SOUTH AFRICA - The world saw the start of the FIFA World Cup 2010 football tournament in South Africa this June, with events and meetings benefitting from the global exposure.
Since becoming the hosts, South African tourism sources say it has already secured 95 events and meetings between 2010 and 2016, as well as bids for 45 more events and meetings between 2011 and 2020.
However, the tournament doesn’t begin without its fair share of teething problems.
FIFA is turning to local South African supermarkets to sell remaining spectator tickets, which amount to 500,000, after trying to sell all tickets via the FIFA website or through a complicated ballot system. Tickets are currently available for every game bar the final itself.
Security for the games came into question on Wednesday, when a journalist from UK newspaper The Evening Standard wandered freely around the Royal Bafokeng ground in Rustenburg just days before it hosts the England – USA match. No one from the organising committee was available for comment before the story went to press.
South Africa and Mexico kicked off the tournament on 11 June at 3pm (BST), with an estimated television audience of 26bn expected to tune in over its duration.
