Blitzboks win… and Cape Town too
Boost for city as event to be staged here until 2020
IT WAS a double victory yesterday as the Blitzboks beat Argentina in the final of the second leg of the Sevens World Series – and Cape Town reaped the rewards of staging a successful event before sold-out crowds over the two-day tournament.
The record crowd attendance stood at about 106 000, with more than 52 000 fans packed into Cape Town Stadium to watch the Blitzboks power to a 29-14 victory over Argentina – a third Cup final victory in a row for South Africa.
Hundreds of thousands more rugby fans the world over watched the event live on television, showcasing the beauty of the stadium and Cape Town.
The fans will be delighted to know that the South African leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series has been awarded to Cape Town for the next five years.
Mayco member for tourism, events and economic development Garreth Bloor said the tournament was a great success.
“Both days were sold out months in advance – a record for South Africa. Collectively, major international events such as the HSBC Sevens add billions to the city in overall economic impact.
“This is an annual two-day tournament of 16 countries. The rights to host it in Cape Town are for five years.”
Western Cape Economic Opportunities MEC Alan Winde said the provincial government had been trying to get the event for some time. “The tickets were sold out way in advance and the weekend has been extremely good for the economy of Cape Town. This event has been a great start to the domestic and festive holiday season.”
The event was hosted at the Cape Town Stadium for the first time.
Previously, George and Port Elizabeth played hosts to the tournament.
Winde said: “The tournament links Cape Town to cities such as Dubai and Hong Kong via sport and also links our economies. This will only grow over time.”
The event attracted thousands of people to the city and mayor Patricia de Lille said it was a good fit for the city’s plans. “The tournament fits in well with the city’s strategy to build Cape Town to become the events capital in Africa.”
De Lille added that other than fans enjoying the game, many others had the chance to land a job, thanks to the event.
“For me the most important thing is the jobs that are created. The hotels are fully booked and the city services are also employing a number of people.
“(There are people) to help clean up and show people where to go. Almost 1 000 Expanded Public Works Programmes jobs have been created.”
De Lille said that over the next five years the event “it will grow and create more jobs”.
“There is definitely a big change from when it was in George and PE. There are a lot of foreigners here and the value of the event is that Cape Town has been brought up all over the world to people watching this. In terms of marketing it is a great value – one you can’t put an amount to.”
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