Pimp your ride – South African style

For those of you coming to stay at accommodation in Cape Town during the World Cup, you will find that the cars in South Africa look a little different to what you are accustomed to.

Wherever you go in Cape Town, you will see Capetonians and tourists alike who are driving around with flags draped over their bonnet or roof, stuck to their windows or covering the side mirrors of their own or even rental cars.

Most people see it as a sign of patriotism and support for their country as well in the upcoming World Cup, but what many don’t know is how it got started. The flag drive began as a part of the ‘Fly the Flag campaign’ aimed at creating awareness and support for the Soccer World Cup.

There is however a slight problem with all this patriotism – People don’t always seem to know which way round to fly the flag.The South African flag has a right and a wrong way to be flown. Flying the flag the wrong way round is a big no no! Here is a tip that makes it easy to remember if you are going to be flying the South African flag – The red is on top like the sun is above us and the blue at the bottom like the sea below us. As simple as that.

If you are a visitor to South Africa and want to ‘pimp’ your car out to what is becoming the norm for Cape Town and South Africa as an entirety, do not worry. There are still plenty of places selling flags in all shapes and sizes and for all countries, from Brazil to Nigeria, from France to South Africa, you will be able to ensure that your car is officially pimped – the SA way.

Mirror socks and flags are available at almost all roadside vendors and hawkers on the streets or at markets. The mirror socks are proving to be the most popular item and are in high demand. Prices range anywhere from R80 at street vendors up to R140 in stores. You can also purchase them online at http://www.driveithome.co.za which supports the Supersport ‘Let’s Play’ initiative.

Can Cristiano step up to the plate?

The captain of Portugal needs little introduction, Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most famous football players in the world. As with all supremely talented sports stars, there are those that adore him and those that deplore him. The general rule of thumb is that those who adore him support the team he plays for and those that deplore him support the team he plays against.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro started playing “formal” football at the age of eight. He played for an amateur team in Portugal called Andorinha. As a player bursting with talent he was swiftly spotted by a professional Portuguese club called Sporting CP who signed him for an undisclosed amount. Before long he made waves in the English football world when Sporting CP defeated Manchester United in 2003. Ronaldo’s performance left an impression on some of the Manchester United players who encouraged Sir Alex Ferguson to sign him on.

Ronaldo shot to fame when stepped into the rather large boots of David Beckham at Manchester United. Alex Ferguson insisted that Ronaldo wear the Number 7 jersey, the same number that Beckham had immortalized in his years at Manchester United.

Ronaldo’s career has been nothing short of astonishing, his achievements in club football are so numerous that listing them would probably bore you, so here are some of his most noteworthy achievements to date:

• In the 2006 – 2007 season Ronaldo was named the PFA Players’ Player of the Year, the PFA Young Player of the Year awards and the PFA Fans’ Player of the Year. Ronaldo was also one of eight Manchester United players named in the 2006–07 PFA Premier League Team of the Year.
• He finished as the runner-up to Kaká for the 2007 Ballon d’Or, and was third in the running for the FIFA World Player of the Year award, behind Kaká and Lionel Messi
• In 2008 Ronaldo became Manchester United’s first Ballon d’Or recipient since George Best in 1968 and went on to win FIFA World Player of the year.

What is simply astonishing is that Ronaldo’s has amassed all these (and other) accolades before his 25^th birthday.

Although his club football career is littered with trophies and awards he has not been able to achieve the same success playing for his country. There is also a question mark surrounding his ability to lead and his appointment as captain of Portugal.  Can he step up to the plate and lead his team to lift the coveted trophy? Time will tell.

With just a couple of days until the World Cup starts, time is running out to book your accommodation.  If you have not booked somewhere to stay in Cape Town yet, click here to book accommodation at Highstead House.

Sources:

Wikipedia

Image sourced from fistedaway.wordpress.com

Have you got your dance moves ready for the 2010 World Cup?

Let me guess, some of us are wondering if we’ll gain weight this winter with all of the invites to events during the World Cup. You don’t have to be a recluse and decline the party invitations as there are ways to party it up and keep fit and healthy at the same time. There’ll be no watching the games indoors, all alone, with a cup of soup on the couch. So let the dancing begin!

To get into the mood and get the party started, you can simply listen to the South African Afro-Fusion band, Freshlyground and Shakira’s newly released song “Waka Waka”. It is an official 2010 Football World Cup song which incorporates the element of the band’s unique sound with Shakira. The tone of the song will transform you into the soulful atmosphere of Africa and get your body moving.

