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From Friday until July 11, South Africa will host the 2010 FIFA World Cup - the world's largest, most-watched football extravaganza.
Staged across eight provinces, and nine host cities, almost half-a-million visitors are expected to experience the spectacle firsthand, while worldwide a television audience of between 35 and 40 billion 'cumulative' viewers will witness the action and drama on screen.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup is an unprecedented opportunity to make South Africa a more widely known and better understood destination that its tourism chiefs say offers exceptional value for money and a quality travel experience, combined with a depth and breadth of activities and attractions that's hard to beat.
The ultimate goal of the 2010 FIFA World Cup is to harness the power of football to create positive social change.
An improved public transport system and better-skilled and equipped safety and security, health, emergency services, accommodation and tourism providers are just some of the lasting legacies of 2010.
For the first time, small, medium and micro-enterprises will be graded as FIFA approved accommodation providers, and opportunities for business, especially among emerging entrepreneurs in South Africa's tourism industry will increase.
New urban recreational areas and multi-disciplinary sports facilities will benefit all, whilst many previously disadvantaged communities have benefitted from job opportunities in the construction of infrastructure and telecoms networks across the country.
It is hoped that the four revamped and six new world-class, multi-purpose stadiums will continue to stimulate regional economies and provide jobs long after the football fanfare is over.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup South Africa's official slogan: Ke Nako - Celebrate Africa's Humanity, means 'it is time'.
"It is time for South Africa to change the world's perceptions as we host a football spectacular that is African and first-class in every respect," a tourism spokesman said. We are ready. South Africa's time has come."
