Sydney to make history with WC 3D Fan Fest
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By ItsCalledFootball, 2 Feb 2010 ItsCalledFootball is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- 2010 World Cup, football, South Africa
The planet’s biggest single-sport event begins on 11 June and makes 2010 the most important year in South Africa since 1994. Some have even coined the FIFA World Cup as South Africa’s “second miracle”.
It’s also going to be a very important year for Australian football.
To comprehend the potential impact the 2010 FIFA World Cup will have on South Africa, you just have to consider some of the staggering statistical data from the last World Cup, hosted in Germany in 2006:
* There were over 15 million applications for tickets.
* All 64 matches in 2006 were sold out.
* Spectators totalled 3,359,439 – with an additional 18 million fans who couldn’t get tickets gathering at Fan Fests across Germany.
* An average 52,491 spectators attended each match in Germany’s 12 stadiums.
* The 2006 FIFA World Cup™ stands as one of the most watched events in television history.
* It was broadcast to 214 countries on 376 channels with a total cumulative television audience of 26.29 billion (both in-home and at various sporting and social venues).
* If the 2006 TV coverage was shown on just one channel, it would take over eight years to broadcast everything non-stop.
* The FIFAworldcup.com website became the most successful sports events website.
* The website had 4.2 billion page views from 9 June to 9 July (more than double the traffic recorded in 2002).
* When the website went mobile for the first time, there were over 73 million page views on the mobile web portal.
Statistics like these confirm the tournament’s status as the world’s most popular event, and South Africa is pulsating in its preparations to welcome the world.
But what has Sydney got to do with staging the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa in a few months?
Well, Sydney has been selected as one of seven sites worldwide for a official FIFA Fan Fest site during the World Cup finals in South Africa. The other cities selected are London, Paris, Rome, Berlin, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro as well as all nine host cities in South Africa.
The choice of Sydney as a venue for a FIFA-organised fan park during the 2010 World Cup is a positive sign in Australia’s bid to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018 or 2022.
The choice of Sydney was a boost for the bid with five of the other live site cities – London, Paris, Rome and Berlin – having previously hosted the World Cup final. The FFA don’t want to raise expectations too high but they can only interpret it as a positive sign for the 2018 and 2022 bids.
Fan Fest sites at Germany 2006 proved to be very popular with over 18 million fans who couldn’t get tickets (all games were sold out) watching the games in public arenas and celebrating together at free outdoor live football broadcast venues.
FIFA has extended the Fan Fest concept world wide and Sydney has been chosen to join the planet’s biggest ever football party.
The 2010 World Cup will be the first time the Fan Fest concept has been taken outside the host country and Sydney was selected ahead of many other cities around the world by the FIFA World Cup organising committee, as one of only seven World Cup Fan Fest sites around the globe.
The Sydney site at Darling Harbour is expected to attract 50,000 fans per day and night, with all 64 matches of the tournament to be shown live and replayed on giant screens.
The coverage of the matches will be complimented with pre-match and post match concerts, entertainment and other performances.
The site will also be linked to other live Fan Fest sites across the world for the official broadcast coverage, which will have a cumulative audience for the 64 games of an estimated 30 billion viewers in over 200 countries.
Sony and FIFA are also preparing to show selected 2010 World Cup events in 3D, a first for any sporting event in the world.
Now you can watch live 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa matches in 3D. In announcing an agreement for selected media rights of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Sony said that up to 25 matches will be produced using Sony’s 3D professional cameras, providing coverage of the sport action that is unprecedented in depth, vividness and excitement to billions of people around the world.
The Sydney Fan Fest world wide exposure will be invaluable to Sydney and Australia as part of our bid to host either the 2018 or 2022 World Cup finals.
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Mr Real Australian it's called Football Man formerly known as Kurt said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:52am | Report comment
Shouldn’t you use footnotes or at the least quotation marks when you cut and paste large chunks of an article published elsewhere on the web?
http://www.bizcommunity.com/Article/196/82/44142.html
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 9:13am | Report comment
Thank you Kurt for taking the time to read the article and post a comment.
Cheers
Joe FC said | February 2nd 2010 @ 12:08pm | Report comment
The fact that the article has been published elsewhere means what exactly?
San Jorge said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:50pm | Report comment
It’s called plagiarism Joe FC, because ItsCalledFootball is credited as the author of the article having not written it.
