Cape Town Sports Events 2010

In the next few days Cape Town is seeing the yearly influx of cyclists and their support groups (in 70% of the cases their families) for the annual Cape Argus / Pick and Pay Cycle Tour.  The highlight of this year’s race is the participation of Lance Armstrong, seven times Tour de France winner, alongside international celebrities like Gabriella Sabatina, Hugo Porta and South African rugby icons Francious Pienaar and Bob Skinstad.  Last year this race was graced by Matt Damon and his brother, as well as Francious Pienaar.  Matt was in Cape Town last year for the filming of Invictus, in which he played Francious Pienaar during the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

Shortly after the Cycle Tour, on 3 April 2010, the next big sporting event is taking place in Cape Town – the Two Oceans Marathon.  Billed as the “World’s Most Beautiful Marathon”, nearly 26000 runners will be competing in the 56km Ultra Marathon, 25 km Marathon and the various fun runs this year, which winds its way from the start in Newlands along the Main Road to Fish Hoek, Chapman’s Peak Drive, Hout Bay, Constantia Nek, Rhodes Drive, and Union Avenue to the finish at UCT.  It is a scenic route, run along some of the most beautiful stretches in South Africa, but by the same token gruelling in its demand of physical and mental fitness.  In South Africa it is second only to the Comrades Marathon in Kwa-Zulu Natal, and is regarded as a premier international marathon as well.  While the Ultra Marathon is the main race and reason why many international participants visit Cape Town during this time, it is by no means the only event happening.  The Friday prior to the race (held on a Sunday), an International Fun Run of 5 km takes place where local communities and international friends are encouraged to participate and visit the more scenic points of the route.

Shortly after the Two Oceans Marathon, the event that the world has been waiting for arrives in South Africa – the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup.  On 11 June 2010, the first games of this World Cup kick off in Johannesburg and Cape Town.  For 30 days South Africa will be abuzz with soccer fans and support teams in each of our major centres.  Cape Town highlights are as follows:

11 Jun 2010 – Uruguay vs France

14 Jun 2010 – Italy vs Paraguay

18 Jun 2010 – England vs Algeria

21 Jun 2010 – Portugal vs Korea DPR

24 Jun 2010 – Cameroon vs Netherlands

29 Jun 2010 – Round 16

03 Jul 2010 – Quarter Finals

06 Jul 2010 – Semi Finals

Cape Town is preparing feverishly to be ready for the influx of thousands of soccer supporters, officials and soccer-related tourists that is expected during this time, with the new Green Point Stadium already having had its “dress rehearsal” games played to test the readiness of the stadium for the opening game and beyond.  The implementation of phase 1A of the Rapid Bus Transit system is also reaching completion, with the main trunk routes from the Airport, Blaauwberg and further up the West Coast and the City Centre to Green Point Stadium to be ready for the World Cup.

With all of these sporting events looming around the corner, it has had a major impact on accommodation requirements in and around Cape Town.  As a “naturalised” Capetonian (I have lived here longer than I have not been in Cape Town), I have never seen so many hotels, B&B’s and guesthouses springing up virtually overnight as has been happening in the last two / three years.  Yet, with all these accommodation developments, FIFA estimates that there will still be a shortage of beds in most cities, especially the smaller host cities.

In the case of Cape Town, the middle and upper end of the accommodation scale is well-represented, but the lower end of the scale (cost-wise at least) is sorely lacking.  Many private homeowners have seen the opportunity to provide beds to soccer tourists, but seem to have missed the boat in terms of service delivery and standards required by their visitors.  More often, private individuals have not got the marketing skills to bring their offering to the attention of their audience.

The internet is an obvious choice for marketing sought-after products internationally, especially given the relatively small expenditure in relation to the income. The website http://selfcateringcottages.co.za was originally developed to market and showcase one group of garden cottages in Kuilsrivier, Cape Town, but with a number of enquiries from other private homeowners that require assistance in marketing their bed nights, the decision was taken to market and showcase other properties.  If you wish to make use of this opportunity, do not hesitate to contact the owner using the booking form available on the site.