Three-way race to host international journalists for World Cup 2010

By Tarryn Le Chat

According to the Cape Argus, Cape Town may join a three-way race with Johannesburg and Durban to be selected as the main international media centre for the 2010 World cup.

The chairman of the local Fifa World Cup organising committee, Danny Jordaan, confirmed that Cape Town and Durban had "shown an expression of interest" in the centre - but he said only Johannesburg had come up with a concrete proposal.

Johannesburg wanted to accomodate the centre in the 35 000 metre-square Nasrec exhibition hall, a 15-minute walk from the Soccer City stadium.

A media centre in Cape Town would be based in the International Convention Centre. The CTICC would double its size from 10 000 metre-square to 20 000 metre-square to house the centre, expanding on the side facing Customs House.

The media centre would host more than 3 000 journalists. CTICC managing director Dirk Elzinga said decisions and concrete plans would be made at a september board meeting.

The organising committee will inspect possible media centre venues in October. The director of the 2010 World cup team in the City of Cape Town, Teral Cullen, said the city supported the CTICC as a venue for the media centre and would submit a bid "and see how it goes" after the Fifa inspections in October.

Picture: www.naviredd.co.za