World Cup 2010 Stadiums & Host Cities Have a Lot to Live Up To
The FIFA World Cup Venues for World Cup 2010 are spread right across South Africa. The nine cities of Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Pretoria, Port Elizabeth, Bloemfontein, Polokwane, Nelspruit and Rustenburg are home to the ten stadiums where the action will take place. An estimated 400,000 from all over the world will come to South Africa to see live soccer action and millions more will watch on television.
In Johannesburg, two FIFA World Cup 2010 stadiums will be holding matches. First is the Soccer City that has a capacity of 94,700, and the second is the Coca-Cola Park with a capacity of 62,567. In Durban, it is the Moses Mabhida Stadium with a capacity of 70,000. In Cape Town, it is the Green Point Stadium which can hold 69,070 people. In Pretoria, the venue is the Loftus Versfeld Stadium where 51,760 can see the game. In Port Elizabeth, the venue is the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium that can accommodate 48,000 spectators. In Bloemfontein, the matches will be held in the Free State Stadium that has a capacity of 48,070. In Polokwane, the FIFA World Cup 2010 matches will be held in the Peter Mokaba Stadium which can hold 46,000 people. In the city of Nelspruit, the Mbombela Stadium holds all the matches, where as many as 44,000 can sit. And finally, the Royal Bafokeng Stadium has a capacity of 42,000 and it holds the matches in the city of Rustenburg.
The organizers of the tournament have built 5 new world cup 2010 stadiums; three are planned as new match venues and two stadiums are to be dedicated as practice grounds. Of the existing venues, five are being upgraded to be adequate for the rigors of a tournament of this magnitude. By October 2009, all of the World Cup venues are expected to be ready. After this, the organizers as well as the FIFA officials will inspect them and if they are happy, they will give the green signal.
The stadiums are just one part of organizing a tournament of these proportions. The entire infrastructure of the country has to be top class, in order to showcase the South African nation to the world in this advertising opportunity of gigantic proportions. South Africa is thus implementing an improvement plan of its current public transport system. Among various such projects are the Gautrain and the new Bus Rapid Transit system (BRT) “Rea Vaya”. South Africa is implementing special measures to make sure that the safety and security of local and overseas football fans attending the matches are well taken care of.
The FIFA World Cup 2010 is around the corner, and the world is waiting with baited breath to watch the soccer action and see how well South Africa’s new world cup venues stand up to international scrutiny.