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:57pm | Report comment
What I’ve basically taken is the facts about the last World Cup in Germany from that article and reproduced them to show how big Germany 06 was and how big South Africa 2010 might be.
What am I supposed to do – re-write the facts in my own writing? Make them up? Re-arrange history?
This is an amateur football discussion site, so stop being so high and mighty – get a life, go out have a few beers and ask a nice girl if you can take her home. Geeeez.
Kurt said | February 2nd 2010 @ 10:02pm | Report comment
You didn’t ‘take the facts’, you cut and pasted several hundred words and presented them as your own. This is plagiarism and represents intellectual dishonesty on your part.
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 10:21pm | Report comment
Then call the intellectual police and have me arrested.
Really, you AFL people have some BIG chips on your troubled shoulders these days.
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 10:58pm | Report comment
Thanks for the advice Kurt, much appreciated.
I’ll try harder next time.
You have a lovely evening won’t you, wherever you are.
Good night deary.
Joe FC said | February 2nd 2010 @ 10:15pm | Report comment
Does it mean that the article is untrue?
Ian Noble said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:57am | Report comment
This weekends game between Eng and Wales in the 6Ns will be shown in 3D in 40 cinemas throughout England and Wales; beamed direct from the Sky TV transmission. Other games from the 6Ns are due to be shown throughout the tournamenty. Reaction to the 3D showing of Arsenal v Man U has been mixed with the graphics being particularly successful.
Matt said | February 2nd 2010 @ 6:28am | Report comment
I am going. Can’t wait. I don’t know how good football would be in 3D though. I think the rugby will be awesome.
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 9:12am | Report comment
Yes,
mixed reaction from the fans and interesting to see the lengths that Sky TV went to to show the game.
With the emormous success of Avatar, the 3D technical revolution will roll on and improvements will become mandatory.
A first for Sydney outdoor screening and hopefully an improved experience with some bugs ironed out by then.
Looking forward to being at Darling Harbour- unless I cam convince the wife to splash out ten grand to go with my football mates to South Africa.
Matt said | February 2nd 2010 @ 6:30am | Report comment
By the way. Why Sydney? Surely Melbourne would have been better with its superior football support. I am a former Sydneysider by the way.
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 9:15am | Report comment
Sydney is seen as an international city whereas Melbourne unfortunately now has a tainted reputation of being the AFL Capital of Australia.
The bas press about the Indian students bashings isn’t helping either.
Sydney has always had higher esteem internationally as Australia’s premier city than cities like Melbourne.
BigAl said | February 2nd 2010 @ 9:23am | Report comment
I agree totally Matt – these soccer types just don’t understand Australia !
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 9:33am | Report comment
BigAl,
there are no such thing as “Soccer Types”, we are all AUstralians just like you and we do understand our country.
AFL is not the game that made Australia what it is today.
Show some maturity, rather than jealousy, evey time the FFA achieves something in this country.
Tinhat said | February 2nd 2010 @ 10:57am | Report comment
International city? Please. Maybe in it’s own mind. Sydney is kids stuff internationally. Thank god for the bridge and the opera house (which is actually rubbish as an opera house) otherwise the place would have nothing going for it.
I must say that whilst I know next to nothing about Afl people do ask about it more than any other football code when they find out where I’m from. Sportwise it pretty much goes in this order cricket. Afl, rugby, football and then league. It is pretty interesting how different the foreign perceptions of Australia to our own.
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:18pm | Report comment
Which overseas countries do you travel to Tinhat – Tasmania and Kangaroo Island.
Ask any foreigner what the capital city of Australia is and most of them will say Sydney – its the only city that most of them know and the most recogniseable internationally.
I can’t really imagine many people in the UK pubs asking how the AFL is going mate – but they all know we are bidding against them for a football World Cup.
Can’t say I agree with anything you’ve said in your post mate.
Tinhat said | February 2nd 2010 @ 6:35pm | Report comment
Currently in the UK but I have lived in Germany and the Netherlands as well. Ever left the Shire?
That is as much to do with how little people actually know about Australia overseas due to the fact that it is so far away and fairly insignificant. Also, you cnat really expect them to know about Canberra. It doesn’t make Sydney and ‘international’ city though.
