Newbie sleuthing on South Africa (exciting!)as follow-up to Argentina/Brazil:
FIFA Final Draw Day is Friday, December 4th in Cape Town, which means racers would need to leave by SA Wednesday evening. David Beckham is making an appearance. South African Airways has one nonstop flight departing Buenos Aires Wednesday evening and arriving in Jo-burg the next morning (Thursday). Numerous flights (and train travel) to Cape Town and lots of tourist/cultural opportunities between the 2 main cities; Robben's Island (just off Capetown coast) part of FIFA events.
Note: SAA Sao Paulo flight to Jo=burg on Monday, Tuesday only (thus eliminated); SAA Buenos Aires flight on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Note, I haven't looked at other airline possibilities yet.
See below SAA timetables and excepts from FIFA.com and FIFA media:
South African Airway timetable, December 1, 2009 to 27 March 2010
From Sao Paulo (SAO) GMT-0200(-0300 from 21Feb)
To Johannesburg (JNB)
34567 1730 GRU 0705+1 JNB SA223 346/JY 0
From 03Mar
34567 1730 GRU 0725+1 JNB SA223 346/JY 0
21Feb - 28Feb
12 1730 GRU 0705+1 JNB SA223 342/JY 0
From 01Mar
12 1730 GRU 0725+1 JNB SA223 342/JY 0
22Feb - 23Feb
34567 1830 GRU 0705+1 JNB SA223 346/JY 0
To 31Jan
34567 1830 GRU 0725+1 JNB SA223 346/JY 0
03Feb - 20Feb
12 1830 GRU 0705+1 JNB SA223 342/JY 0
To 29Dec
12 1830 GRU 0705+1 JNB SA223 346/JY 0
04Jan - 19Jan
12 1830 GRU 0705+1 JNB SA223 342/JY 0
25Jan - 26Jan
12 1830 GRU 0725+1 JNB SA223 342/JY 0
01Feb - 16Feb
From Buenos Aires (BUE) GMT-0300
To Johannesburg (JNB)
357 1830 EZE 0855+1 JNB SA227 342/JY 0
Theron, Beckham and Gebrselassie to star at the Final Draw on 4 December
(FIFA.com) Tuesday 1 December 2009
South Africa’s Academy Award winner Charlize Theron will be the guest presenter assisting FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke during the Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) on Friday, 4 December 2009 (19.00 local time/CET+1). They will be joined on stage by a star-studded line-up of sports celebrities, including football star David Beckham (England), one of only a few players to score in at least three consecutive FIFA World Cups, Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia), two-time Olympic gold medallist and nine-time athletics world champion, Makhaya Ntini, the first black player in the South African cricket team, John Smit, the captain of rugby world champions South Africa and Bafana Bafana player Matthew Booth.
Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa, and FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter will welcome the audience at the beginning of the 90-minute live show. Guests on the day will include Issa Hayatou, Chairman of the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup™, Nobel Peace Prize winners Frederik W. de Klerk and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, as well as former football icons Franz Beckenbauer, Michel Platini, Eusebio and Roger Milla. The majority of the 32 coaches of the qualified teams are expected to be present at the draw. Former South African President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela, one of the architects of the first African World Cup, will address the audience by video message.
“This is a very important event for football and Africa as the Final Draw comes to Cape Town where an unprecedented six teams from the host continent will be represented. We expect a record global audience which I hope will be glued to their screens for the duration of the show,” said the FIFA Secretary General who will marshal the actual draw.
200 million expected to watch Final Draw
The Final Draw will be beamed live to an estimated audience of more than 200 million people in more than 200 territories. It has attracted unprecedented worldwide interest and an onsite presence of 2,000 invited guests and more than 1,700 media representatives.
It has taken a year of preparations, 3,600 hours of manpower and 5,000 hours of production to put together the draw show from the stage to the actual performances. This includes a world premiere with a handmade 3D animation of the Official Mascot Zakumi, enabling the animated Zakumi to interact live on stage with the presenter during the show. Grammy award-winners Soweto Gospel Choir, Beninese singer-songwriter Angélique Kidjo and one of South Africa’s most successful solo musicians Johnny Clegg will perform alongside the Jazzart Dance Company. The grand finale will feature 80 artists including internationally acclaimed musical ensemble Africa Umoja. African beats will echo through the draw, while the show will reach a fitting climax at the moment when the 32 teams discover who they will be playing and when.
A compilation of poignant films will serve as a taster of the upcoming tournament scheduled from 11 June to 11 July 2010, including a journey through FIFA World Cup™ history and features on the host country with all its remarkable offerings for fans. The programme will be hosted by popular South African presenter Carol Manana on a giant 4,800m2 stage made of 6.5 tons of steel, 1,600m2 of printed material, a 1.2 km steel handrail and 950m2 of timber.
The draw procedures and seeding process will be announced on 2 December following the meeting of the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup™ under the chairmanship of FIFA Vice-President Issa Hayatou.
Main media activities during the Final Draw week:
02 December 2009
• 11:00 Media conference following the meeting of the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup at the media centre in the Cape Town International Convention Centre
• 14:00 Mayoral welcome at the Green Point Stadium - the first official event at the new FIFA World Cup stadium
03 December 2009
• 10:00 FIFA Executive Committee meeting on Robben Island
Please note that due to limited capacity, a special registration will be required. Further details will be provided on the FIFA Media Channel in due course.
It was on Robben Island where, for many years, political prisoners had to fight for the right to play football, with men secretly playing the game in their cells with balls made of pieces of paper, cardboard and rags tied together with string. The island's authorities finally gave in, granting inmates the right to play football in 1965. The prisoners then built their own goals and would swap their drab prison garb and play in the colours of their teams on Saturdays. The Makana Football Association was founded on Robben Island in 1969. It was a football association which adhered strictly to the FIFA Statutes and principles and the Laws of the Game. On 18 July 2007 the Makana FA became the first FIFA honorary member association.
04 December 2009
• 09:00 Team seminar (open to TV crews/photographers for the first five minutes) at the CTICC
• 09:00 - 12.00 2018/2022 FIFA World Cup Bidding Country Media Expo (see details below)
• 19:00 Worldwide broadcast of the Final Draw, followed by a mixed zone and a Host City exhibition
05 December 2009
• 10:00 - 11:00 Opening of the first Football for Hope Centre in Khayelitsha
• 12:00 - 18:30 First World Press Day at the CTICC to provide media with first hand information on the preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup? and the host country
• 19:00 World Press Day Media Party