World Cup News

Accommodation: It's being reported in the South African papers that, while world cup accommodation is being booked heavily in Johannesburg, there is still plenty of room available in Durban.  This appears to be because most of the teams are based in Joburg, and fans are choosing to stay there, fly to other venues for specific matches, stay overnight and fly back the next day. Durban guest houses and B&Bs in particular have vacancies, since the main hotels have block bookings from the media and Fifa officials. This means that those establishments will probably now be pretty negotiable, charging their normal rates, rather than the double prices they were hoping to charge during the world cup.

Visitor numbers: Newspapers are also reporting that the original high expectations of world cup visitors are unlikely to be reached. This is being attributed to a number of things: the world recession, the cost of long-haul flights to South Africa, the vastness of the country and the consequent cost of travel between venues and the logistics thereof, and fear of crime. As a result, those supporters that can afford to travel and persist with the logistic arrangements are likely to benefit if they are tough negotiators and resist high prices, certainly in regard to accommodation.

Terrorism: Most local newspapers are reporting that the threat of terrorism during the world cup is speculative, and nothing can be construed from the attack on the Togo soccer team in Angola. That was a local attack by local rebel militia and has no impact on South Africa itself. The South African government is of course saying that the country's intelligence structures are on top of the situation. Even the South African Institute of Race Relations which raised the spectre of an al-Qaeda attack recently, have said that "planning around the tournament appears to have been very effective as demonstrated by the now complete stadia. In almost every respect the factors that South Africa can control in arranging the world cup appear to be well under control."

Shark attack: The beaches near Cape Town have been re-openend after closure this week following a fatal attack by a great white shark at Fish Hoek on Tuesday. Two great whites were seen at Fish Hoek and two more at Muizenberg on Thursday and shark spotting by the National Sea Rescue Institute is continuing at a high level. Sharks of all kinds are something soccer fans will need to watch out for in South Africa this year!

Durban Airport: The brand new international airport at La Mercy, just north of Durban will start operations on 1st May this year, just in time for soccer fans to fly in. Word on the street is that the new airport, which will be officially named soon, is likely to be named after the nineteenth century Zulu king, Shaka.