The music video is remarkable and builds anticipation for the World Cup. Take a look at the ‘in the making’ video and listen to the song below – the official video is due to be launched soon and is the first ever 3-D music video to be produced.

Our guess is that ‘party central’ will undoubtedly be the Mother City, here you will definitely be accommodated with some of the best hospitality in the world. Cape Town is known for its rich heritage values, affordable accommodation prices, lifestyle and historical elements of South Africa as a whole.

The cheap accommodation in Cape Town offers you the perfect party lifestyle as it’s modern, authentic and only 5 minutes walk from essential places such as banks, restaurants, bars and the Rondebosch train station.  You definitely won’t be late for the games either, as this accommodation is less than 20 minutes away from the Cape Town football stadium and  international airport.

Thanks to Lebogang Mawelela for this guest post.

Come for the soccer, stay for the food

If you are staying at a self catering accommodation in Cape Town during the 2010 Soccer World Cup and don’t feel like spending your time preparing food, don’t worry – Cape Town has plenty of great places to eat with amazing winter specials.

From seafood to steak, from sushi to burgers, from cocktails to French Champagne and everything in between, Cape Town restaurants have it all to offer.

Even if you are travelling on a budget during your trip to Cape Town, you can still eat like a king or queen. As the Soccer World Cup will be taking place during winter, many restaurants have great winter specials on for you to take advantage of.

Some of the specials on offer during the World Cup are at:

1800 in the Cape Royale Luxury Hotel, Main Road, Green Point(021 430 0506): Amuse-Bouche + 200 gram sirloin, rump, rib-eye steak or sirloin, sauce of your choice + Side order for R99 (Request parking when booking).

Active Sushi 63 Strand St 021 422 0462 – Eat as much sushi as you like R99 (Every day 5pm – 10:30pm)

Arnold’s, Gardens 021 424 4344 – Delicious stew + couscous, bottle of Altydgedacht Red for R99 (Dinner only)

Beluga Prestwich Street, Greenpoint 021 418 2948 – Half price sushi before 7pm. 1kg Tiger prawns R109.00, Beluga Blue Plate special 24 pieces sushi R109.00

Cape Town Fish Market V&A Waterfront Cape Town: Salmon special, 1 course R 54,95, 2 courses R 69,95, 3 courses R 89,95, Buy a bottle of Durbanville Hills Wine and get a free Greek table salad.

Gold Restaurant 96 Strand Street 021 421 4653: 14 Course Set Menu, Interactive Drumming Session (6:30pm-7pm), guided museum tour, arrival cocktail, liver entertainment. R300pp or R250pp without the drumming.

For the full list of restaurants with fantastic winter specials on offer go to: www.thecru.co.za

Want the excitement of being at the stadium without being at the stadium

So you didn’t manage to get tickets to watch your favourite teams competing at the Cape Town stadium in Green Point. Now you will have to sit alone in the lounge and watch it on your tiny television, right? WRONG!

This is why FIFA have created several fanparks within the Western Cape where you can get together with your friends and thousands of other screaming fans to watch the games on HD big screen televisions. The atmosphere in the fan parks are said to equal that of being at the stadium itself and if the previous world cup was anything to go by, they will be packed to capacity. In Germany, 2006, the fanparks accommodated six times as many fans as the stadiums itself.

The fanparks will be spread across the Western Cape being at the Grand Parade in Cape Town which includes the fan mile (read more about this in our previous blog post “Where to watch the World Cup in Cape Town”); as well as at the Bellville Velodrome; Phillippi stadium and Athlone stadium. There will also be smaller fanparks in Atlantis, Khayalitsha, Nomzamo and Maynardville.

The main fanpark will be the one at the Grand Parade in Cape Town. With all the excitement of the game and energy created by the tons of fans surrounding you, you will not want the night to come to an end. This would be the perfect opportunity for you and your friends to have a night out on the town and experience the nightlife Cape Town has to offer.

You will probably need to look for accommodation in Cape Town if you are going to have a great night and depending on how much of a night you make it, it will have to be cheap accommodation in Cape Town. Whether you are celebrating the victory of your team or drowning the sorrows of a loss, remember to always be responsible – Make use of the countless taxi services available as well as the holiday accommodation in Cape Town.

World Cup road closures in Cape Town

With 27 days to go until the World Cup, Cape Town is one big bubble of excitement.  There are 8 matches taking place in Cape Town, and  80% of the 500 000 expected visitors are predicted to visit Cape Town at some stage, so the city will be constantly buzzing with all the people!

