Upwards of 450 000 visitors are expected to come to South Africa to follow the 2010 FIFA World Cup South AfricaTM .Many of those will visit Cape Town, not only for the eight matches to be held in the city, but because of its high value as a tourism destination.

Cape Town will host six group matches, a quarter-final and a semi-final. It will also be the base camp for several teams, as it was for several of the teams that participated in the Confederations Cup in 2009, even though the city was not an official playing venue.

The tournament will have a huge impact on the economy of Cape Town and the Western Cape, in the short and long term.

Accommodation
It is estimated that the official FIFA World Cup accommodation organisers will be 18 000 rooms short of what they need in greater Cape Town. Most of the major hotel groups signed contracts to provide a set number of rooms for the duration of the tournament, but the shortfall in supply has created opportunities for entrepreneurs.

An example of entrepreneurship emerged when a group of bed-and-breakfast owners from three black townships put their heads together to ensure that the benefits of the World Cup reach beyond the Waterfront and Constantia. They have banded together to brand and market their accommodation offerings in Langa, Khayelitsha and Gugulethu. By staying in a B&B in a township, visitors will be experiencing the unique vibe of Africa. Typically, township B&Bs have one or two rooms and will serve dinner.

The group has developed a website to advertise its offerings and has created a kind of regulatory environment of its own: safety and cleanliness being the two non-negotiables insisted upon.

Transport infrastructure
Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) has spent close to R20-billion on an airport-infrastructure expansion programme incorporating all its airports in South Africa. The Public Transport and Infrastructure System Grant, established by government and the national Department of Transport, is funding R11.7-billion worth of investment in various transport and infrastructure projects.

Cape Town International Airport is South Africa’s second-largest airport, and often visitors’ first point of contact in South Africa. The airport has a current consolidated capacity of 8.5 million passengers but, with the new developments, capacity has increased to cater for the projected 14 million visitors expected by 2015.

Developments at the airport include the new R1.5-billion terminal, ‘Terminal 2010’, as well as additional parking facilities, a centralised retail mall and an elevated road to alleviate congestion problems. The new terminal has 120 check-in counters, eight air bridges, 20 self-service check-in machines and 11 bus gates. As much as R25-million was spent on a computerised maintenance-management system.

In October 2009, a mass simulation exercise was held to test the readiness of Terminal 2010, to avoid the sort of problems that bedevilled the opening of Heathrow Airport’s new facilities in 2008. The organisers announced themselves satisfied and declared that the official opening date of 7 November would be adhered to. This meant that by the time delegates arrived for the official draw in December, Cape Town’s spanking new terminal would be their first sight of the Cape. Other elements of the upgrade programme that will be finalised early in 2010 are the main parkade, the road network around the terminals and parts of the domestic-arrivals hall.

Cape Town’s integrated rapid transport (IRT) system will be implemented over four phases, the first of which will be completed in time for the 2010 World Cup. News that the cost of the project had been underestimated caused political heat when this was revealed in October 2009, but the project has not been cancelled. It will, however, take longer to roll out in its entirety. The first phase links Cape Town International Airport and the inner city with the stadium. The next three phases, to be implemented over the next decade, will cover the northern and southern suburbs, the Cape Flats communities and Stellenbosch.

The IRT system will involve an efficient and reliable bus service running along main trunk routes and various smaller feeder routes. The emphasis is on integrating bus transport with other modes of transport. In an effort to ensure a smooth transition, city authorities and planners will offer existing bus and minibus owners the opportunity to participate in the new IRT system.

Rail infrastructure in the Western Cape is also being improved, with new stations at Khayelitsha and Century City, upgrades to the Heideveld, Athlone, Langa and Cape Town stations, as well as new coaches and park-andride facilities being provided.

Local opportunities
Fan parks
The biggest fan park will be quite near the main stadium: the Grand Parade in central Cape Town has received a facelift and is ready to host an estimated 28 000 people for big-screen television viewing. The Parade is linked to Cape Town Stadium by way of a dedicated Fan Walk. This route will be decked out with bunting and will provide opportunities for entrepreneurs selling food and crafts.

Other fan parks will be in Stellenbosch, Swartklip, Khayelitsha, Somerset West, at the Bellville Velodrome, in Atlantis and Nomzamo Yethu in Hout Bay. Other towns in the Western Cape will be setting up their own viewing areas.

Crafts
The Cape Craft Design Institute has initiated a programme to help 1 400 crafters market their work during the tournament. Among the products that are ready for sale are wire soccer balls, vuvuzelas made from kelp and beaded soccer boots. The Gift Warehouse in the Cape Town central business district displays the items, some of which were inspired by visits by the crafters to iconic sites such as Robben Island. The crafters are hoping that their market will not be limited to individual tourists but that they may get multiple orders for the corporate gift market.

Venues
Training venues for the tournament are located at the province’s three universities, Newlands rugby ground, Bellville rugby ground and Athlone Stadium, the last of which was the recipient of a significant investment in improvements. This will create a legacy for football in the area for many years to come and potentially give one of Cape Town’s two professional football teams a home.

Training
Various projects have been set up to train local people so that they can benefit from the tournament. The Visual Impact Academy was launched in 2009 by the Cape Film Commission, Africa Soccer Media and the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). With the huge number of media organisations that will descend on South Africa for the football (and an estimated 30 000 media personnel), there will be a need for qualified assistants to help with production, sound and camera work. This initiative is aimed to help young people acquire the skills to be useful.

Cape Town Stadium
Cape Town’s newest sports facility was officially named the Cape Town Stadium in 2009.

The facility will be managed by a consortium comprising Sail, a South African sportsmanagement concern, and Stade de France, whose portfolio includes the 80 000-seatstadium in France with the same name.

Designed by German company GMP Architects, the stadium will seat 64 000 spectators for the tournament before reverting to 55 000-capacity afterwards. This reduction will help to ensure the sustainability of the venue. A feature of the design is an elegant sloping glass roof.