Fantastic Fan Fest lures the crowds despite colder weather

Although the World Cup action was upcountry today, Capetonians couldn't resist the allure of the FIFA Fan Fest, and came out in full force to watch the the day's matches on the giant screen. Warmly wrapped up to protect themselves against the colder weather, they cheered for both sides in all three of the day's matches. The Ghanian and Slovenian victories sent them into a frenzy, with foreigners and locals all but hugging each other to express their joy.

"The World Cup has given us the happiest moment in our country's history - the first goal of the first match," said Bafana Bafana fans Rejane Woodroffe and David Martin when asked what they thought about the tournament. Both commented on how well organised the city was, pointing out that they found it litter-free and safe to walk in.

At the fest to support Ghana despite the overcast and wet conditions, both young South Africans were brimming over with the enthusiasm and patriotism that has gripped the country since the start of the tournament on Friday 11 June.

Their comments were echoed by other people at the fest. Kiki Kroming from Germany, in Cape Town with a group of German interns, (pictured right) said that she had enjoyed walking to the stadium on Friday night, safe in the knowledge that she and her friends were well protected by the numerous security personnel stationed throughout the city.

Bas Bieringa from Holland, in Cape Town for a week with his adult sons to watch the Italy vs Paraguay match tomorrow night, said that he found Cape Town delightful, was happy with his accommodation, and planned on spending the remainder of his visit touring the area's wine farms. "We've ordered sunny weather for Wednesday," he joked.

The colder weather didn't put the members of the brass band 'Brassta la Vista' (pictured right) off donning their lederhausen to the fest. The four young men, students of aeronautical engineering and mathematics in their native Bavaria, have come to Cape Town to take in the soccer - and demonstrate their skills at the Artscape. Their show is scheduled for each night of the coming week.

It wasn't just the fans that enjoyed the soccer. City volunteers Lucille Esau and Adiela Petersen, both employees of the City of Cape Town, said that they were sacrificing their spare time for the love of the beautiful game and the chance to show off their supervisory skills. Both women are part of a contingent of some 70 City employees who organise the 600 volunteers who are helping tourists find their way to the stadium, key transport nodes and of course, the Fan Fest. Friday night's game had been incident free, they said, with no reports of drunken or rowdy behaviour.

Traders Noel Morgan and Heather van Harte, who both have stalls at the Arts and Crafts centre said that business was good. "Our sales depend on which team is playing," joked Noel, who reported a bumper day of sales on Saturday 12 June. Inital teething problems such as a non-functioning credit card machine and a broken ATM had been fixed, and with yesterday's announcement about the market, sales were so good that Ms van Harte said that she wanted to apply for extra trading days. In terms of the current arrangement, each vendor is only allowed four days at the market. Eva Mat, a South African based Austrian artist exhibiting and selling her artwork at the fair, reported that she hadn't sold a great number of her works. She attributed this to the recession. Click here to view the video of the craft market at the Fan fest.

Beverage and food sales were by far the biggest movers in the sales stream. Drafts, sold in commemorative mugs at R27 each, were in hot demand, as were their cheaper counterparts, sold in plastic glasses. Moderately priced at R18 for 500ml these were rated - by a group of German students - as better than those sold at the stadium. However, according to Lee Hendricks, who serves at the drinks and snack bar, coffee is the greatest seller, all the more so on cold days.

The FIFA Fan Fest will open at 11:00 tomorrow for the Nethlerands vs Denmark, Japan vs Cameroon and Italy vs Paraguay matches. As the weather is expected to be wet, fans are advised to bring raincoats. Grandstand seating is available at R20, and fans can look forward to local artists BLK Sonshine and Coda, the electric trio of locally based women who have rejuvenated the classics.

The matches will also be shown at the City's Fan Jols at the Vygieskraal Stadium, the Oliver Tambo Sports Centre, the Bellville Velodrome and Swartklip Sports Centre. Doors open at 11:00, and fans are sure to enjoy stage acts (Soccer Mania, DJs and Napalma at the Bellville Velodrome; Jazz Sounds, Downtown, Charlton Swart, Justene Hilary, Josias and the Showtime Boyz and Soccer Mania at the Vygieskraal Fan Jol), five-a-side soccer games and children's entertainment.

Spectators attending the match at Cape Town Stadium are advised to arrive early to avoid congestion at the Civic Centre MyCiti bus station, on Hertzog Boulevard, which will be in demand as people swap from the 2,4 km Fan Walk to the free shuttle service. MyCiTi has the capacity to transport 15 000 people per hour to and from the stadium. People with match tickets should get to the stadium as early as possible. Gates open 3.5 hours before kick-off. Arriving early will prevent congestion at the stadium. Fans are advised to travel light. Security checks take longer when staff have to search large handbags and rucksacks.