Fancamps in South Africa

[MBsurfer]

[Goldie1001]

[Patrick Hanratty]

[Patrick Hanratty]

[worldcup2010]

Being an international man of excess, leisure and absolute pleasure I find myself interacting with a vast amount of people. And therefore I get to do some cool things that other people may not know about or get invited to. Luckily for you, I share it all, with all of you, all the time!

So it was with some amusement and excitement that I was invited by my preferred safari operator, Siyabona Africa, to a presentation at Bishops school in Rondebosch with Gary Bailey speaking. Normally entering a school strikes fear into my body because it was a dark time for me. School that is. Anyway, seeing as though the World Cup is going to be played in Cape Town for a few matches, I thought it necessary that I attend this function. I also just attended because I thought a might get a free stay at one of the more exclusive game lodges up country.

Sadly all I got was some information on the 2010 World Cup. But that’s good news for you, because now you will be more informed!

Gary Bailey says that almost every sector of business will have an opportunity to get involved in the 2010 Soccer World Cup and this even includes schools. Looking at the size of the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa, it is clear that it is bigger than anything we have experienced.

Bailey said that there are expected to be 220000 overseas visitors and another 180000 from Africa. This means the 2010 Soccer World Cup will have 10 times more visitors than the 1995 Rugby World Cup and 15 times more visitors than the 2003 Cricket World Cup. Which means that it is going to be something to behold!

Naturally what this means is that every single one of these visitors needs to be accommodated and transported during their stay in South Africa. To do this will require a great deal of planning and co-ordination to ensure that the spectators are able to get to their games on time and also to make sure that they are kept occupied between games.

He said schools such as Bishops can get involved in the 2010 World Cup through the following opportunities:

Making use of the fields(Mini fan camps)

Renting out the boarding section to fans

It was also noted that building relationships with overseas schools with similar profiles to Bishops(Such as Eaton) would be beneficial. This could be done by making their boarding houses available to staff and families of students who may wish to travel to Cape Town during the World Cup. This could also open up opportunities for future exchange programs.
Gary Bailey said mobile phones will play an important part in the planning and co-ordination of such an event. One of the plans Bailey said was being considered was linking a spectators ticket to their cellphone. Therefore a fan will arrive at a certain venue and the ticket with the fans name printed on it will have to match up with the information on the phones SIM card.

The problem I personally forecast for this is the fact that people may lose phones, or forget them somewhere, or batteries may be flat. Technology like this is good but I think there could be considerable problems when we take the various factors into account.

What was interesting though was looking at the use of cellphones for crowd management. A display screen could be used to show organisers where overcrowding may be occurring by sensing the density of active cellphones. In this way the necessary crowd management measures could be put into place sooner rather than later.

Foreign visitors also may have some language difficulties here and Bailey said there is a project to use the online translation program Babel Fish to cellphones which would help communication with foreign visitors.

Another very important point raised was allowing fans without tickets to be able to view games at the various fan parks they are staying at. This involves the use if a special definition TV set which is an inflatable TV screen that can be erected at fan parks.

Gary Bailey said that in Korea and Germany, fan parks had proven to be a big success and that they would be really important in South Africa.

So those were the main points discussed. From my point of view I think fan camps will be a huge factor in the 2010 World Cup and I think they are an integral part of a successful Soccer World Cup in South Africa. However we are all going to need to be more involved in managing our use of electricity.

Fan camps are going to need power but it needs to be as clean as possible. If generators are going to be run they should try to be run on something like biodiesel. At last years Rocking The Daisies Festival in Darling the generators were run on biodiesel. It was made using cooking oil that had been collected beforehand from the food suppliers from the event. Something like this is a simple idea but we need the minds to put it together. We need to also make sure that our transport for fans to and from the various games is cleaner and better.

I will be going into more detail on the environmental aspects related to the 2010 World Cup in the coming weeks and months.

[dfoster1]

Anyone know of any decent places to stay in Joburg?... preferably safe and in a good location.

Having a nightmare trying to find something thats not miles away from the stadiums or extortionately expensive.

[Patrick Hanratty]

In Jo'burg staying near the stadiums is just not an option. Both Soccer City and Coca Cola Park (formerly EllisPark) are in areas wher you would not want to be after dark. Going there for a match is ok there will be a vast security operation and during the day its not too bad if you are in a group.
So just abput all decent accommodation will be at a distance. Pretoria is not too bad . The Stadium there is near the University and one of the better night life areas Hatfield.
Pretoria is at least 2C warmer which makes a lot of difference at that time of year.

[fancamp]

AFFORDABLE CAMPING AVAILABLE / PRETORIA

Hiya all Soccer Fans,

My husband and I have 15 acre property just on the outskirt of Pretoria that we are setting up for the 2010 World Cup. I am originally from Denmark so there will hopefully be a Danish Camp also....;-) Please pm the admin if you are interested. Photos also available!!!

"We want to create a unique experience with camping, party and all around fabulous soccer atmosphere. The camp will offer the following to it’s guest:

• Single occupancy tents at 35 Euro per person
• Double occupancy tents for 25 Euro per person
• Tent and thin camping mattress is included
• One electrical outlet per tent in included
• Continental Breakfast is included
• Shared toilet and shower facilities
• Big Screen TV with matches shown daily
• Electrical fenced and 24 security on duty

Not included, but can be available at additional cost to guest staying at the camp:

• Must provide own sleeping bag, it can get very cold at night, remember it is in the middle of the winter. But mostly beautiful and warm in the day time.
• Full Bar in a typical South African Lapa setting
• Light meals served on request for Lunch and Dinner
• Transfers to and from stadiums
• Daily sightseeing tours available per request
• We also offer pre and post Safari tours.

We are located:
-35 min from Johannesburg (OR Tambo) international
-20 min from Pretoria stadium
-45 min from Johannesburg Stadium
-55 min from 'Soccer City' in Soweto (main stadium for world cup)
-1O min from local airport for inland flights to other stadiums

Please contact the admin if you are interested in reserving camp space with us for any length of time during the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Please be aware of that we have limited space, max 300 people, and that bookings are coming in rapidly. We do offer a discount if you are planning on staying two weeks or more or if you are a group of 10 people or more.

We do not allow our guests to bring their own tents.

Please be aware that we require a 50% deposit, which is non refundable. The deposit must be paid via PayPal in euros. The final payment will be made cash/euros on arrival in South Africa. Your booking is not confirmed until we receive your deposit.

Please do not hesitate to contact the admin if you have any questions of any kind. Please contact us and we will be happy to send you more information and also pictures of the campgrounds etc.

[devoo002]

A a fan of South Africa, camping and football, I have been on the lookout for camping opportunities during the World Cup finals next year. I just discovered that a large campsite is being set up in Pretoria, which is centrally located with regard to several of the football stadiums. The campsite will host more than 1000 fans and provide meals, transport, large screen broadcasting and entertainment. The expected price is € 55.00 per night including 3 meals, which seems like a pretty good deal.

[BLUEARMY99]

This campsite looks interesting. Anymore news re this or anymore camp sites throughout SA? Many Thanks