Category: world cup 2010

FIFAFanFest in Cape Town

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As you might imagine, we get a lot of media releases sent to us here at chez 6000 and it’s lucky for you that we filter them through a very fine mental mesh so that we only give you the best and most relevant information, rather than simply hitting copy, paste, publish and whoring ourselves out like some other Cape Town blogs we could mention but actually are choosing not to right now.

This one tickled my fancy (which loves the attention) and since I was already planning to spend some time here over the next six weeks, I’m happy to tell the world about it. Read on.

Of the 31 days over which the 2010 FIFA World Cup is to be staged, 25 are match days.
And it seems very likely to me that if you’re in Cape Town but you can’t actually be in the stadium for the games, then the best place to go and enjoy all the festivities of the World Cup will surely be the Cape Town FifaFanFest on the Grand Parade. As they describe it:

…it is definitely the most fun you can have without a ticket!

And they’re probably right: remember the success of the fan parks in Germany in 2006?
They nearly had to re-annexe Poland just to get everyone in. 
Then, put that memory aside for a moment and recall the amazing party atmosphere of the World Cup draw back in December.
Well, mix those two together and you’ve got the Cape Town FifaFanFest.
I’ve been watching this place going up for the past couple of weeks now and it’s looking fantastic.

Each match day during the tournament, the FanFest will broadcast all the day’s games live on their MASSIVE 70m² (that’s an incredible 753½ ft²)  screen and between games (or during the uninteresting ones like New Zealand v Slovakia or the huge clash between Honduras and Switzerland) there are 5-a-side football pitches, food and drink and the mysteriously-named “Interactive Activity Zones” to keep you entertained.

Add to that a huge range of over 100 live music performances on offer including the likes of Goldfish, Gang of Instrumentals, K’naan (not just a Somalian rapper, but also a bready accompaniment to Indian cuisine), Prime Circle, Flash Republic, FreshlyGround and (cough) Danny K and you’ve got a winning recipe.

All you need to know about the Cape Town FifaFanFest is right here – but let me fill you in on the basics: the capacity is 25,000, entrance is FREE and it’s open 11am – 11pm on match days.

Look out for their hospitality packages too, which – at R225 to R1,500 per person – look like fantastic value for money.

Accident at OR Tambo leaves World Cup flights in jeopardy

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Bad news incoming from our obviously disgruntled 6000 miles… correspondent in Jo’burg:

Damnit. Finally, it stops bloody raining and now it’s freezing cold. And not only am I still stuck in this godforsaken hole with its ugly mine dumps, extremely thin air and icy mornings, but now I have to file a report on an accident at the airport here which looks set to have huge implications for the World Cup. Is there no end to the bad news?

Anyway, to business. Apparently, a plane landing on the main runway at OR Tambo International hit a “foreign object” and crashed. There was one fatality and possibly some damage to the runway.
At first, it was thought that the object had been dropped from a plane leaving for Europe, but given the lack of bubblewrap involved, I think that’s unlikely.
Details are still sketchy, but I have managed to get a photo from the crash site and I’ll keep you informed.

Seriously, is there any chance of getting me back down to Cape Town anytime soon? This place sucks.

Never mind his whining. It’s understandable. But wow – this looks bad:

Let’s hope they can get this all sorted out quickly before the crowds start arriving for the tournament.

Meanwhile, does anyone want a new rug for a very long room?

P Tucker is unhappy

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And you only have to read his letter to today’s Cape Times to see why:

P tucker letter

As I was reading this sorry tale today, I was amazed at the number of foolish allegations and inconsistencies in P Tucker’s letter. It would be unfair to label him “stupid” without first addressing each of these in detail.
I shall do this now.

P Tucker applied in the first phase of ticket sales and was rather successful. As he points out, there was no indication as to where the different price categories for each of the games were. That’s because no-one had any idea who would be playing in the tournament, much less who they’d be playing against and where. The number of seats in each category varies from game to game, so that there is more chance of the stadium being filled and so that FIFA and the LOC can maximise profit from each game. P Tucker knew about this when applying for those tickets as he clicked the little box stating that he agreed with the ticketing terms and conditions.
Didn’t P Tucker read them before checking the box?
More fool P Tucker.

