes as the critical water shortage worsens by the day, with the municipality being blamed for failing to implement restrictions agreed on seven months ago.
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Full Sunday World report
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| PE faces water ’crisis’ ahead of WC kick-off 21/02/2010 |
The shortage of clean drinking water in Nelson Mandela Bay is threatening to adversely affect the 2010 World Cup in the region. Sunday World reports that the Nelson Mandela metropolitan municipality has admitted it could run out of water before the 2010 World Cup, saying it is preparing a ’crisis plan’ to address the problem. The plan is to be finalised in March, when details will be revealed. This admission comes as the critical water shortage worsens by the day, with the municipality being blamed for failing to implement restrictions agreed on seven months ago.
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Full Sunday World report
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| Port Elizabeth: Locals frustrated about 2010 ticket sales 21/02/2010 |
Frustrated Port Elizabeth tourism officials say FIFA’s secrecy surrounding ticket sales for the 2010 World Cup matches in the city is adversely affecting plans for the event. Sunday World reports that the best news so far from FIFA was that the England versus Slovenia game on June 23 was sold out, according to Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism (NMBT) official Erenel Louw. ’However, even judging from this figure it is still impossible to calculate the total number of tourists expected here. You could calculate an average of how many friends or family are expected to come along with each ticket-holder’, he said.
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Full Sunday World report
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| Johannesburg: WC may help informal traders - 17/02/2010 |
Johannesburg’s informal traders stand to score big during the 2010 World Cup if they adhere to the international soccer body’s by-laws, said the city’s 2010 office. Spokesperson Sibongile Mazibuko said: ’Though trading will not be permitted in exclusion zones around the stadiums on match days, new opportunities are being created for traders to benefit from being situated in high-fan traffic areas.’ According to a report on the News24 site, she advised informal traders to join programmes designed by the department of economic development to help coach them through the tournament.
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Full report on the News24 site
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| Johannesburg: Tent City for the WC 17/02/2010 |
The City of Johannesburg is expecting thousands of fans to flock to the city during the 2010 World Cup, hence the introduction of Tent City in Waverly Park, in Joburg which is set to house 2010 World Cup visitors The four to six sleeper tents are set to cost an estimated R530 per night and already have bookings from Brazil and Australia. The tents are equipped with single beds lockers heaters portable chemical toilets and mobile showers. Tent consultant Barry Mackay says tent city will be able to accommodate over 1 400 people and 200 people will be able to pitch their own tents for about R300
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Full YFM Blog report
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| Cape Town: Five-star hotels almost fully booked - 16/02/2010 |
2010 World Cup tourists are booking out upmarket establishments in Cape Town with five-star hotels nearly fully booked. The Cape Times surveyed a number of establishments in the greater Cape Town area. Results showed high-end hotels to be booked to near capacity, while some middle-ranged establishments stood at between 50 and 70 percent. The five-star Cape Grace Hotel at the V and A Waterfront is approximately 90 percent booked, with all group bookings taken.
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Full Cape Times report
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| Johannesburg: City addresses high WC prices -15/02/2010 |
The northern suburbs of Joburg have taken 2010 World Cup concerns about high-priced accommodation to heart with a tented city in the works. The Star reports that Tent City, to be erected at Waverley Park, comes hot on the heels of the converted container hotel slated for the Houghton Golf Course. The facility is set to open from June 4 to July 16, and there are already bookings from countries including Argentina, Denmark, Brazil and Australia. The project was commissioned by the City of Joburg.
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Full report in The Star
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| Johannesburg: Fans to fork out for shuttle service 13/02/2010 |
Soccer fans watching the 2010 World Cup in Joburg face the prospect of yet another expense. The only question is: At what cost? The Star reports that the City of Joburg’s iTransie to Ellis Park, otherwise known as Park ’n Ride, has now become a paid-for service. And ticket holders may have to pay up to R100 per head for transport to the stadium. The service was free during last year’s Confederations Cup, but the council paid about R7-million for it. This year, though, when 15 of the 64 World Cup games are staged here, the City of Joburg says it does not have the money to pay for the service, which is expected to cost more than R14m.
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Full report in The Star
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| Port Elizabeth: Business and Public sector gearing for WC 09/02/2010 |
Large multibillion rand conglomerates and a collection of small and medium-sized businesses surround the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. For each and every one there needs to be careful consideration and planning around the 2010 World Cup, especially match days. The Herald reports that over the next couple of weeks, the Nelson Mandela Bay 2010 directorate will engage with business on the implications of the event that runs from June 11 until July 11.
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Full report in The Herald
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| Durban: FIFA by-laws for street traders - 06/02/2010 |
Durban street traders have been warned not to engage in ambush marketing during the 2010 World Cup or else they could face possible fines. During a public meeting between the eThekwini Municipality and street traders held at the city hall to discuss 2010 FIFA by-laws, other issues that were highlighted included illegal forms of advertising and prohibited trading areas. Malusi Mhlongo, a lawyer for the city, said street traders would continue to trade as normal during the match days at their permanent trading premises.
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Full Daily Times report
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| Cape Town: City gears up for WC - 03/02/2010 |
South Africa’s top holiday destination Cape Town weathered a post-recession summer with fewer tourists, but is gearing up to bounce back in 2010 at Africa’s first football World Cup. The global economic crisis saw international arrivals to the city drop by up to 12 percent last year, while domestic arrivals fell up to eight percent as South Africa braced its first post-apartheid recession, notes a report on the iafrica.com site. But industry experts say the country fared better than most, with the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) listing Africa as the only continent to buck negative trends in 2009 with a robust five percent growth.
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Full iafrica.com report
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