National Fly the Flag Day - March 2010
Gear up for the 100 Day Countdown to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The first FIFA World Cup tournament on African soil is just a heartbeat away!
Three million tickets ... 64 matches ... 32 teams ... Approximately 450 000 international visitors ... A global television audience of more than 26 billion viewers cumulatively ... 48 million proud Bafana Bafana supporters ... and billions of rands spent on improving South Africa beyond the World Cup. This is the spectacle that will greet the world on 11 June.
On Tuesday, 2 March, this celebration of football and of Africa's humanity will be just 100 days away. What will you do on 2 March to mark this important landmark for the country and the international football community?
Government, FIFA, the Organising Committee, South African Tourism, the International Marketing Council of South Africa (Brand South Africa) the SABC and a range of partners are pooling ideas and initiatives to ensure that 2 March is celebrated with passion and vibrancy.
The national and global highlight of the 2 March festivities countrywide will be a widely publicized event in Durban where government, the OC and FIFA will jointly start the 100 Day Countdown.
2 March is earmarked as a day on which South Africans are called upon to demonstrate their excitement for the tournament, and to display their passion for the country and the beautiful game.
It is also a day for previewing how we will open our hearts and homes to the hundreds of thousands of visitors who will soon be driving, flying and sailing to South Africa.
From flying the flag and donning Bafana Bafana kit, to feasting on homegrown meals and music, 2 March is a celebration of what the country has already achieved in preparing for the tournament, and a chance to get our hearts and minds into the spirit of the FIFA World Cup.
So, what can you do on 2 March? "Fly the Flag" on the day! The 100 Day Countdown builds on the "Fly the flag" initiative, which brings together all who live in South Africa around the country’s national symbols and anthem, and expresses support for Bafana Bafana.
Organisation and institutions are invited to host events at midday (12 noon) on 2 March, enabling staff, clients and partners to sing the national anthem, wear the Bafana Bafana kit, dance the Diski and acknowledge the flag.
Mini-football, football quizzes, chats about what makes us good hosts and good football supporters and discussing ways in which football can bring us closer as a nation, are among the activities that could serve as in-house team-building exercises. Of course, a simple braai could add to the feel-good factor!
For more information on activities for 2 March, visit www.southafrica.net/2010.
Make Football Fridays a standard celebration in your home, community and office each Friday, before and after 2 March, encourage those around you to wear the Bafana Bafana kit and create a "sea of gold" on the streets and inside the stadium when the national team plays. Information on official Bafana Bafana merchandise and licensees can be obtained on the website: www.slam.co.za.
Many companies are already hosting Football Fridays and some activation can be viewed on the website: www.footballfriday.co.za.
The Diski Dance can provide fun and team-building, promoting excitement and national unity. Official Diski dancers can be booked to come to your offices and teach your staff the Diski Dance or add additional excitement at a client function. Please refer to the corporate Diski Pack for more information on how to book your Diski dancers via the website: www.southafrica.net/2010.
Distribute Proudly South African (made in South Africa) nation-building collateral to be given to your stakeholders on Football Fridays. For organisations, a great way to ignite excitement and national pride is to distribute various collateral elements to stakeholders, including:
- South African flags
- South African beanies and scarves
- South African branded vuvuzela's
- credit-card size face-painting kits and more.
Individuals and communities can also showcase their participation in many creative forms, whether it is through clean-up campaigns, tree planting and many other activities that involve communities to create long-term legacies that we all can be proud of.
The passion of South Africa's youth can be unlocked through 100 Day Countdown activities at schools and campuses where curricular or extra-curricular programmes could be used to focus learners' and students' attention on the 2 March celebration. Graphic and performance art, essay compilations or competitions, the Diski Dance and other options could be used to mobilise young people.
For more information and to discuss ways you can get involved, please contact:
- Sugen Pillay South African Tourism -Global Events Manager - Sugen@southafrica.net. Phone 011 895 3016.
- Bulelwa Zimba - International Marketing Council of South Africa - Marketing Coordinator Email: bulelwaz@brandsouthafrica.com or phone 011 483 0122.
- Kholiswa Kleinbooi - Government Communications (GCIS) - Email: kholiswa@gcis.gov.za or phone 012 314 2173.
In Rosebank, 'Fly the Flag' day on the 2nd March will be held at the Rosebank Primary School. Activities will be taking place all day and everyone is invited to come and join in the fun!
Most days, staff at the Financial Intelligence Centre are busy tackling money laundering and the like. Not this Friday!
The workers at MAN Truck and Bus's Johannesburg plant give the People's Bus a rousing send-off.