Hopefully by now you have booked your accommodation in Cape Town to avoid disappointment?  If not, have a look at our Gourmet Backpackers, as we have a couple of rooms left, for just R600/ night.

With so many people out and about you need to plan your route carefully before you set out on match days to avoid sections of roads that are closed, and areas with heavy traffic.  Some roads in Green Point will have restricted access for the duration of the tournament, including:

•    Granger Bay Boulevard
•    Fritz Sonnenberg Road
•    Vlei Road
•    Fort Wynyard Street
•    Ebenezer Road between Port Road and Prestwich Street

In the City Bowl, Darling Street  (between Adderley Street and Buitenkant Street), together with the side roads that feed into Darling, will be closed for the full duration of the World Cup to help facilitate the FIFA Fan Fest.

The following roads will be closed to the public, including freight and delivery vehicles, on actual match days, from four hours before the scheduled kick-off until about two hours after the final whistle:

•    Hertzog Boulevard
•    Heerengracht and Adderley Street between Coen Steytler and Strand Street
•    Hans Strijdom Avenue
•    Western Boulevard up to Beach Road in Three Anchor Bay
•    Sections of Waterkant Street and Riebeeck Street
•    Somerset Road from Buitengracht to Ebenezer Road
•    Sections of Bree Street, Long Street and Loop Street around Waterkant Street

Click here to find out about all the hot spots where you can watch the games.

Accommodation for FIFA 2010 World Cup Volunteers

Volunteers from all over the country (and world) will be moving to the host cities to proudly support and promote South Africa to the visitors during the tournament. These volunteers have to make their own way to the host city as well as find accommodation for the duration of their stay. Highstead Houses offers ideal accommodation (that won’t break the bank) for volunteers coming to work in Cape Town. They offer discounted rates for volunteers so make sure that you check out their accommodation offers before you book anywhere else.

More about the FIFA 2010 World Cup Volunteer Programme:

After a successful FIFA Confederations Cup 2009, the 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa (OC) started the drive to recruit 15 000 volunteers for the 2010 showpiece tournament in July 2009. Applications closed in August and the interviewing process took place over January and February 2010.

With 32 teams participating, an expected influx of 450 000 visitors and 64 matches across nine host cities in ten stadiums, the volunteers will play a vital role in assisting the OC to deliver a successful 2010 FIFA World Cup.

“The volunteer programme is an excellent way to get involved in South Africa and Africa’s once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of hosting the world’s biggest sporting event,” said 2010 World Cup organising committee chief executive Dr Danny Jordaan.

“From ushering people to their seats, to assisting the media and foreign language speakers, welcoming people at the airport and driving guests around, it is the volunteers that actually make the tournament happen,” said Jordaan.

In total volunteers are required in 16 functional areas – accreditation, marketing, media, protocol services, spectator services, transportation, administration, environmental services, welcome and information services, information technology and telecommunication, language support, rights protection programme, logistic services, hospitality and ushering services and volunteer management.

Click for more info on the FIFA 2010 World Cup Volunteer Programme

Sources: FIFA.com and SA Good News

Is Cape Town ready for the FIFA 2010 Football World Cup?

With less than a week to go until the official ‘100 days countdown to the FIFA World Cup’ kicks off on 2 March 2010, let’s take a look at how Cape Town is doing in terms of preparing for the major influx of fans.

The excitement is definitely mounting right across the country, but as most Capetonians will agree, the intense energy in Cape Town is a clear indication that we are ready for 2010 and beyond.

In preparation for the big event, South Africa has been in overdrive for the last 4 years. South Africans have seen extensive road works, massive stadium upgrades, new stadiums built, and an overhauling of public transport systems in the lead up to the tournament.

The World Cup will be staged at ten venues in nine South African cities: Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Nelspruit, Polokwane, Bloemfontein, Rustenburg and Pretoria. Johannesburg will be home to two World Cup stadiums, Soccer City and Ellis Park.

Judging from the successful Final Draw on 4 December 2009, the Mother City is raring to go for the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup. With eight matches being played in Cape Town, the Mother City plans to be the best hostess the Cup has ever seen. Matches in the city include England vs. Algeria, Italy vs. Paraguay, and Quarter-Final and Semi-Final matches.

The brand new Cape Town stadium was officially opened to the public on Saturday, 23 January 2010 when it held an inaugural soccer festival. Built to host the Cape Town leg of the FIFA 2010 World Cup, feedback seems to show that the stadium in Green Point had past its first test run. A total of 20,000 spectators attended the Cape Town derby between two top local teams Santos and Ajax Cape Town, which ended goalless at the end of regulation time, with Santos winning 6-5 in a penalty shootout.

