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Only one week remains before the 2010 FIFA World Cup tournament kicks off in South Africa. This promises to be the event of the millennium to date. South Africa has been busy preparing for this party with five new stadiums have been constructed in the past two years, and historic ones refurbished to boot. When I was a child I knew Pele’s name before I knew there was such a thing as the World Cup and then Maradona was the legend of the first World Cup I ever watched. I don’t know which names will go down in history following 2010 Copa, but I do know every African child now will remember this for the rest of their lives so at least two hundred years worth of legend is about to be made.
The list of the event stadiums is as follows:
Soccer City, Johannesburg Capacity: 91,700 | Built: 1989
Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein Capacity: 45,000 | Built: 1952
Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town Capacity: 68,000 | Built: 2009
Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban Capacity: 70,000 | Built: 2009
Ellis Park, Johannesburg Capacity: 62,567 | Built: 1928 (rebuilt 1982)
Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit Capacity: 46,000 | Built: 2009
Peter Mokab Stadium, Polokwane Capacity: 46,000 | Built: 2010
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth Capacity: 48,000 | Built: 2009
Loftus Versfeld Stadium, Pretoria Capacity: 50,000 | Built: 1906 (renovated 2009)
Royal Bafokeng Stadium, Rustenburg Capacity: 42,000 | Built: 1999
The way this is going to play out is those of us who are not in South Africa now, will want to be there by the time July is over. So click here to read about the host cities in preparation for your inevitable journey to South Africa.
TBTG is on hiatus while I prepare for my grad school exit exam and finish up my final paper. For this reason I’ve had to cancel a trip Puerto Rico but am looking forward to seeing the Dominican Republic later in the year. I’ll be back to catch the end of the summer 2010 travel season. Till then, happy travels and be safe.
