Luyanda Mpahlwa had an important message for forum members: in noting that stadiums today – due to their elaborate construction and the impressions they could make on a landscape – were very much ‘21st Century Cathedrals’, their overriding success was still dependent on their versatility as well as the public’s perception and ‘buy in’ into the many events that could be held at these venues. He also stressed that it was time for South Africans to overcome their negativity towards the 2010 FIFA World Cup: the stadiums would be ready – of that there was no question. But would the host cities be ready to take advantage of the event outside of the stadiums? Said Mpahlwa: ‘We need to be careful that the event does not only happen in the stadium and leaves the city behind.

About the speaker

Born in the Eastern Cape, Luyanda commenced his architectural studies at the University of Natal in 1978 and proceeded to Natal Technikon for an Architectural Diploma before being incarcerated (six years – four spent on Robben Island) for his anti-apartheid activities. After his release, he went into exile in Germany where he completed his MSc Degree in Architecture in Berlin, and worked in that city for three years during Germany’s re-unification era. Today he is Principal and Director of MMA
Architects, based at their Cape Town office. Along with coordinating and designing buildings such as the South African Embassy Project in Berlin, Luyanda serves on the SA LOC’s Technical Advisory Committee on Stadium Construction and as a part of this process he was an observer at both the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany and the 2007 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean.

Presentation Summary

Speaking to the Forum in his personal capacity, Luyanda gave his interpretation of what makes a successful event of this nature, noting first and foremost that it „actually is not such a scary event‟ and that an event of this magnitude was often „misunderstood as it seemed to be run by so many powerful people‟ that ordinary citizens failed to see the wood for the trees, or how they could fit into the scope of things.

In 2005 he had travelled to Germany as part of a private initiative set up by a Johannesburg-based sport and leisure organisation in conjunction with the Germany Chamber of Commerce, to witness the preparations for 2006. (As an aside, Luyanda wondered how many South African companies had yet caught on to the business prospect of inviting Brazilian delegations to our country to witness our preparations? „Perhaps,‟ he speculated, „we should at this stage all be learning Portuguese and enticing Brazil.‟) Thereafter he had been invited to be part of the five-member team to oversee the construction of stadiums in South Africa.

Referring to stadiums as „21st Century Cathedrals‟, Luyanda noted that not only were they complicated in their own right to construct, but so was their integration into a central city experience – for example, the complex traffic coordination that needed to be put into place, their versatility in terms of future events (ie: to be far more than just football stadiums), the budgets they require and not least of all how do ordinary citizens derive maximum benefit from them? It was interesting to note that Durban was building a stadium that could be used not just for football but to host Olympic games Luyanda then stressed the importance of international events in building cities, citing examples such as Barcelona post the Olympics and the „Barcelonisation‟ of the event by that host city.

Talking about the „big business‟ that is the building of stadiums today, he gave an account of a number of Germany‟s 2006 stadiums, elaborating to what extend renovations had taken place to existing buildings (as was the case in Berlin), what budgets had been spent on new and old stadiums, and how most of the stadiums had been funded by cities and not the German government. Overall, however, he emphasised that the point about international football at the World Cup level was that it was a fan experience –
encompassing not just young men, but people of all ages and both males and females.

Luyanda then moved on to Germany‟s 2006 „Time to make Friends‟ campaign, which it is believed was one of the most effective initiatives behind the success of the 2006 event. Not only did it generate a great feeling within stadiums but allowed both local and fans from abroad to be friends outside the pitch. It‟s about welcoming the world as good hosts and encouraging people that they must come to the stadium.‟ Of course, good public transport was crucial to the success of an event such as a World Cup.
Moving on to the 2007 ICC event in the Caribbean, Luyanda reported that on arrival in Antigua he had found the city to be very quiet. Where was the presence of the World Cup? And even though new stadiums had been built, it appeared the venues had failed to capture the hearts of the ordinary citizens. As for the matches themselves: stadiums were relatively empty and eventually people had to be let in free of charge. It was apparent that the Local Organising Committee had not been successful in getting the
local citizens behind the event. With reference to our own 2010 FIFA World Cup, it was now crucial for South Africans to get behind the event and understand that soccer is a „people‟s sport‟.

“It is critical to galvanise us as a public and a nation to want to go to the stadiums for the World Cup and beyond,‟ said Luyanda. „It is now up to us to find opportunities to maximise the event and the space that goes with it to our benefit. Yes, there is a global economic meltdown happening, but the opportunities that come with 2010 will help us as a country get through it.

“And there are a number of “Do‟s” that can be taken advantage of. We need to understand the restrictions but look towards our own entrepreneurial spirit and make this to be “our” event.” Strengthening this position, Luyanda then gave examples from Germany of cities that came up with their own marketing campaigns (for example Frankfurt‟s „City on the Ball‟), and the actual competitions that
were run between cities to be Germany‟s best host city.

Commenting on the Fan Park, Luyanda noted that these had not been in existence before Germany 2006. Run by the cities themselves rather than FIFA, they attracted a total of 15-million participants (vs the three million tickets sold in the stadiums!)

Q&A Session relating to Luyanda Mpahlwa’s presentation:

Q: Could you comment on the poor performance of Confederations Cup ticket sales to dates?

Host cities – along with FIFA – are critical players in ensuring that all events are well-attended and that they find people locally who will help an event to be marketed successfully. A similar situation existed in Germany prior to the Confederations Cup and it was only once this event had been held that Germany „woke up‟ to the World Cup itself. However, the Confederations Cups was happening – with or without the participation of South Africans – and if national supporters did not buy tickets, it would end up being an event only experienced by foreigners! „Ultimately, Luyanda warned „ it would be an indication on us as a nation.”

Q: Can you give any other examples of German host city initiatives run outside of the FIFA stable?

Frankfort is often considered a rather staid „banker‟s‟ city (it‟s even refered to as „Bankfurt‟) and needed innovative ways to market itself particularly in competition to cities such as Berlin. A very small two-women event marketing agency came up with the idea on their own of running a database of alternative accommodation –outside of the official Match List. The concept and their marketing of it became so successful that they were eventually contracted by the City of Frankfurt to be part of their
official marketing campaign. Another avenue which someone in Cape Town should consider: not all journalists get accredited. In
Germany, rather than having them be disgruntled because they were not part of the action, a number of alternative tour group and events were established and aimed specifically at the „non-accredited‟ media. These were a great success

Q: Surely its not only about local marketing – national marketing must be a success. Where are we in the national scheme of things?

The problems lie with the serious negative vibe currently out there in SA – particularly that football people can‟t pull off an event like this and that needs a serious attitude adjustment. The World Cup inside the stadiums will be a success because the stadiums will be ready and thus I sleep well at night. In any case, I don‟t understand this negativity because SA hosts international events all the time! So yes, we can look nationally as to how we handle this event, but the real success lies with the individual host cities and how they conduct themselves. In the case of Cape Town, we need to be very careful that the event does not only happen inside the stadium and leaves the city behind.

Presentation Slides

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2. Cape Town Tourism 2010 FIFA World Cup Programmes
3. Training for thousands of 2010 FIFA World Cup™ volunteers kicks off
4. City to assess socio-economic impact of 2010 FIFA World Cup™
5. Doing it in the Central City during the 2010 FIFA World Cup