As we approach the halfway mark of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it’s worth celebrating how well we’ve done, both as a country and as a city. According to Danny Jordaan, organising committee chief executive, South Africa could possibly have the second highest attendance in World Cup history. Since 1 June, just over 600 000 visitors have come to Cape Town, each leaving with a once in a lifetime experience that they’ll take home to share with their families, friends and colleagues. They’ve also spent in excess of R974 million ($128 million), and many of them have opted for to volunteer their time and expertise in aid of our country’s poor. All of the games held at Cape Town Stadium have started on time, the FIFA Fan Fest and the City’s fan jols have been well used, there have been no major security incidences, and transport to the games has functioned smoothly. Most importantly, South Africans are finding a common cause in their new found patriotism. ‘Proudly South African’ has taken on a whole new meaning.

Fan Walk

Last night’s balmy weather saw a record number of 72 910 people using the fan walk to get to and from the stadium. (Click here for the video). It is estimated that there were over 100 000 people on and around the fan walk during the day. Prior to yesterday, the highest number of people recorded on the fan walk was 45 400 on Friday 11 June for the opening match.

FIFA Fan Fest and the City’s fan jols

Just over 25 000 people visited the FIFA Fan Fest™ yesterday to watch the Netherlands vs Cameroon game on the giant 74sqm screen, most of whom were Dutch supporters. 63 093 people attended the match between the Netherlands and Cameroon in the Cape Town Stadium. Take a look at our gallery of snapshots from the game by clicking here.
A decision has been taken to open the FIFA Fan Fest two hours later as there are no more 13:30 games from today. From now on, the Fan Fest will be open from 13:00 to 23:00 every day. The new times also apply to the City’s four fan jols at Vygieskraal, Swartklip, the Bellville Velodrome and Oliver Tambo, which will next open on Tuesday 29 June for the round-of-16 match at Cape Town Stadium as well as on all remaining Cape Town match days and quarter-final, semi-final and final game days.

Catch singer, songwriter musician and actor Danny K at 18:00 at the Fan Fest on Sunday. Danny has toured and performed with a number of international artists, including U2 and Beyonce. Award winning Ladysmith Black Mambazo will entertain the crowd from 19:15 till late. On Monday, catch Flat Stanley!

Coming up!

Tomorrow marks the first of the round-of-16 matches, when the US takes on Ghana. The competition is expected to get more exciting each day as the tournament moves through the knock-out stages and Tuesday’s game is expected to bring a large number of people to the city centre and fan jols again.

Ticket holders are advised to get to the stadium at least 3.5 hours before kick off, and to use public instead of private transport to avoid congestion. For transport information, phone the City’s Transport Information Centre on 0800 65 64 63, or check the event and transport information on this website.

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The next Final Whistle will be published on Monday 28 June 2010.