Jordaan: Attendances heading for best since 94
Reuters - Thursday 01 July 2010, 11:29
JOHANNESBURG - The overall attendance at
the World Cup could be the highest since the tournament was held
in the United States 16 years ago, organisers said on Thursday.
With eight of the 64 matches left to play, chief executive
of the local organising committee Danny Jordaan said that more
than 2.69 million fans had already attended matches in South
Africa.
The World Cup in the U.S. attracted a record high of 3.59
million, followed by Germany in 2006 with 3.36 million. The
total attendance in France in 1998 was 2.79 million and South
Korea/Japan in 2002 was 2.71 million.
"Already 2.69 million fans have been in the stadiums and
with the quarter-finals, the semi-finals, the third-fourth place
play-off and the final to come, we expect to go beyond three
million fans in the stadiums.
"We are now playing in the biggest stadiums in Cape Town,
Durban and Soccer City and those have huge capacities so we
will see if we can get over three million.
"If we do, South Africa can have the highest attendance
since the World Cup in the United States in 1994."
FAN PARKS
Jordaan added that attendances at Fan Parks had already
topped three million because of the innovation of international
Fan Parks around the world.
"In terms of the fans in the Fans Park we have already gone
beyond three million because we have also introduced foreign Fan
Parks for the first time.
"Look at what has happened in Mexico City, in Rio, in
Berlin. The experience in the stadiums and in Fan Parks all over
the world has been hugely successful."
He added that with eight matches to play, no-one could
predict the winner - and that the best was yet to come.
"The most exciting fact of this World Cup is the surprise
element. What we have seen so far is that the players earmarked
to be the huge stars, Wayne Rooney, Ronaldo, Kaka and so on,
hardly scored a goal.
"Other players have made a huge impact, it's a question of
the surprise element of this World Cup.
"The biggest moment for our country is still to come,
hosting the World Cup final in Soccer City with more than 80,000
fans, with millions of South Africans watching and millions
around the world.
"That is the dream of Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond
Tutu and it will be an incredible experience for all of us."
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