First of all, it is a relief to see that I can use technology beyond that used to create the Bradford-o-meter. This is a great step forward for Beyond the Cliche and having had a short teleconference last night, we are pleased to announce that further "technological developments" are in the pipeline. Anyway, now for more musings from South Africa, although this time musings of some significance rather than reflecting on the form of their cricket team.
Everyone is talking about the World Cup. Even the middle-aged women at work (the flags of St. George are up there as well, joy of joys). It is a big moment, not just for South Africa, but for the entire continent. This is their first chance to prove that they can host a massive global event to the standards of Western countries in the 21st century. It is a chance to show a continent which can stand on its own two feet and does not need dictated to by superpowers (was dictated a bad word Mr Mugabe?). It is a chance to show that they can overcome adversity and troubles from the past and show progression and a willingness to change.
As the images show, the stadiums that South Africa has (eventually) produced are of a very high standard and do indeed match the efforts of Japan, South Korea and Germany from the past two tournaments. The main concern is how they will be used after the tournament. You are highly unlikely to squeeze 60,000 Kaizer Chiefs fans into Kings Park for example - I predict few riots over sold out matches anyway (so so sorry!). So really, the stadiums are there for this tournament alone, which is fine.
When you consider other areas of infrastructure though, you can see quite clearly how the people of South Africa will benefit. The roads and transport links have needed to be upgraded to meet the demands of the expected 350,000 visitors over the next month. Indeed, Cape Town airport is now said to be of world class standard, both in terms of facilities and organisation. So like Heathrow, with organisation. These links will remain for use after the tournament, easing congestion in the major cities, lowering pollution by proxy. Soweto's Soccer City in Jo'burg, where the final is held, is in one of the city's poorer areas, so the facelift which it has been given will hopefully extend to improving quality of life for it's citizens. That or the rape and murder rates will increase exponentially as the affluent foreign fans come to visit. The overall expansion and modernisation of South Africa will create more jobs, shifting the focus from the primary and secondary sectors of farming and manufacture into public services, catching up with the progression that most modern societies have already made.
Hopefully, the changes in South Africa will catch on elsewhere in Africa. When you consider how far the Rainbow Nation has come since the backward thinking of as little as 20 years ago, it gives you hope. Whether this hope will lead to something more tangible remains to be seen.
RM
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