Roads are being cordoned off, stages are under construction and banners are being hung to welcome the thousands of people expected to throng into the city centre.
The draw will be an internationally televised event at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) to determine the match order of the 32 participating teams.
More than 150 million people from 200 countries are expected to watch the big event. It will be accompanied by a festival on Long Street, which has been organised to give Capetonians a taste of how the fan parks will function.
The Long Street event will feature live entertainment, including top South African artists such as Freshlyground and Jimmy Dludlu and video links to the CTICC, so that revellers can watch the Draw live.
The festival is expected to go on late into the night. The draw will be attended by some 3,000 international guests, including team representatives, FIFA executives.
Football celebrities like Ruud Gullit, David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane and Franz Beckenbauer are some of the football greats who will also invade the Mother City along with sponsors and the international media.
The Long Street festival is expected to attract about 15,000 people and altogether, both events are expected to boost this year’s visitor figure to over a million. The annual switching on of Cape Town’s festive lights in Adderley Street on Sunday kick-started the festive season.
Over 50,000 people gathered in central Cape Town to enjoy the free, open-air concert with artists Ringo Madlingozi, Jozi, Emo Adams, The Rockets, Ready D, Die Broers, Soli Philander and Joe Barber.
Fans enjoyed the ‘Soccer Zone’, near the Heerengracht Circle, where they met players from Ajax CT, Santos FC and Bafana Bafana stars, Matthew Booth and Lance Davids. Other entertainment included a diski dance competition, five-a-side football games and ‘foosball’ play-offs.
According to BuaNews, a dedicated Festive Season Co-ordination Committee, representing various city departments, has been established to oversee the implementation of strategies to contribute towards a safe, clean and enjoyable experience for all visitors and residents during the festive season.
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