Vuvuzela South Africa

Strand Tower Hotel in Long Street, Cape Town

Are you looking for accommodation in Cape Town for the Argentina vs Germany quarterfinal on Saturday?

On Saturday 3 July in Match 59 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa Argentina meets Germany at the Cape Town Stadium at 4pm (local time) to determine a spot in the semi finals.

Epic Encounter

Many soccer fans have been waiting for this epic encounter and will be flying in to South Africa especially for the match. Many even say the final is happening in the quarterfinals, as these two teams are the best at this World Cup.

I am sure they will be happy to know that there is still a range of accommodation available in Cape Town at really good prices.

The 2006 games between Argentina and German is still being talked about and rated as one of the all time great games.

How they got to the Quarterfinals of the World Cup

Argentina qualified from Group C and faced Mexico. A brace from Carlos Tevez, and another from Gonzalo Higuain helped Argentina cruise to victory over the North Americans.

Germany drew its historic rival England in the first knockout match. The Germans cruised to a comfortable 2-0 lead before England fought back, scoring once while wrongly having another goal disallowed. Despite the controversy, Germany deserved their 4-1 victory.

Take a look at the affordable accommodation in Central Cape Town – Special 2010 World Cup Rates

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OK, Cape Town has many party venues, but one of the newest can be found in the brand new Strand Towers Hotel – Called the Mexican Shebeen Action Bar.

Created especially for the 2010 World cup vibe – with 14 screens so you do not miss any of the action, the Mexican Shebeen Action Bar is a place of piñatas, tequila, mechanical bull riding, penalty shoot out nets, and a vibe like no other.

Cape Town Party Venue

What makes the Mexican Shebeen one of the coolest Cape Town party venues is that is really centrally located (Strand Tower Hotel cnr of Loop and Strand) and of course the permanent special – Buy five beers and get one free.

Hook up with the Mexican Shebeen Action Bar Page on Facebook

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Today it is exactly 30 days before the 2010 World Cup kicks off. With Fabio Capello just having announced his provisional England squad and with teams already arriving in South Africa, there is bound to be a build of of people who are going to make last minute decisions.

I can tell you that yesterday it was 29C in Durban – this is why we are marketing our city as the warmest place during the 2010 FIFA World Cup. I am sure there are still tickets available, but even if you cant get tickets, come over for the vibe – the Fan parks are going to be amazing.

Hout Bay, Cape Town

Cape Town – Fan Walk and Fan Park on the Grand Parade

Cape Town is going to have a Fan park on the Grand Parade and has established a special  2.4-km Fan Walk that will operate on the eight Cape Town match days, taking pedestrians safely from the CBD to the Cape Town Stadium, along a route filled with some of Cape Town’s best pubs, clubs, restaurant and retail experiences.

In Durban the main Fan Park will be right on the beachfront on Durban’s Golden Mile.

World Cup Accommodation

But what about World Cup accommodation, where can you stay when you come to these two popular holiday destinations?

South African Villa Rentals has two great choices for you – Villa Toich in Hout Bay and Toich Penthouse in Umhlanga – both are less than half an hour’s drive from all the action. And both are situated in picturesque coastal villages.

Lighthouse at Umhlanga Rocks

Villa Toich in Houtbay has six large en-suite bedrooms with studies and balconies overlooking spectacular sea or mountain views, enormous covered and open terraces, heated swimming pool, two lounges, dining room, spacious kitchen and conference room with breakout balconies.

The Toich Penthouse  in Umhlanga, near Durban (14 kms) is within walking distance of the beach, shops, hotels and restaurants.

For more information, availability and bookings take a look at South Africa Villa Rentals Website

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Engen Santos and Ajax Cape Town will inaugurate the world class Cape Town Stadium in Green Point today (Saturday, January 23, 2009).  Kickoff is at 4pm.

Like the inaugural match of the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban in December, this is a test run and only 20 000 tickets were sold.

