Date: 25/07/2006
Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
Title: Ndebele: Building of King Senzangakhona Stadium
Speech made by KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sibusiso J Ndebele at the demolition of the last stand to make way for the building of the King Senzangakhona Stadium, Durban
Breaking down the old, building the new
Our recent trip to witness first hand the hosting of the 2006 FIFA German World Cup brought home to us that certainly in our own lifetime, the holding of the 2010 South African FIFA Soccer World Cup will be an experience and opportunity larger than anything we have ever had before, and will certainly not have in the years beyond. We began to see how our "2010 and beyond" strategy will unfold and ensure that we take full advantage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa to firmly establish ourselves as Africa's premier sporting, conference and tourism centre. KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), land of opportunities
The event starts with stadia because without them there can be no soccer played. Millions of tickets were sold in Germany and it was wonderful to see full stadia, no matter which teams were playing. The event needs well organized infrastructure to not only get fans to and from the stadia, but to ensure the huge logistics in holding such an event are properly organised. A major part of that infrastructure will be communications systems to ensure the world witnesses this remarkable event. And beyond the immediate confines of the stadium and its precinct is the opportunity to offer millions of tourists the opportunity to witness the pleasures of our city, region and continent.
Each time our country is mentioned in the next four years as we build up to 2010, we must imprint on the minds of those who listen that we are a city and region of opportunity, in a land of goodwill and on a continent taking its place with pride amongst the communities of nations.
During the event itself around 40 billion people will cumulatively have witnessed the beautiful game played in our country. Some will get glimpses of our glorious beaches, game reserves and wonderful people. Others will be seeing the economic opportunities whilst most will be saying they must visit this country of art, culture, music, sports and above all incredible history.
And if we are to be recognised in those thousands of images which are continually being sent out around the 2010 FIFA World Cup event, then we must brand ourselves simply and consistently. Each time we take a step towards the opening of the event, let's make sure that as the host city within the beautiful province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and let's brand our selves as one. Our bid recognises the host city of Durban which lies in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Durban, KZN
I would respectfully like to suggest today that the brand that we should be promoting for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup should be "Durban, KZN", so that the tens of millions of people who see us, hear us and read about us will want to find our more about this beautiful city, all its other beautiful places and our wonderful province. They will log onto the internet and find "Durban, KZN". People around the world will not only remember our province and associate the word “zulu” with it, they will look forward to us offering a world class extravaganza in 2010, before and beyond.
Each municipality in our province of KwaZulu-Natal, from eThekwini to Umkanyakude to Msundusi to Zululand to Ugu must embrace that simple brand as we sell it to the world at large. This message must be consistent so that as people want to find more about "Durban, KZN" they will find out more about all of us.
We must all own this. I would therefore like to suggest that the city manager also draft a report for cabinet and all of the municipalities in our provinces, which will allow us to search out an appropriate logo to match our brand, and be in synergy with the one our president recently launched in Berlin. The public must be involved and the city manager tells me they will be opening up a website to get ideas, and encourage our involvement in putting forward ideas. And part of this will be to appoint a team to make the final selection of the host-city logo which I hope we will launch by the end of August 2006, and be simply called "Durban, KZN".
Today's demolition of the final stand is the last part of breaking down the old so that in the next six to eight weeks, we can start to build the new King Senzangakhona. In this stadium we have many memories. Some were of our past which divided us. It is going to be a landmark.
Opposite this stand was the stand for people defined as Indian, over there was where Africans could watch and in this stadium only whites were allowed to buy tickets. In time that policy was replaced and today we know that we have buried it forever.
But out on the pitch some great teams played and we all have find memories of the sporting battles and derbies. We have among you today some of our greats, veterans, owners and current players. Thanks for all you have done to bring the beautiful game to Durban, KZN.
Multi purpose
The stadium that you will see here in days to come will be the multi-purpose King Senzangakhona Stadium, which will be a monument to a province reborn, a province turning its scars into stars. It will be a unifying and edifying symbol for KwaZulu-Natal. We will host a multi-purpose centre here so that we can showcase our province to the world, it will host a museum of artefacts and great symbols.
