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The Near Post: June 2010

June 2010
The Near Post: Beyond the 90 Minutes

The official 2010 FIFA World Cup™ travel and tourism newsletter for Cape Town and the Western Cape
 
IT'S HERE! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT!? After years of preparation, months of waiting and day after day of counting down, the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ is finally upon us. Let a thousand vuvuzelas blow! South Africa and Host City Cape Town are ready! The vibe is palpable - flags flying, fans arriving, the media buzzing about and the sounds of festivities echoing all across the Western Cape. This is the beautiful game, in the true African style. Even the surfers are saying the waves have a mojo that's extra rad!
From across the globe, fans have been getting ready for the soccer - tracking their team's every move, counting down the days until kickoff, carefully selecting match-day clothes to show their pride…but only now are they considering what to do beyond the 90 minutes of the football match.

Not to worry! Of course there are other matches to watch, the official FIFA Fan Fest™ to visit and the other Fan Jols in the area to consider. But in a place as interesting as Cape Town and the Western Cape every fan can catch the vibe of football AND enjoy the vibe of hundreds of great local experiences on offer. In fact, watching footie with the locals only makes it better! You don't have to sit in your hotel room or hang at the local pub to catch all the energy - or worry you'll miss a single dramatic moment on or off the pitch.

Whatever team you support, or whatever language you speak, you can check out the experiences that other football fans have been having over the past few weeks and months. It's like a sneak preview, or a test drive to help you decide in advance what's best for your own World Cup adventure. Think about what might appeal, and then take a look at how other fans - probably even from your own country - have sampled that kind of experience. Want to bungee off the highest bridge? Check out Koji as he does the Japanese fans proud in an epic plunge off the Bloukrans Bridge (in Japanese). Keen to shop till you drop? Get the inside scoop on all the great shops that Rashid and Yasmin discovered in De Waterkant and beyond (in Arabic). Fancy a helicopter flip? Guillemette (France), Jason (SA), Marco (Italy) and Julia (Portugal) went high above Table Mountain to shout 'magnifique' in four different languages. In fact, there are more than 40 different fan experiences you can find in 12 languages to help you decide what's right for you - before, between, and after the 90 minutes of each football match. Just go to www.beyondthe90minutes.com, or check out our YouTube channel with all the road trip videos at www.youtube.com/tourismcapetown.

Last Minute Special Offers


Thought your budget was stretched to the max? Wondering how to get that little something extra special into your World Cup experience? Look no further than the amazing special offers available exclusively through the beyond the 90 minutes website. Get great deals on wine purchases, free quad biking into the mountains from quaint cottage guesthouses, 3 nights for the price of 2 at top-end accommodation and so much more.

Don't believe the media hype about high prices- we have the best value for money offers going- even at impossible-to-book, world-famous Franschhoek restaurants like Le Quartier Français! view special offers now »

Still not sure where to go or what to do? Thinking you might want a company to put it all together for you, but worried there isn't time? Set your worries aside - this is the World Cup! Worry about your team's performance if you must, but not how to have a great time beyond the 90 minutes of the match. There are great itineraries ready for you to explore right now at the 'Where to Go' section of the Beyond the 90 Minutes website. From the same section you can also contact one of the five official tour operator partners - Legend Tours, AAA Shuttles and Tours, Cape Rhino Tours, African Eagle Day Tours, and Ikapa Tours - and they'll be able to get you where you want to go in Cape Town and the Western Cape with minimum trouble and maximum fun.

Meet the Locals


If you want to get the local insight about what to do in Cape Town and the Western Cape, you'll need to check out the website section to 'Meet the Locals'. From storytellers like Aaron to football-mad food fundis like Marco to famous photographers like Gerald Hoberman, you can learn all about their favourite bits of local flavour. And our celebrated Cape Minstrels have a special welcome they've extended.

Learn to Diski


Not sure how to dance like all the African locals? Well, when it comes to the World Cup, we can help. The Diski Dance is the official dance of the tournament, and there's no better way to learn it than the step-by-step versions we've created for you on our YouTube channel. Watch the famous flower sellers of Cape Town get into the Diski groove. Polish your moves with the beautiful people in Camps Bay, or smile at the school kiddies showing their best moves on the playground as they get into the soccer mood. You can even see the Cape Minstrels in their ghoema best getting that special Diski Dance rhythm rolling. Watch a few of these and you'll be doing the Diski like a pro in the stadium aisles as your team goes for victory!

Finally, if you're in the tourism industry or part of the media, we’ve developed special opportunities for you to participate, gain inside access to our fans and locals, open up new story angles and benefit from all the campaign activities happening on a global scale over course of the tournament. Check out the dedicated Trade and Media sections on the website for more info.


Previous newsletters
- The Near Post: September 2009 »
- The Near Post: December 2009 »
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