They don’t really ask how it is going. They generally ask about the technicalities of the game as it is shown on tv here in the UK quite regularly. My knowing virutally nothing about the rules seems quite funny to most of them.
Trust me they don’t really know about our world cup bid and if they do they don’t really see it as a credible challenege. You usually have to convince them that we play football in any credible numbers first which is usually the hard part.
They do know about HAL as Soccerr AM takes the piss out of it every once in a while. There is a youtube clip they love to show me.
Matt said | February 2nd 2010 @ 6:37pm | Report comment
Largely agree with you there Tin. If you asked people overseas what the capital on NZ was most would tell you Auckland but this doesnt make it an international city either.
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 10:25pm | Report comment
You win – I give up.
[walks away shaking his head in disbelief]
Tinhat said | February 2nd 2010 @ 10:57pm | Report comment
You need to get out more Itscalledfootball. It is a very popular but by no means universally popular game. If you were a true fan you wouldn’t care how many people played it or what it is called.
Matt said | February 2nd 2010 @ 11:01am | Report comment
Where are you Tin? London here. Couldn’t agree more re. Sydney as an international city.
Australian Football said | February 2nd 2010 @ 11:20am | Report comment
“these soccer types just don’t understand Australia !”
My Gawd you are an ignorant piece—–what makes you an Australian mate? Have you ever worn the colours of ‘Green and Gold’ at an international football match in support for the Australian National Football Team?
~~~~~~~
AF
BigAl said | February 2nd 2010 @ 8:23pm | Report comment
no !
BigAl said | February 2nd 2010 @ 8:49pm | Report comment
ItsCalledFootball – your train of thought here appears to be totally hurtling off the tracks !
I was merely agreeing with the gist of Matt’s post, as I read it, which I repeat here, as it appears to have gone way over the top of your head, namely -
that Melbourne appreciates and supports sports events (big & small) usually in far greater numbers than Sydney – and the people who organized this event just didn’t understand this !.
You then proceed to dump on the AFL for some reason, and then, to provide a phsycological analysis of me !
For the life of me, I just can’t imagine why you would feel qualified to do the latter !
. . . get a grip man !
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 10:27pm | Report comment
BigAl,
you win too.
Feeling better now?
jimbo said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:26pm | Report comment
Be careful what you ask for.
Melbourne said they didn’t want any World Cup events because it will interupt their AFL season – and that’s what you got!
Don’t be surprised if Australia wins one of the WC bids, that the Opening ceremony and WC Final are held in Sydney at a re-vamped Olympic Stadium.
Redb said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:37pm | Report comment
Why would anyone be surprised its a fait compli. Frank lowy would not have it any other way.
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:37pm | Report comment
Melbourne City Council and the FFA and FIFA are not on the best of speaking terms at the moment anyway, with the Melbourne Lord Mayor taking legal action against Melbourne Heart Football Club and the FFA about their name.
Don’t expect any favours from the FFA Melbourne.
Froar said | February 2nd 2010 @ 8:16pm | Report comment
If that were the case the political fall out would be enormous. Furthermore, the trustees of the charity would face serious legal consequences and there is a good chance that the charity would be disolved after losing its charity status.
It is such a risk that I find your theory very implausible.
Australian Football said | February 2nd 2010 @ 7:42am | Report comment
It’sCalledFootball,
interesting piece and proof that the Football World Cup is the biggest event on the planet. Australia must win the 2018/22 Football World Cup if it is to be really and truly accepted as a global super sporting nation.
~~~~~~~
AF
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 9:17am | Report comment
Thanks AF.
Being selected for the FIFA World Cup world wide fan fest is truly an honour and will give us a lot of exposure leading into the important bid decision phase for the 24 FIFA delegates who will be watching with interest.
Froar said | February 2nd 2010 @ 11:04am | Report comment
How much will that cost us?
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:12pm | Report comment
Its a free public event – just turn up at Darling Harbour.
The economic benefits of staging a world cup event without the costs of hosting it – ideal for Darling Harbour businesses and Sydneysiders.
True Tah said | February 2nd 2010 @ 9:23am | Report comment
What was South Africa’s first miracle?
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 9:35am | Report comment
Nelson Mandela’s freedom, the abolition of Apartheid and South Africa becoming a true democracy.
Art Sapphire said | February 2nd 2010 @ 9:38am | Report comment
Are you pulling our collective leg True Tah?? or are you completely oblivious to recent Sth African history??