I am advised by Ms Julie-May Ellingson who is driving the stadium process that we are on track with the detailed designs for our new stadium and in the next few weeks I am sure she will be telling you more about that. Soon, the construction will start in earnest, commencing with the earthworks and piling in the next few weeks and, full construction by the end of the year. As we get things happening here I know she has plans to fill other spaces with parks and high performance centres, all of which is part of our broader 2010 and beyond strategy. So as we push the button and bury the past, let's lift our heads high that Durban, KZN will play its part in delivering the greatest world cup ever!
But we are not only building the stadium and ignoring what needs to be done to put players on that field in 2010 and beyond.
Soccer Strategy:
We are busy developing our Provincial Soccer Strategy which is based on four pillars:
* hosting of the event in July 2010
* development of provincial soccer
* communications and marketing strategy
* development of KZN Legacy Projects for 2010 and beyond.
The fast track building of the stadium falls in line with the provincial emphasis for the development of soccer here. There is already a clear plan of how soccer development will be rolled out from schools to professional clubs in the province. This will be done in partnership with the South African Football Association (SAFA) and the selected provincial soccer clubs.
Having started at schools’ level to develop soccer, has given the province the opportunity to also look at soccer development outside of schools. The youth who are outside the school system are given a chance to become part of this exciting sport. This is where the soccer veterans have come in to assist with a talent search throughout the province. All these activities will culminate in a possible Premier's Cup, which will be held later in the year.
Legacy projects are those projects which will outlast 2010. They will be projects which will start within a few months with an intention to prepare the province for 2010, but which will intentionally or deliberately be structured such that they yield long-term socio-economic benefits for the people of the province of KZN, particularly in the areas outside the main towns.
We would like people not just to remember what happened in 2010, but we want them to live off the benefits associated with such an enormous event for a long time after the event has come and passed.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
25 July 2006
Source: KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
Title: Ndebele: Building of King Senzangakhona Stadium
Speech made by KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sibusiso J Ndebele at the demolition of the last stand to make way for the building of the King Senzangakhona Stadium, Durban
Breaking down the old, building the new
Our recent trip to witness first hand the hosting of the 2006 FIFA German World Cup brought home to us that certainly in our own lifetime, the holding of the 2010 South African FIFA Soccer World Cup will be an experience and opportunity larger than anything we have ever had before, and will certainly not have in the years beyond. We began to see how our "2010 and beyond" strategy will unfold and ensure that we take full advantage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa to firmly establish ourselves as Africa's premier sporting, conference and tourism centre. KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), land of opportunities
The event starts with stadia because without them there can be no soccer played. Millions of tickets were sold in Germany and it was wonderful to see full stadia, no matter which teams were playing. The event needs well organized infrastructure to not only get fans to and from the stadia, but to ensure the huge logistics in holding such an event are properly organised. A major part of that infrastructure will be communications systems to ensure the world witnesses this remarkable event. And beyond the immediate confines of the stadium and its precinct is the opportunity to offer millions of tourists the opportunity to witness the pleasures of our city, region and continent.
Each time our country is mentioned in the next four years as we build up to 2010, we must imprint on the minds of those who listen that we are a city and region of opportunity, in a land of goodwill and on a continent taking its place with pride amongst the communities of nations.
During the event itself around 40 billion people will cumulatively have witnessed the beautiful game played in our country. Some will get glimpses of our glorious beaches, game reserves and wonderful people. Others will be seeing the economic opportunities whilst most will be saying they must visit this country of art, culture, music, sports and above all incredible history.