P Tucker doesn’t say which category he applied for, let alone which match(es), but was hugely indignant when he found out that he had been given tickets in block 333 (half the Number of the Beast) which he describes as being “near the roof”, although I believe the technical term is “in the top tier”.
Of course, as any seasoned sports fan will tell you, it’s not how high up in the stadium you are, it’s whether you are behind the goals or down the side of the pitch that determines how good your view is and therefore how much you’re likely to pay.

I love P Tucker’s rage that a friend got “better” tickets for R600, which amounts to “total manipulation by Match officials”. Yes, P Tucker – they’re obviously totally manipulated against you, personally. They hate you, despise you and give you tickets in the attic, but they seem to love your mate, don’t they? Damn, it must be so very difficult when the system is stacked in everyone else’s favour. How do you live, day to day?
What an expensive joke they are playing with the soccer patrons of South Africa you, P Tucker.

And it’s not even as if this smear campaign against all things P Tucker ends there. Because his next set of tickets were “also near the roof” in the now infamous Block 304. Now this is where things get interesting, because that second lot of tickets must have been purchased over the counter. Otherwise, he would have received all his tickets in one go. And when you buy over the counter (or even online during an over the counter ticketing phase), you get to see that all-important map of the stadium before you click the purchase button. And yet P Tucker seems to have chosen to sit “near the roof” again, despite his unmentioned vertigo issues.

While P Tucker is distressed at the placement of the tickets he has been allocated, he’s lucky to have got any at all. Such is the demand for tickets – especially for Cape Town games – there are many thousands who wish they could be sitting in Block 333 or even (at a push) Block 304. All of which brings me to my symbiotic solution to this issue.
P Tucker, distraught with having to climb so many steps to get to watch the games and upset with Match’s personal vendetta against him, should simply sell his tickets back to FIFA.
He’ll get all his money back – no commission, no fees, no questions asked – and then someone more grateful (and less paranoid and downright miserable) can have them.

Models of Perception

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With the World Cup just 19 days away, we have had a utterly superb spell of weather in Cape Town. Lest you forget, since we are in the bottom half of the world, geographically speaking, the tournament is going to fall right in the middle of winter here. And, since probably the biggest medium-term benefit of hosting 31 countries and the entire world’s TV audience is the opportunity for everyone to see what a great place this is to visit, the weather could play a huge part in the world’s perception.

While Jo’burg has the official broadcast centre, many individual networks, including the influential BBC and Sky Sports, are choosing to base their anchor teams in Cape Town. It’s a decision that they may regret and so may we.
When you choose to base yourself in a glass box about 200m from the South Atlantic Ocean in the middle of winter, you’re taking a big chance. If the weather is like it was today, you’ve hit the jackpot as the sun goes down with peachy-orange goodness and illuminates the City Bowl for a winning backdrop.
But we’ll be VERY lucky to get away with that on each of the 31 days of the competition. In fact, I’d go so far as to say there’s absolutely no chance of 31 peachy-orange specials. If we’d held it in January, we’d be sorted. But no – apparently that would have clashed with the domestic seasons in Argentina, Brazil, North Korea, Denmark, Germany, South Africa, Ghana, Uruguay, France, Paraguay, Portugal, Turkey, Spain, Australia and Japan, to mention but a few. And Turkey didn’t even qualify.

But I digress.

The fact is that the weather in Cape Town is far more likely to be bloody awful. Grey, wet, cold and windy. Like it was last week. The BBC’s rooftop fishtank is going to be rather exposed.
If it even survives.  
Last week’s miserable meterology almost put me off living here. And if it rains like that during the World Cup (and it might), I sense very damp and very despondent fans and possibly even postponed or abandoned games. And Gary Lineker taking the p!ss.
All of which is going to put viewers off Cape Town and South Africa as a potential holiday destination.

Guys, it’s still not too late for my big sponge idea.