Cape Town Plans Big Weekend for FIFA 2010 Final Draw

Cape Town is preparing for the weekend of the Final Draw and what a weekend it will be!

The FIFA World Cup Final Draw is set to be Cape Town’s prime opportunity to show that it is indeed ‘ready to welcome the world’.

The event - which will be a live television broadcast across the globe - is where the draw is to be held to determine the match order for the 32 qualifying teams in 2010. These are teams that will be well represented at the Final Draw, from their coaches to – hopefully - a number of star players.

There is no doubt that the Final Draw event is an unprecedented opportunity to market and elevate the profile of the City of Cape Town and its region.

Among the 2 000 guests anticipated, Cape Town will host the FIFA family, as well as influential sporting, business and government personalities and a number of heads of state and approximately 600 accredited broadcasters and journalists, who would be bringing the event from Cape Town live into the homes of around 750 000 million people worldwide.

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 on Friday, 4 December 2009.

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. 

These invited guests will be treated to a host of glittering events that will showcase Cape Town and South Africa as a world-class destination. The Final Draw events are being seen as a way to invite the world to experience our hospitality and demonstrate how hospitable we can be, as well as to show that our natural, cultural and leisure offerings are unsurpassed. Our message to the world at the Final Draw event should be: Make Cape Town your destination of choice; base yourself here, visit here and return here.

While the Final Draws on Friday 4 December 2009 is a FIFA event, both the City of Cape Town as well as the Provincial Government of the Western Cape will showcase unique aspects of Cape Town to the 2000 guests at the CTICC at a Pre-Draw Welcome Event that is hosted by the City and a Post-Draw Social Event that is hosted by the Province.

The Pre-Draw event, held on Thursday 3 December 2009, will be activated to coincide with the red carpet arrival of the guests at the CTICC. The function is being planned to introduce the guests to the magnificence of summertime in Cape Town and the hospitality of South Africa as a host country. It will showcase the richness and diversity of our cultures, creative industries and the cuisine of the Cape. Ultimately it will also create a sense of anticipation for the main broadcast event and provide glamorous media opportunities as guests arrive.

The Post-Draw Event, held on the evening of Friday 4 December 2009 and traditionally the event that acts as the post-mortem of the Final Draw that day, will provide a relaxed, stylish atmosphere where guests will socialise and engage with each other, while also providing ‘match-making’ opportunities for teams to pursue base-camp discussions.

For a comprehensive line-up of all the amazing festivities in Cape Town, be sure to read our event overview on the 2010 Soccer World Cup Final Draw Cape Town.

We've got everything you need to know about the FIFA World Cup Final Draw in Cape Town in our selection of the 10 Things you Have to Know About the Final Draw.

It's going to be a show like no other! Read all about the Grammy Award winning music stars that will take the stage at the Final Draw celebrations.  

For more exciting news and information on the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa browse our very detailed FIFA 2010 Section.

To keep up-to-date with 2010 World Cup developments subscribe to our Editor’s Picks Newsletter and follow us on Twitter @wcsoccer2010.

Interested in seeing where the stadiums, fan parks and other interesting 2010 locations are situated? Download our innovative Google Earth 2010 map.