POSTED: Monday November 23rd 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FIFA Fan Festâ„¢ goes global for the first time

Nine South African cities and seven cities over five continents will be the host to FIFA’s official public viewing events for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™.

From     Table Mountain to the Copacabana, from Durban Beach to the Eiffel Tower, from Soweto to Sydney Harbour, the FIFA Fan     Fest™ will enable football fans worldwide to watch FIFA     World Cup™ matches in some of the most iconic locations in     South     Africa and around the world.    

All     nine South African Host Cities as well as Berlin, London, Mexico City,     Paris, Rio de Janeiro, Rome and Sydney were today (23 November 2009)     unveiled as locations for the FIFA Fan     Fest™, the official public viewing events of football’s     flagship tournament. Millions of fans are expected to watch the matches     live at these events and experience the unique FIFA World Cup™ ambiance in     these outdoor areas. Entrance to the FIFA Fan Fest™ is free, with all 64     matches to be broadcast on giant screens in a safe and secure environment.            

Official public viewings events were first launched by FIFA in 2006     as part of the official programme under the name of “Fan Fests”. During     June/July 2006, more than 18 million fans gathered at the 12 official     events and transformed Germany into one of the     greatest fan parties of all time.

“The     FIFA Fan Fest was an important part of the success of the 2006 FIFA World     Cup and we believe that the 2010 FIFA Fan     Fests, both in South     Africa and in the other seven international venues,     will bring an unprecedented experience to millions of football fans in     South     Africa and around the world,” said FIFA     President Joseph S. Blatter. “The first International FIFA Fan Fest is     another milestone in bringing the excitement of the FIFA World Cup to an     even greater audience.”

In     South     Africa, the FIFA Fan Fest™ will be organised by the Host     Cities together with FIFA and the Local Organising Committee, with the     International FIFA Fan Fest™ cities and FIFA taking responsibility for the     international events. “We have always wanted the 2010 FIFA World Cup to     touch the lives of as many South Africans as possible. The FIFA Fan Fest     will provide an opportunity for millions of our people to watch the     matches in a festival environment for free and will also provide an     opportunity for small businesses and our musical talents to benefit from     this event,” explained Danny Jordaan, CEO of the 2010 FIFA World Cup     Organising Committee South Africa.    

Without the support of key stakeholders, a project of this scale     could not be staged. A significant contribution to the South African     FIFA Fan Fest™ will be made by     Presenting Sponsor Coca-Cola, joined by Sponsors of the FIFA Fan Fest™     South     Africa, MTN and Neo Africa. The official     broadcaster of the event, SABC, will also be playing a vital role across     all venues in South     Africa.   The International     FIFA Fan Fest™ will be     supported by Coca-Cola, Emirates, Hyundai/Kia and Sony as well as by the     media rights licensees appointed by FIFA in each of the individual     territories.

Besides football, all cities will provide tastes and sounds of each     of the countries through an all-day entertainment programme outside the     actual broadcast of the matches. In South     Africa in particular, this will offer     opportunities for small local businesses to provide services and sell     local arts and crafts.

On 4     December 2009 – the day of the eagerly awaited Final Draw – visitors and     South Africans will have the first opportunity to get a taste of what is     to come in 2010 when Cape     Town hosts the Long Street Festival for the Final     Draw, which will feature an official FIFA Fan Fest™ showcase event. The     FIFA Fan Fest™ section will be launched on FIFA.com on 23 November 2009.    

Note     for editors:

A     detailed media kit, high-resolution pictures and video clips are available     on the FIFA Media Channel     (http://media.fifa.com)

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Keywords · FIFA World Cup · FIFA Fan Festâ„¢

Name: Nicolas Maingot
Organization: FIFA
Email:
Phone: +41-43/222 7272
URL: http://www.fifa.com/index.html

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