World Cup 2010
This article is a travel topic.
The 2010 Fifa World Cup will be held in South Africa between the 11th June and 11th July 2010. It will be the first time the tournament will be staged in Africa. Soccerex conventions 2007 to 2009 will also be moved from Dubai to Gauteng.
Prepare
Trivia Liverpool's Kop End at Anfield was named after Spioenkop (Spy Hill) in KwaZulu-Natal. The Lancashire Brigade comprised the largest part of the British Forces during the Battle of Spioenkop and when they returned to Britain the earth mound at Anfield (used by spectators to get a clear view of the game, before any of the stands were build) reminded them of Spioenkop |
Visas
The South African Department of Home Affairs, +27 (0)12 810 8911, have details on visa requirements. Many nationalities are exempt for visa requirements. It is advisable that, if you require a visa, you apply for it with time to spare. Home Affairs are sure to be flooded with visa requests at the last moment and turnaround times may be longer than normal.
Tickets
Ticketing information will be made available by FIFA closer to the time, and information will be posted here.
Accommodation
Best to plan your stay and book early.
June/July when the games are held is also one of South Africa's school holiday periods. Not only will you be competing for accommodation with a larger than normal number of international visitors, you will also have local holiday makers to contend with. Cape Town, and to a slightly lesser extend Durban, is especially popular as a holiday destination for people from Gauteng at this time of year.
A number of the venues are not generally regarded as tourist destinations and does not currently have the infrastructure to accommodate large numbers of visitors. This may change over the next couple of years with development and investment, but it might be cheaper and easier to find accommodation a bit further afield and travel to the matches. You can, for example, quite easily drive from Pretoria to Rustenburg to watch a match and be back in Pretoria for dinner.
Travel to World_Cup_2010, visa requirements
By air
South Africa has 10 airports that act as international ports of entry to the country. The larger and most used are OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg and Cape Town International Airport
Prior and during the World Cup, a number of additional international flights may also be scheduled to some of the other international airports. A new airport has been proposed for Durban, construction of the King Shaka International Airport, 30km north of Durban is expected to start in early 2007 for completion in October 2009.
See Air travel in South Africa for detailed information.
By train
Buses to World_Cup_2010
Get around
By car
For distances up to about 400km, a rental car generally your best option as public transport is limited and a car will give you the most freedom to go where you want when you want. The road infrastructure in South Africa is generally very good.
The section on road travel on the main South Africa entry will give you a lot more detailed information.
Host cities
The following cities will play host to matches during the tournament:
The following cities will host training camps for the competing nations:
Venues
- Free State Stadium, Horak Street, Bloemfontein. Capacity: 40,000. A rather old (1952) stadium being upgraded.
- African Renaissance Stadium, Greenpoint, Cape Town. Capacity: 70,000. A new stadium under constructed.
- King Senzangakhona Stadium (King's Park), Jacko Jackson Drive, Durban, [1]. Capacity: 70,000. An new stadium that will replace King's Park Stadium.
- Soccer City, Nasrec Road, Nasrec, Johannesburg, ☎ +27 (0)11 494-3640. Capacity: 94,700. An existing stadium being upgraded from a capacity of 80,000.
- Ellis Park, Staib St, Doornfontein, Johannesburg, ☎ +27 (0)11 402-8644. Capacity: 60,000. An existing stadium being upgraded from a capacity of 55,000. Ellis Park is the cultural home of South African Rugby.
- Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit. Capacity: 40,000 (Under construction)
- Peter Mokaba Stadium, Polokwane. New stadium. Capacity: 45, 000. Building started April 2007 and is expected to be completed in March 2009.
- Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth. (Under construction)
- Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria. Capacity: 50,000
- Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg. Capacity: 40,000
Unofficial Google Earth Placemarks is available for those travelers that want to see where the existing stadiums are and where the new ones will be build.
Shopping, World_Cup_2010 souvenirs
Take care not to pay exuberant prices for counterfeit 2010 World Cup merchandise. The SA Revenue Service reported on January 27, 2007 that they have already confiscated more than R2 million worth of counterfeit goods displaying the 2010 logo. The goods included kit bags, soccer balls and socks.
- Manack's Bike & Leisure, shop S243, Oriental Plaza, Johannesburg, ☎ +27 (0)11 838-1239, [2]. will probably have that club shirts or scarves that you forgot to pack.
City tours
South Africa is a country with many things to do apart from watching the soccer:
- Go on Safari - All of the Big Five can be seen in natural surroundings in South Africa. The biggest and most famous safari park in the country (and possibly the world) is The Kruger National Park (located to the north east of Nelspruit, on the border with Mozambique and Zimbabwe), although one downside is that it is so large that it requires several days to see the whole park. Addo Elephant National Park (near Port Elizabeth) is a smaller alternative, although you won't see lions, and Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Park (near Durban) is another good park. Also see National Parks and African fauna and flora for more information.
- Check out South Africa's colourful past - Robben Island, township tours...
- Birdwatching
- See whales, penguins, sharks
- Visit one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in South Africa
- Check out ancient San rock art
- Play golf
- Gamble
Stay Safe
Important telephone numbers
From a fixed line
- 107 - Emergency
- 10111 - Police [3]
- 10177 - Ambulance
From a mobile phone
- 112 - Emergency
Stay healthy
Use sunscreen, wear a hat, drink lots of liquids.
June/July is the middle of winter in South Africa, but temperatures can still be quite high during the day and you may suffer from sunburn when out in the open for extended periods of time. This is especially true for the Highveld (Johannesburg, Pretoria, Rustenburg) and northern venues (Nelspruit and Polokwane). Also see the section on sunburn and sun protection.
Also read stay healthy in South Africa for other important health related issues.
Stay informed
Local media will from time to time carry articles about stadium progress, infrastructure upgrades and possible problems.
Newspapers
- Sunday Times, [4]. National
- The Herrald, [5]. Eastern Cape, will carry specific for Port Elizabeth
- Cape Town Magazine, [6]. Cape Town's internet magazine, will carry for Cape Town but also other World Cup cities
- IOL, [7]. Online face of a number of national and regional newspapers
Get out
Whilst not soaking up the culture in SA and enjoying the soccer, there are many countries nearby which are well worth exploring:
- Lesotho, the Kingdom in the Sky is a haven for outdoor pursuits: hiking, pony trecking, off roading...
- Swaziland
- Namibia
- Botswana
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
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