The Sunday Argus reports that gates opened at 2pm and fans swarmed in, posing for photos with characters in African costume and blowing vuvuzelas. At the designated parking areas, police carried out security checks, conducted vehicle searches and used sniffer dogs. The queues moved quickly, with the large crowd outside thinning out within half-an-hour as people went inside.

Speaking before the game, Cape Town Mayor Dan Plato said: “What a wonderful moment. What a beautiful stadium.” He also thanked Premier Helen Zille and the public for their support in making the stadium, and the day, a reality. Zille said: “Ke Nako. Our time has come. “This is the most beautiful stadium, in the most beautiful city, with the most beautiful people in the world.” By kick-off most of the seats on the first deck of the stadium were full and a roar of excitement went up as the first game on the stadium’s new pitch got under way. This game was the first of three “dry runs” at Cape Town Stadium ahead of the World Cup.

There are numerous exciting campaigns kicking off next week with only 100 days to go until kick-off so keep an eye out to make sure you get in the spirit for the 2010 FIFA Football World Cup in South Africa.

Sources:
Cape Town Magazine
The Voice of the Cape

Cape Town Stadium Opening Game

20,000 enthusiastic soccer fans attended the official opening of the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday, 23 January 2010, to watch the match between Cape Town’s two top Premier Soccer League teams, Ajax Cape Town and Santos.

The event was hosted by the City of Cape Town and sponsored by Virgin Active Health clubs and MTN and was reported to be a huge success. There were free shuttles from 12:00 to 19:00 to for fans who did not purchase pre-paid parking tickets; organised security; an impressive opening performance by one of South African’s top bands, Freshly Ground; and of course the match itself which culminated in a penalty shoot out which Santos won 6-5 and were awarded the Soccer Festival Trophy.

We chatted to a couple of spectators after the game, including Amanda Odendaal, who said, “”I felt extremely privileged to be part of the few that made history at the official opening of this world-class stadium. It really was breathtaking walking up to it – it’s sheer size & elegance was spectacular. The atmosphere & happiness of every single person there was contagious…overall a fun afternoon!”

The next Cape Town Stadium test event will take place on 6 February 2010, and will launch the Cape Town Stadium Rugby Festival. A Boland Invitational 15 side will play the Vodacom Stormers.

According to an article on Cape Town Travel, Jean Louis Romain of SAIL Stadefrance (a joint venture between South Africa’s SAIL and France’s Consortium Stadefrance, which manages the stadium) says the facility “has been designed as a multi-purpose stadium and is able to incorporate rugby and soccer matches, as well as live entertainment and concerts. The test events have been designed to allow us to test all these uses as well as our event management plans, to ensure we have sound operating systems.”

Click here to find out more about the Cape Town Stadium, and which FIFA World Cup matches will be played here.

With the 2010 World Cup draw done now is the time to plan your trip

The much anticipated 2010 World Cup Draw took place in Cape Town on Friday 4 December 2009. The Highstead Houses team was at the Long Street carnival to celebrate the draw and, if the festivities were a prelude to the tournament, then we are in for one gigantic month-long party in 2010.

Festivities on Long Street

With the draw over football fans can now talk logistics and plan their trip to South Africa. Booking flights and accommodation should be top of your priority list. The following matches will be played in Cape Town at the Cape Town Stadium:

Group Matches

Friday 11^th June 2010: Uruguay VS France kicks off at 8:30pm local time.

Monday 14^th June 2010: Italy VS Paraguay kicks off at 8:30pm local time.

Friday 18^th June 2010: England VS Algeria kicks off at 8:30pm local time.

Monday 21^st June 2010: Portugal VS Korea kicks off at 1:30pm local time.

Tuesday 24^th June 2010: Cameroon VS Netherlands kicks off at 1:30pm local time.

Round of 16

Tuesday 29^th June: Winner of Group H VS Runner up of Group G kicks off at 8:30pm local time.

Quarter Finals

Saturday 3 July 2010: Quarter Final 3 kicks off at 4:00pm local time.

Semi Finals

Tuesday 6^th July 2010: Semi Final 1 kicks off at 8:30pm local time.

A comprehensive match schedule in PDF format can be downloaded from the FIFA site by clicking here .

Cape Town is anticipated to be the most visited destination during the tournament. This means there will be a huge demand for accommodation in and around Cape Town. We suggest you book both your accommodation and your flights early to avoid disappointment. To secure an accommodation booking at Highstead Houses BOOK NOW.