Cape Town Derby Thriller

It is only fitting that the city of Cape Town chose a classic Cape derby to launch this beautiful 68,000-seat stadium. And football fans can expect a hot contest as The People’s Team try to pull a hat-trick of Cape derby wins, having already defeated the Urban Warriors 2-0 (away) and 1–0 (at home) earlier this season.

We know this is only a friendly so, only bragging rights are up for grabs, but this match at the Cape Town Stadium looks like a real Cape Derby Thriller

Cape Town Stadium – Green Features

The multi-purpose Cape Town stadium boasts special “green” features that is aimed to be completely environmentally-friendly, ensuring optimal water and energy saving.

Engen Santos – Proud to Be Part of History

On their website, Engen Santos captain Mogogi Gabonamong comments, “ Looking at pictures of the new stadium I am sure the game will generate a fantastic atmosphere and as we are playing against our neighbours we are very optimistic that this will become a great event in the history of the city.”

Sharing his sentiments, Engen Santos coach Boebie Solomons said, “ I feel very good (to play first on the new Cape Town Stadium) and with the excellent opposition, I am glad we were invited. I’m proud to be part of history being made with the team playing on such a fantastic surface.”

Sail Stadefrance said from the first press interview that only 20 000 tickets will be available for the opening of the Cape Town Stadium when Ajax Cape town play Santos.

This is an all ticket affair but the organisers did not expect to put up sold-out signs 10 days before the event.

Ajax Cape Town – Cape Town is Fanatical About Football

Shooz Mekuto the Ajax Cape Town PRO said on their website, “We are not surprised by the demand for more tickets. Cape Town is fanatical about football and when Ajax and Santos faced each other in the ABSA Cup final in 2007, the Athlone Stadium was packed to the rafters. This just shows that the support for local football is as passionate as ever.”

Billed as the Cape Town Stadium Soccer Festival, the event is hosted by the City of Cape Town and organised by the stadium’s operators, Sail Stadefrance, and includes live music from top South African Afro-fusion band, Freshlyground.

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Durban and Cape Town are two of the Host Cities preparing themselves for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup.

I have just read two articles in bizcommunity.com about the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup. Both interesting and important, but they made me smile because the stories so reflect the general attitudes of the two cities involved -  Cape Town and Durban.

Cape Town Tourism Survey

Well, the Cape Town story is about the success of the FIFA Confederations Cup. Cape Town Tourism commissioned a survey. According to Dr Nikolaus Eberl, of the 323 international visitors canvassed, only one said he would not recommend South Africa as a holiday destination. 3.68% of respondents answered ‘maybe’, resulting into an aggregate brand advocacy score of 96% for destination SA.

In terms of destination branding, this is the highest brand advocacy score achieved by a FIFA World Cup host yet, beating the benchmark set by Germany in 2006 by almost eight percentage points, he says.

Now Durban, on the other hand has gone a bit lower on Maslow’s pyramid and put safety and security centre stage with less than a year to go before kick-off to the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup.

Safety and Security in Durban for 2010 World Cup

In Durban, a joint initiative has been established to boost safety and security during the football tournament. Safety and security planning is being co-ordinated between the South African Police Force, Durban Metro Police, Durban Beach Law Enforcement and independent security companies with deployment as a joint initiative.

Julie-May Ellingson, head of Durban’s Strategic Projects Unit and 2010 Programme, says, “Durban already has an enviable record for hosting large international events including the Cricket and Rugby World Cups, IPL 20/20 cricket, the FIFA preliminary draw, A1 motorsport and the Comrades Marathon and will be calling on that experience to ensure the same level of safety and security prevails during next year’s tournament.”

Ellingson says, “a joint operations centre will mobilize and reallocate resources and the overall safety and security planning will be collated by the Provincial Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (JOINTS). This structure will report directly to a national structure to allow for consistent and unified safety across South Africa.”

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