True Tah said | February 2nd 2010 @ 9:55am | Report comment
Art, the reality is, the FIFA WC should have been held in South Africa in 2006.
And Im not completely oblivious to recent South African history.
Towser said | February 2nd 2010 @ 9:34am | Report comment
I have no doubt the projected 50,000 attendance daily at Darling harbour will be acheived.
Was down in Sydney the other day . Central Sydney was packed with European & Asian tourists.
Add these to local football fans, should be a great atmosphere.
Thank goodness though Danny Tiatto or Kevin Muscat dont play for the Socceroos anymore. Either in 3D is a bit much
Art Sapphire said | February 2nd 2010 @ 9:51am | Report comment
The only thing Sydneysiders turn up for en masse is the fireworks display on New Year’s Eve.
Here is their big chance to prove they can turn to another event. We in Melbourne don’t need some manufactured fanfest in the park to get the people out. I have some doubts of Sydney getting 50,000 attending during the Socceroos games, 2 of Australia’s games are at 4.30 am. Prove me wrong Sydney
Redb said | February 2nd 2010 @ 10:44am | Report comment
No Doubt Fed Square will be packed regardless of Melbourne’s ‘global city’ status.
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:01pm | Report comment
What about the Olympics Art, the City to Surf, Sydney festival, David Beckam – 84K sellout, and so on.
Sydney come out in force when they want to – and we have the biggest economy and the most punters to pay for it.
There will be pre-game entertainment to keep the fans buzzing till the game starts – thousands of tourists here mate.
Art Sapphire said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:25pm | Report comment
ICF – I was just having a lend of you and you fellow Sydeysiders. As you can see on this thread I have been given my fellow Melburnian Michael C a hard time for being so predictably negative and I also explained to him why we need the entertainment at the Fan Fest between games to keep the punters happy and the party mood going.
Now can you organise for 30k of your fellow citizens to turn up for the Sydney FC v Victory game in 12 days time and make some noise
That would be nice.
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:44pm | Report comment
Cheers Art,
I’ll be at the Perth game at Parra this week as well and I’m doing my level best to get as many people as possible to come along . . .
Andycar said | February 2nd 2010 @ 8:25pm | Report comment
Yes, but you can’t really put a non-live event in comparison with these live ones. I live in the CBD and hardly know the Sydney festival is on. The olympics were universally popular where the WC just isn’t.
Lots of tourists here but London could offer tens of thousands tourists. Mate.
MV Dave said | February 2nd 2010 @ 9:24pm | Report comment
” The olympics were universally popular where the WC just isn’t.” What planet do you live on?
Andycar said | February 2nd 2010 @ 11:05pm | Report comment
Just look at the division that it has already created in Australian society. No matter what side of the argument are on there is no doubt that there is a rather serious divide between those who want the WC, those who don’t and others who don’t care.
Redb said | February 2nd 2010 @ 9:47am | Report comment
There is no doubt that 3D could revolutionise sport viewership, some technologies in the future will not require glasses. 3D TV sets are just around the corner.
http://www.theroar.com.au/2009/09/23/afl-grand-final-on-3d-tv-id-like-to-see-that/
Redb
Michael C said | February 2nd 2010 @ 9:48am | Report comment
Should be fun and all that, but,
the line about
“The coverage of the matches will be complimented with pre-match and post match concerts, entertainment and other performances. ”
makes me think to events like the Tennis, the Spring Carnival nags, F1 GP etc etc – - where, the pre-event and post event concerts, entertainment and other performances can mean :
A. that many people don’t attend so much for the event itself – but, the ‘circus’ associated with it,
B. the ‘popularity’ of the event is confused with the popularity of a ‘festival atmosphere’ with a ‘circus of activity’
C. if the event itself where so damn good and worthwhile – - then, where’s the need for all the pre-event and post event concerts, entertainment and other performances
Now – this isn’t a specific ‘attack’ on the WC and WC live sites – - this is just a general issue I’ve been wrestling with over the years. It’s that merging of general entertainment with sports attendance and it blurs the numbers. It’s similar in part to the broadcast of the NFL Superbowl where often the biggest rating time frame is for the half time ads!!! – - i.e. the ‘peripherals’ become a bigger draw than the ‘main event’.