And if we are to be recognised in those thousands of images which are continually being sent out around the 2010 FIFA World Cup event, then we must brand ourselves simply and consistently. Each time we take a step towards the opening of the event, let's make sure that as the host city within the beautiful province of KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) and let's brand our selves as one. Our bid recognises the host city of Durban which lies in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
Durban, KZN
I would respectfully like to suggest today that the brand that we should be promoting for the 2010 FIFA Soccer World Cup should be "Durban, KZN", so that the tens of millions of people who see us, hear us and read about us will want to find our more about this beautiful city, all its other beautiful places and our wonderful province. They will log onto the internet and find "Durban, KZN". People around the world will not only remember our province and associate the word “zulu” with it, they will look forward to us offering a world class extravaganza in 2010, before and beyond.
Each municipality in our province of KwaZulu-Natal, from eThekwini to Umkanyakude to Msundusi to Zululand to Ugu must embrace that simple brand as we sell it to the world at large. This message must be consistent so that as people want to find more about "Durban, KZN" they will find out more about all of us.
We must all own this. I would therefore like to suggest that the city manager also draft a report for cabinet and all of the municipalities in our provinces, which will allow us to search out an appropriate logo to match our brand, and be in synergy with the one our president recently launched in Berlin. The public must be involved and the city manager tells me they will be opening up a website to get ideas, and encourage our involvement in putting forward ideas. And part of this will be to appoint a team to make the final selection of the host-city logo which I hope we will launch by the end of August 2006, and be simply called "Durban, KZN".
Today's demolition of the final stand is the last part of breaking down the old so that in the next six to eight weeks, we can start to build the new King Senzangakhona. In this stadium we have many memories. Some were of our past which divided us. It is going to be a landmark.
Opposite this stand was the stand for people defined as Indian, over there was where Africans could watch and in this stadium only whites were allowed to buy tickets. In time that policy was replaced and today we know that we have buried it forever.
But out on the pitch some great teams played and we all have find memories of the sporting battles and derbies. We have among you today some of our greats, veterans, owners and current players. Thanks for all you have done to bring the beautiful game to Durban, KZN.
Multi purpose
The stadium that you will see here in days to come will be the multi-purpose King Senzangakhona Stadium, which will be a monument to a province reborn, a province turning its scars into stars. It will be a unifying and edifying symbol for KwaZulu-Natal. We will host a multi-purpose centre here so that we can showcase our province to the world, it will host a museum of artefacts and great symbols.
I am advised by Ms Julie-May Ellingson who is driving the stadium process that we are on track with the detailed designs for our new stadium and in the next few weeks I am sure she will be telling you more about that. Soon, the construction will start in earnest, commencing with the earthworks and piling in the next few weeks and, full construction by the end of the year. As we get things happening here I know she has plans to fill other spaces with parks and high performance centres, all of which is part of our broader 2010 and beyond strategy. So as we push the button and bury the past, let's lift our heads high that Durban, KZN will play its part in delivering the greatest world cup ever!
But we are not only building the stadium and ignoring what needs to be done to put players on that field in 2010 and beyond.
Soccer Strategy:
We are busy developing our Provincial Soccer Strategy which is based on four pillars:
* hosting of the event in July 2010
* development of provincial soccer
* communications and marketing strategy
* development of KZN Legacy Projects for 2010 and beyond.
The fast track building of the stadium falls in line with the provincial emphasis for the development of soccer here. There is already a clear plan of how soccer development will be rolled out from schools to professional clubs in the province. This will be done in partnership with the South African Football Association (SAFA) and the selected provincial soccer clubs.
Having started at schools’ level to develop soccer, has given the province the opportunity to also look at soccer development outside of schools. The youth who are outside the school system are given a chance to become part of this exciting sport. This is where the soccer veterans have come in to assist with a talent search throughout the province. All these activities will culminate in a possible Premier's Cup, which will be held later in the year.
Legacy projects are those projects which will outlast 2010. They will be projects which will start within a few months with an intention to prepare the province for 2010, but which will intentionally or deliberately be structured such that they yield long-term socio-economic benefits for the people of the province of KZN, particularly in the areas outside the main towns.
We would like people not just to remember what happened in 2010, but we want them to live off the benefits associated with such an enormous event for a long time after the event has come and passed.
Issued by: Office of the Premier, KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Government
25 July 2006
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