Cape Town 2020

The Cape Town City Council has given the green light for the development of an International Olympic aquatic centre on the Newlands swimming pool site. The City’s Property Management Department will now compile an agreement with Swimming South Africa for the redevelopment plans.

Conditions of collaborative agreement

1. SSA to cover costs of rezoning, EIA and other applications required

2. Based on the outcome of the EIA and rezoning process, a full viability study be presented to the City

3. If the project is viable, the city will make the required land available

4. That the City and SSA in conjunction source private developers for the commercial, residential and mixed-use elements of the site

5. SSA and the City in conjunction appoint consultants to carry out the detailed design and construction plans for the aquatic centre

6. That an operator/developer be sourced and secured to operate and maintain the aquatic centre

7. A proportion of the income sourced through private development of the site be directed to the aquatic centre

8. A requirement included such that the developer of the private properties on the site (i) contributes towards the cost of the aquatic centre (ii) contributes towards the maintenance and operational costs of the aquatic centre

9. Additional costs still required to construct and maintain the aquatic centre be sourced by SSA from National, Provincial government and private donors.

10. Potential income of R75m received by the city through this development be directed to the construction of the aquatic centre.

The Table Mountain Prologue of the Cape Epic Mountain Bike race would be a spectacular location for the 2020 Olympic Games Mountain Bike competition.  It is rumoured that Lance Armstrong may be taking part in the 2010 Cape Epic which would bring great publicity to this event and would expose the world to the fantastic Mountain Bike opportunities at Table Mountain.

According to America media reports:

Lance is also looking to do some more mountain bike races including the Cape Epic stage race in South Africa. “He really loves it [MTB racing] and RadioShack is very supportive of him doing things outside like that,” said Stapleton.

World renowned international course designer Frank Rothenberger, with associate Andreas Holmann, will be jetting their way to Cape Town to display their talents at the FEI Cape Town World Cup qualifier. This last and most prestigious leg of the South African League of the World Cup Show Jumping Championship is also an Olympic and World Equestrian
Games qualifier taking place from Thursday 19 November to Sunday 22 November at Glenellen Farm in Hout Bay

Rothenberger, who has designed courses for the most prestigious show jumping events in the world including Olympic Games courses since 1988 as well as several World Cup finals is well known for his innovative style and is co-owner of CARO Parcours Design. Knowledgeable, creative and inspirational  these courses have placed Rothenberger and his business partner Giancarlo Cardinali, as the current market leaders, specializing in the
design and production of jumps for the equestrian sport. The design of
sponsor jumps that offer maximum brand recognition is one of
Rothenberger’s greatest strengths.
Rothenberger’s create spectacular and technically demanding courses which demand precision and accuracy form riders and obedience and courage from their horses. This is the catalyst for the Western Province to be part of the world arena and
creates the opportunity for local riders to improve their skills to
international level by jumping courses of this complexity. With all the
top horses and riders traveling to the Cape to compete in this event
the skills of Rothenberger will certainly add to the prestige and
excitement of the event for competitors and visitors alike.

Organised by veteran show jumper and doyenne of the equestrian industry, Western Province show jumper, Judy Louw this is the only international show jumping competition in Cape Town and is an event that pulls visitors
and competitors nationally to the Mother City creating a positive
impact on our economy.

The local community of Imizamo Yethu
residents benefit from employment by working both before and during the
four day event. In addition funds raised will be going to the heart
organization, which brings about social transformation by creating
sustainable social enterprises. With these funds Food Tents* will be
set up for the community.

Featuring the cream of local and national riders at junior and adult level the calibre of the competition attracts spectators from all walks of life dispelling much of the elitism perception of this sport. Free entry makes this an
attractive proposition for a leisure weekend with the added attractions
of a retail village, VIP hospitality, a riders tent with food sponsored
by Woolworths, food stalls with a diversity of cuisine, entertainment
and a children’s corner as well as the spectacular show jumping.

