Invitation to a Special Concert in a Special Place

Press Release


Cape Town Stadium is proud to host Filia School’s Laduma concert in celebration of the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup®.
Filia School is a special needs educational facility from Goodwood. This is the third, and final, annual concert that they have been staging in the build up to the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup®, due to start on 11th June.

The concert performed by the children at the school celebrates the cultural diversity of our world. It is fitting that this final event should be held in the newly completed, accessible, Cape Town Stadium. It will be the last event before the stadium will be handed over to FIFA for the event in June. We hope to join with the children in welcoming the overseas visitors to South Africa, and to celebrate the new, world class facility we have here in Cape Town.
We would like to invite you, your colleagues, and your children to this special event.

    Date: Wednesday, 12 May 2010


    Time: 10h00 – 12h00


    Venue: Cape Town Stadium

Please note this is a free event, although we will be asking for donations for future events for the school.

We are hoping that we shall be joined by the local & international media, local dignitaries, family & friends. Please join us for the very special event. Should you require any further information, please contact the school directly on 021 592 1361/2/3, fax 021 592 1369.
Filia School is a training centre for learners between the ages of 4 and 18 years who are physically and intellectually challenged. Learners attending the school have severe physically disabilities such as those caused by cerebral palsy or genetic abnormalities. In this environment every effort is made to provide the learners with quality education specially designed to meet their particular needs and technology has to be specially adapted to cater for their requirements.

Some comments sent to the school from the last concert:

• Filia You’ve done it again!!

• What a wonderful morning!!!

• You tugged at my heart strings.

• How talented your children are

• Thanks to such a dedicated staff.

• I take my hat off to you

• Thanks to your dedication your patience, your love.

• I salute you

• This calls for a repeat. Please!

• Others need to see this!

• It was such a joy to see your learners on stage yesterday.

• Keep doing the lovely uplifting work that you do.

• My compliments to you & your staff for having such an appropriate and spectacular event just before world cup soccer.

• The whole production touched my heart.

• My wife and I were privileged to attend your concert; it was great

• Just to inform you what a soul refreshing time we had.

FIFA Madness

Just in case there is anyone left in SA still not aware that something big is happening next year…

This week is a mad week for me, and my company, on our various 2010 projects, especially the ones in Cape Town. We have various inspections, and also the draw tomorrow at the CTICC.

The whole FIFA project is incredibly complex. I am sure (and hope) that the events tomorrow pass off without incident. Anyone in Cape Town, should join in the party on Long Street (part of the top section is closed, and a huge screen is being positioned so people can follow the draw from there.

Presently the FIFA officials are meeting in Robben Island.

There will be all sorts of speeches by all manner of people & politicians. All these speeches will be extolling the positives of the event, and assuring (and, to an extent, proving) that South Africa is ready for the event.

What they will not show is the sweat behind the scenes… We will be ready; and I am sure that the event will be a HUGE positive to the country. Already, we have proved many, many doubters around the World, and within South Africa wrong. The various new stadia are all (just about!) built. Without a doubt, they are World class stadia. Indeed many of them set new standards in terms of design.

But there is also still much to be done!! These are interesting projects, as on paper, we have many clients; for Cape Town stadium we have the following clients:

• the City of Cape Town, as they own the Stadium;
  


• South Africa tax payers, as much of the funding came out of their pockets, at both national level & provincial;
  


• FIFA - they 'own' the event, and all the rights (and make the most money!); they have an overlay, in terms of sponsorships, VIP's, security, etc.
  


• The prospective tenants of the Stadium (which, if it is to make sense, and money, in the future, will have to include Rugby, both national - Test matches, and regional - Western Province will have to move here from Newlands), and the soccer teams that will be based from here.
  


• 
  
  SAIL Stade de France, who will be the operators into the future of the Stadium
  
  
  

  
  

Sometimes these different 'clients' have different, and even opposing requirements…

So I as I am a bear of little brain, I have made it clear & simple to me & my own team. Our clients are the people with disabilities who will use, work, and play in this stadium for the World Cup, and hopefully for many other events into the future. If they come, and they can use the facility in comfort, and safely, then we have done our little bit into this HUGE project…

I wish we had more time now, to appreciate the privilege of being able to work on these projects. Hopefully these Stadia will be still standing, and providing entertainment (and jobs!,) to a huge number of people, long after I have shuffled off...

More 2010 updates - from the field

Today was a great event at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. The general public were invited to 'inspect' their stadium. We did not get quite the numbers we were expecting...but a great time was had by all that turned up, I think! Most of these were taken early on, before the crowds arrived.

If someone can tell me how to upload video onto the site then I can upload some clips which demonstrate very clearly how the design keeps the noise in...the stadium was BUZZING!!! Sorry for the quality of the photos...taken with my cell phone.

---

---

I have also included some photos of Greenpoint (not quite as advanced), taken last week in the rain. I think the scenes are more like a shipyard than a stadium at the moment!

So Sorry!!

I have certainly been ignoring my blog here for a while. I should try to rectify that I guess. My (feeble) excuse is that I have been rather busy lately. The following photos show what I have been busy with