Sports Events in South Africa

For those who aren't lucky enough to have tickets for all the games but want to watch the soccer in a festive atmosphere, probably the best established and most 'user friendly' of the Fanzones in Jo'burg will be the MTN Fanzone at Montecasino. This is usually THE place to watch major sporting events such as the rugby World Cup on a big screen, and there is no reason to doubt that it won't be as successful for Soccer World Cup. The advantage of this venue is that it has heaps of undercover parking, excellent security and superb amenities (from restaurants to toilets). The facilities are obviously well established, and so are likely to be much better than those at the venues organised by the Johannesburg municipality solely for the World Cup (which is why an entry fee is being charged at Montecasino but not for the municipal facilities).

The cost of entry is R50.00 - about US$8 - per person for a full day pass ie. a single ticket will allow you to watch all games on that day. The ticket price includes a 'beverage offering' (beer/wine/cider/soft drink/water) and a 'food offering' (chicken/pork/beef hotdog) - their terms, not mine! There are also a wide range of restaurants around the Piazza - in the shadow of the faux campanile - where the big screen is located, so there'll be little chance of you either starving or dying of thirst! (see my review of Montecasino's facilities elsewhere)

Tickets are on sale at Computicket (www.computicket.co.za) - you book online and then collect your tickets at a Computicket booth in any of the major shopping centres. There's a Computicket at Montecasino itself, so presumably you could pick up your reserved tickets on the way in. Parking is an additional R10 flat fee payable on entry. There is also a full programme of non-soccer events at the Teatro for the rest of the family (including a brilliant production of the musical 'Grease' - see my review elsewhere - and a shage show based on the wonderful 'Beautiful Creatures' CDs for little people) as well as the excellent Bird Park - again, see Computicket for details.

Let the games begin!

The other 'must have' World Cup car accessories are 'sokkies' (Afrikaans diminutive meaning 'little socks') that fit over the car's wing mirrors. They don't obscure your view in the mirrors if you're driving - not that most South African drivers seem to ever use them anyway - but from the front, the mirrors look like they're wearing national flags! One witty radio broadcaster described them as "Speedos for wing mirrors" ...

However, purists need to check for accuracy prior to purchase, as the manufacturers are not overly familiar with the flags of other nations and as a result, one of my German sokkies has been oriented the wrong way so that the stripes run vertically rather than horizontally. This sends the rather confusing message that I am supporting both Germany and Belgium (even more curious given that Belgium haven't even qualified!)

Completely frivolous, irrelevant and utterly lacking in purpose, but then, so are Christmas decorations! And fun is what the coming month is all about!

Let the games begin!

I picked up my World Cup tickets today (Germany/Ghana, here I - and most of the rest of the German population of Gauteng - come!) and was gobsmacked at how efficient the process was.

From a South African perspective, the whole ticketing exercise has been badly pitched and entirely inappropriate for a country where the majority of people don't have Internet access (yet more reason to loathe and detest FIFA), so I had been expecting the worst. After the chaos that accompanied the opening of the ticketing centres, I approached the Sandton ticketing centre at the corner of Rivonia Road and Linden Street with considerable trepidation, and was astonished to emerge less than 5 minutes later, tickets clutched in my fist!

If you booked online, you have to bring the credit card you used to make the booking - you then insert the card into the machine and the tickets are issued automatically. If you booked via First National Bank, then you need to bring along proof of purchase plus your ID book/passport.

For international visitors, FIFA also advise that FIFA Ticket Terminals will be located at the following main international airports, allowing customers to collect their tickets immediately upon arrival.

OR Tambo Airport, Johannesburg (JNB)
Cape Town Airport, Cape Town (CPT)
King Shaka Airport, Durban (DUR)

The Ticket Terminals at the Airports will be operational from the 7th June to 11th July 2010 during the hours between 07:00 and 21:00. The Self Service Ticket Terminal will be assisted by a volunteer should any queries arise and the Helpdesk Ticket Terminal will be manned by a member of staff.

With less than 30 days to go, things finally seem to be coming together.

Let the games begin!

The latest 'must have' fashion accessories in Jo'burg are flags of the World Cup nations that clip onto your car windows - even the queues of rush hour traffic and the tailbacks behind ubiquitous roadworks look almost festive with the flags fluttering in the breeze. In a town where 'bling is king', it's refreshing to encounter a fashion item that isn't beyond the pockets of the average citizen (about US$5) - makes a nice change from Rolexes, BM Vums and Armani suits!

Obviously the vast majority of flags are South African, but the Politically Correct thing to do for those of us who are supporting the other teams is to fly the South African flag on the passenger side, and the team of your choice on the driver side. As of today our cars are produly sporting South African and German flags (the latter on the driver's side!).

Let the games begin!!!

Well, everyone knows this, in the summer of 2010 the world cup in football will be held in South Africa. 32 nations from around the world will participate in the competition.
Who will win? Only 8 nations has won the competition in the 80 years of it, will it a be a surprise this time?

The town of Storm's River is located next to a large gorge carved out of the rocks by Storm's River. From here Storm's River Adventures run a number of adventure activities such as abseiling and black-water tubing. There is also the world's highest bungee jump (216m), which is located at Bloukrans River Bridge. During our stay in Storm's River, we decided to take part in the "Ultimate Gorge Challenge" with Storm's River's Adventures, which involved abseiling 100m into the gorge, then black-water tubing about 4 km down the river and finally mountain biking back to the activity centre. Unfortunately the water levels were really low the day we did it, and we actually had to walk a lot of the way carrying our tubes, which were really heavy, but even so it was quite a fun day out!

Equipment: When you call up to book the activities they will advise you if there's anything you have to bring. All we needed were swimsuits and shoes we didn't mind getting wet. They provided everything else - wetsuits, all the equipment for abseiling, the tubes and mountain bikes and helmets.

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2010 JUNE SOUTH AFRICA IS HOSTING THE SOCCER WORLD CUP
WELCOME TO ALL VISITORS.
AT THE AIRPORT AND DOWNTOWN JOHANNESBURG ,YOU WILL FIND HUDGE SOCCER BALLS, YOU MAY SIGN THEM AS A SOUVENIR OF YOUR VISIT.

Fortunately there are much better souvenir options than Zakumi, as the range and quality of South African crafts is extraordinary.
I especially enjoy the wire and bead sculptures, which are getting more imaginative by the day and are evolving beyond their usual animal themes to capitalise on the World Cup. My favourite artist stands at a street corner en route for my daughter's school, and I have recently been particularly taken by a wire and bead globe (complete with charmingly eccentric rearrangement of the continents).
This evening as I was stuck in the traffic on my way home, a hawker tried to sell me this sculpture of a soccer player captured in mid kick. This costs less than US$20, and is amazing value considering the time and workmanship involved. And before you ask, I have yet to see a wire and bead Zakumi!