Details: Thursday November 19 to Sunday November 22 (finals)
Times: 9am to 5pm
For further information contact: Judy Louw on 082 449 1458 or Derek Patrick 083 275 5284

The city of Cape Town is forging ahead with a plan to tackle the effects of climate change, which could provide a blueprint for other urban centres.The Cape Town municipality, at the southern tip of the country, has been identified by the government’s Department of Water Affairs and Forestry as the first major urban area where the demand for water is expected to exceed supply, and at various times in past summers, has already experienced rationing.

A South African Country Study on Climate Change, carried out in the late 1990’s, projected that the Western Cape Province was at high risk of changing rainfall patterns, and was likely to become warmer and drier. Cape Town, the provincial capital, aims to mitigate those effects through a Municipal Adaptation Plan (MAP) for climate change, a framework which has already been endorsed by local government.

The plan suggests steps that most residents could live with. Pierre Mukheibir and Gina Ziervogel, both researchers at the University of Cape Town who authored the MAP, have recommended the municipality should provide incentives in the form of rebates to taxpayers and businesses to install rainwater tanks, re-use their grey water and install low-flush toilets.

“We hope that the framework will serve as a blueprint for other municipalities,” said Mukheibir.

Like California in the United States, the Cape Town municipality has been pioneering green policies in South Africa. Last year it launched a 10-point energy plan, which intends to ensure that 10 percent of the city’s households install solar water heaters by 2020.

Power is a sore point in the city, where increased demand on the conventional grid has triggered a number of outages in the past three years, reportedly costing Cape Town businesses at least US $81 million in lost revenue

The city has already started buying some of its electricity from a wind farm on the Cape West Coast, said Shirene Rosenberg, manager of resource conservation at the municipality. The city is also contemplating the introduction of cleaner fossil fuels such as natural gas.

Speed bump
Cape Town already conserves water by re-using nine percent of its treated effluent, according to the MAP researchers. “There should be incentives to encourage industries and other wet-processing systems to recycle their wastewater,” noted the framework plan, which urges the installation of rainwater tanks in homes and commercial buildings for use in gardens, swimming pools, and for sewerage.

But the city’s grand schemes have hit a speed bump. Municipalities do not have a constitutional mandate to put such plans into practice, making it difficult for them to establish legal grounds to source funding either from its taxpayers or the national government, explained Rosenberg. “This is bound to affect other municipalities who consider similar plans”.

However, while the municipality seeks clarity, it will press ahead with MAP, she added. The city is already investigating the feasibility of offering water conservation-linked tax rebates.

South Africa’s carbon footprint is the largest on the continent and the country features among the top 15 greenhouse gas emitters in the world.

South Africa has made a commitment to reduce the percentage of coal in its energy mix by 10 percent by 2012, but more than 91 percent of the country’s electricity is currently generated by coal-fired plants, according to the University of Cape Town-based Energy Research Centre. The government has argued that most of its coal power stations still have a life span of 20 years or more.

Source: http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/

The City of Cape Town has formally entered into a relationship with Barcelona in the form of various projects to aid the development of both cities. A high level team visited the city to learn from the success of various initiatives in Barcelona, which started even before the 1992 Olympic Games.  A summary of these initiative are listed in the table below.

The Hockey Champions Challenge is an international field hockey tournament, played every two years. The women’s event in 2009 will be staged in Cape Town in October. The Hartleyvale Olympic Hockey Centre is a world class venue which has hosted both local and international events and seats approximately 3,000 spectators. Constructed in 1996 as part of the Olympic bid priority projects, this venue has provided Cape Town with a great legacy.

It was introduced in 2001 by the International Hockey Federation (FIH) in order to broaden hockey’s competitive base at world level.

The tournament traditionally features the teams ranked seventh to twelfth in the world as determined by finishes in the most recent Olympic Games (and Olympic Qualifying Tournament) or World Cup (and World Cup Qualifier).

The 2009 tournament will see the following teams in Cape Town:

• Azerbaijan
• Chile
• Italy
• Japan
• Korea
• New Zealand
• South Africa
• Spain

An article from the Cape Times this morning has confirmed that South Africa is seriously considering a bid for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games.