Art Sapphire said | February 2nd 2010 @ 10:31am | Report comment
Michael C – ofcourse this is another attack on the WC. Its both tiresome and ignorant.
WC matches are scheduled to be played at 9.30pm 12midnight and 4.30 am local time.
If you were building a site to hold 50,000 people to gather and enjoy themselves you would think of providing a bit of entertainment. Considering the people have to wait until 9.30 pm for the first game and between 11pm and midnight for the second game. Getting a bands or DJS to play during these breaks will only add to the party atmosphere.
Michael C said | February 2nd 2010 @ 10:40am | Report comment
no – I wasn’t attacking the WC – - more observing the trend to ‘festival style entertainment’, and the article title has used ‘FanFest’ anyway – -
….my main observations from some other events as listed off is more where people can effectively attend, and be so involved in the ‘off course’ action, that they never see a horse run, a car lap, or a live tennis ball struck – - and yet they’d paid to enter through the gate.
In this WC fansite scenario – we’re not talking about paying to enter through the gate or for an official attendance figure to be posted as proof of Govt funds well spent (as per Melb and Govt funding for F1 GP and tennis etc).
However – I guess, what one can foresee and has been done in the past – is pro-soccer folk pushing the estimated numbers from such events as some form of proof of the popularity of the game of soccer – - rather than an admission that it’s just a good time festival atmosphere, free entry, entertainment put on and ……heck, just as Spencer Tunick can get 1000s of people to disrobe for his big photo shoots at 6am on a chilly morning – - so too can other ‘special events’ draw people out for a bit of an ‘adventure’.
Art Sapphire said | February 2nd 2010 @ 11:49am | Report comment
Michael – If Australian Rules was the game the whole world stopped for and then you wouldn’t bother writing such jibberish. redb, like most AFL fans, has no trouble understanding the World Cup is about celebrating a global event that brings the people of the world together, not many events have the power to do that. Who cares if the people attending the Fanfests are “soccer” fans or know nothing about the sport and are just there to have a good time. A lot of people who went to Fed Square last WC were not your typical “soccer” fans. They came from all walks of life. They went their because they wanted to be part of a memorable social experience. Why is this such a problem for you?
Australian Football said | February 2nd 2010 @ 12:03pm | Report comment
MC,
It sounds like you’re disappointed that Nab have not gotten on board with free $20 voucher handed-outs .
So does this mean we can take from your comment—-you will not be turning out with your twin boys to the Football Fanfess.
~~~~~~~
AF
ItsCalledFootball said | February 2nd 2010 @ 2:06pm | Report comment
Michael,
simply put, they have the entertainment to keep fans amused – the games don’t start till late at night or early in the morning – plenty of drinking time Harbourside before the game.
Not because the event is so boring and they have to attract them with something else,
not that we took your comment as being anti football or anti World Cup or anything . . .
Froar said | February 2nd 2010 @ 6:39pm | Report comment
They wont let you drink at an event like that in Australia so the entertainment better be bloody good.
roddy said | February 2nd 2010 @ 10:35am | Report comment
By the time australia gets the world cup , we all have a 3d tv and the talk will be about holographic tv !
AndyRoo said | February 2nd 2010 @ 10:38am | Report comment
You forgot AFL grand final day, Olympics opening and closing ceremony (zero sport).
Personally I wouldn’t sit through 90 minutes of something I wasn’t interested in because of a band I may or may not like MC.
I do remember when I went to the tennis they had Super Jesus which was quite good and I enjoyed it as I had gone to see them play live before (My GF had each of their albums) but we were blissfully unaware they were their until we got through the gate and saw the program.
Like most people we were their for tennis first and extra entertainment second.
Michael C said | February 2nd 2010 @ 11:29am | Report comment
“You forgot AFL grand final day, Olympics opening and closing ceremony (zero sport).”
Not really – with the opening and closing ceremony – you know what it is – it’s a ‘show’, not a sports event with outside and peripheral entertainment….however, granted, 2 of the best attended days will be because of the opening and closing ceremonies which aren’t the sports themselves.
AFL GF day….the ‘peripherals’ are nearly as significant…..i.e. the half time entertainment is more an embarrassment than a draw card!!
AndyRoo said | February 2nd 2010 @ 12:11pm | Report comment
Your sounding like sour grapes MC….their are plenty of people who go to the AFL because it’s an event.