Final Draw FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup

Cape Town hosts the offical Final Draw for the FIFA 2010 World Cup

The day all soccer fans have been waiting for is finally here - 4 December 2009 – when the Final Draw for the 2010 Soccer World Cup will take place at 19:00 at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) in Cape Town, South Africa. 

The final draw will see the announcement of the final 32 teams taking part in the 2010 world cup tournament that takes place in South Africa and the groups they will play in.

Cape Town will welcome the FIFA executive’s representatives of the 32 qualifying teams, the international media and FIFA guests to the city to witness the Final Draw for the tournament at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The Final Draw is taking place exactly 6 months before the world cup kicks off.

South Africa’s Academy Award winner Charlize Theron will be the guest presenter assisting FIFA Secretary General Jérôme Valcke during the Final Draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) on Friday 4 December 2009.

They will be joined on stage by a star-studded line-up of sports celebrities, including football star David Beckham (England), one of only a few players to score in at least three consecutive FIFA World Cups, Haile Gebrselassie (Ethiopia), two-time Olympic gold medallist and nine-time athletics world champion, Makhaya Ntini, the first black player in the South African cricket team, John Smit, the captain of rugby world champions South Africa and Bafana Bafana player Matthew Booth.

Jacob Zuma, President of the Republic of South Africa, and FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter will welcome the audience at the beginning of the 90-minute live show.

Guests on the day will include Issa Hayatou, Chairman of the Organising Committee for the FIFA World Cup, Nobel Peace Prize winners Frederik W. de Klerk and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, as well as former football icons Franz Beckenbauer, Michel Platini, Eusebio and Roger Milla.

The majority of the 32 coaches of the qualified teams are expected to be present at the draw. Former South African President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela, one of the architects of the first African World Cup, will address the audience by video message.

While the Final Draws itself is a FIFA event, both the City of Cape Town as well as the Provincial Government of the Western Cape will take the opportunity to showcase unique aspects of Cape Town to the 3000 guests at the CTICC.

An open-air Red Carpet Welcome Function will be held to welcome all final draw guests before the official draw starts. The Final Draw guests will be introduced to the magnificance of summer time in Cape Town and the warm hospitality of South Africa as a host country. 

The Red Carpet function will happen at the Cape Town International Convention Centre, Entrance 3, Coen Steytler Avenue and the time will coincide with the anticipated arrival of the guests between 16:00 - 18:30.

To make residents and visitors feel part of the Final Draw, the City has also organized a one-day festival in Long Street where the public can view the ceremony on several large television screens.

The event overview:

• 29 Nov  - Switching on of Festive Lights
• 2 Dec    - Mayoral Welcome Function 
• 3 Dec    - FIFA Dinner
• 4 Dec    - The Final Draw
• 4 Dec    - Pre Draw Carpet Event | Post Draw Soiree
• 4 Dec    - The Long Street Final Draw Street Party
• 5 Dec    - World Broadcast Media conference | WBM: Social Event
• 5-6 Dec - Football for Hope Festival : (Khayelitsha / 20 centres for 2010)
  
  

To celebrate the event, The City of Cape Town has arranged to keep the lights at Table Mountain switched on until midnight on Sunday 29 November and Friday 4 December.

CapeTownMagazine.com will host their own party at Fiction.

CapeTownMagazine.com will celebrate the launch of phase one of their new website. Since the site is in three languages, English, German and Dutch, South Africans will be celebrating with the Dutch (Orange) and German.

Find all information on the 4 December CapeTownMagazine.com party at Fiction.

So be sure not to miss out on Long Street 4 December 2009 or the television broadcast of the draw!  But one thing is for sure, Cape Town will be ready to welcome the world!

More Information on the Final Draw:

- Cape Town Plans Big Weekend for Final Draw
- 10 Things You Have to Know about the Final Draw
- Cape Town's Festive Lights Usher in the Final Draw
- Grammy Award Winners to Perform at Final Draw

More Information on 2010:

- FIFA 2010 Section
- Soccer Stadiums
- Fan Parks
- Games
- 2010 Host Cities
- Google Earth 2010 map

And follow us on Twitter @wcsoccer2010
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