It is almost unbelievable that South Africa hosted the 2010 Fifa Soccer World Cup so successfully to the delight of the rest of the world.
When Fifa announced this decision in 2004, most of us had no idea what would be coming our way.
According to Wikipedia “an injection of nearly R6-billion, [£323-million] was taken in as 309,000 foreign fans came”. In a December 2010 quality progress report, Fifa president Sepp Blatter rated South Africa’s organisational efforts at nine out of 10, saying South Africa could be considered plan B for all future competitions.
This endorsement has in my view paved the way for many international events to take note of South Africa.
So, following the current tournament unfolding in Russia, one does get a sense of nostalgia and excitement.
We in Nelson Mandela Bay get to live out this moment again – in less than 65 days’ time we will pull off another spectacular global spectacle.
We are the first and only African city to bid successfully to host the Ironman 70.3 World Championship.
Sport tourism is a flourishing market and cities worldwide are competing for a bigger share of the pie.
I have mentioned many times the huge value an event like this brings into our metro’s economy.Consider these facts: 4,500 athletes, 11,000 accompanying friends, relatives and sponsors, an average stay of seven days in our city and thousands of euros spent in entertainment, sports equipment, eateries, shopping, game drives, township tours, fuel and so on.
I commented on one Herald journalist’s post after Nigeria lost, that it was unfortunate the Super Eagles left so early, but we are not ready to continue a World Cup without Argentina.
The Super Eagles were the sacrificial lambs to save the World Cup from being a watered-down, boring affair.
Hosting the Ironman 70.3 World Champs will also require sacrifices from all of us.
We know that nothing great is achieved without sweat and effort, and this also applies to the successful hosting of a significant event of this nature.
Since 2004, the first time Nelson Mandela Bay played host to Ironman, a lot has improved.
If you have to wait a few more minutes to cross the road, remember how we as citizens benefit from these events.
My advice is that you get hold of the route map and plan ahead so you too can enjoy the World Champs.