SA mulls putting in bid for 2020 Olympics

By Political Bureau WITH multibillion rand stadiums across the country nearing completion, South Africa is considering putting in another bid to host the Olympic Games. Sports and Recreation Minister Makhenkesi Stofile revealed this at a meeting in Soweto on preparations for the 2010 World Cup. He said that the progress meant the country had more confidence in resubmitting a bid for the most prestigious international sports event. In 1997 SA lost the final round of the bid to host the 2004 Olympics in Cape Town. Athens (in Greece) won the bid. The Olympics have never been awarded to an African city. Durban recently indicated that it had its eye on the 2020 Olympics. The city made its intention known by saying that the Moses Mabhida Stadium it was building for the World Cup was being constructed in a way that made expansion possible to accommodate 85 000 spectators for the 2020 event if needed. Stofile’s spokeswoman, Lerato Mogorosi, however, said yesterday that there had not been a decision on whether the country would put its name forward. “The bid only opens at the 2012 Olympics in London,” she said. “It is not confirmed, but it is being seriously discussed by the South African Sport Confederation and Olympic Committee.” Mogorosi said the issue had not yet been put before the cabinet. eThekwini’s 2010 head, Julie-May Ellingson, said in April that Durban wanted to “be ready” for an Olympic bid even though it would be a national decision. At least 40 percent of a host city’s facilities must be in place before bidding. Published on the web by Cape Times on July 26, 2009. © Cape Times 2009. All rights reserved.

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The 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona were a resounding success for more reasons than one. Apart from hosting a successful Games for the athletes and spectators of the world, Barcelona committed to transforming its city using the Olympic Games as a catalyst. Today, cities around the world are flocking to Barcelona to learn from their challenges, experience and success which has extended way beyond the Olympic Games.

Mansoor Mohamed, the City’s Executive Director: Economic, Social Development and Tourism, who will lead the delegation on behalf of the City of Cape Town, said: “The delegation aims to engage in bilateral economic talks with the Barcelona City Council and negotiate a deal to set-up an entrepreneurship ecosystem in Cape Town on similar principles to those employed so successfully by the City of Barcelona.”

“With proper planning and foresight, the City of Barcelona was able to accelerate its own development by using the Olympic Games of 1992 to enhance its global positioning. The benefits of the games are still being felt today and it has been widely accepted that the City of Barcelona, through the Olympic Games, achieved ‘100 years of development within ten years’. Entrepreneurship is a significant enabler of economic growth and job creation and the City of Barcelona has demonstrated proven ability in this area. We are looking forward to making progress on entrepreneurship. Urban regeneration, direct economic and higher education linkages and municipal markets are also on the agenda,” says Mohamed.

“The City of Cape Town is facing similar challenges to the ones faced by the City of Barcelona just prior to the 1992 Olympics. These challenges included the decline of their manufacturing sector, high unemployment and being reduced to ‘second city’ status after Madrid,” says Alderman Felicity Purchase, Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Development and Tourism.

Can Cape Town use the 2010 FIFA World Cup and a future Olympic bid to transform out city? It will require a bold and daring step forward, but Cape Town is certainly up for the challenge.

This new venue will certainly contribute to the numerous existing world class venues Cape Town would offer an Olympic Games.  Cape Town intends on bidding for major swimming events including the 2015 FINA World Championships and 2014 FINA World Short-course Championships.

Cape Town certainly played a fantastic role during the IPL 2009.  The colourful crowds and good support at matches proved once again that Cape Town is one of the great global sports cities.  Newlands Cricket Stadium would form one of the  Olympic venues in Cape Town and would provide a magical backdrop for the Archery competition. The Archery event at the 2012 Olympic Games in London will be held at a world famous Lords cricket venue.

From the opening ceremony to the last match in Cape Town, Cape Town Tourism has captured the magic and spice of this truly sensational event  Here are a few of those magical moments.

Have a look at their IPL 2009 section and their fantastic IPL Photo gallery of all the action