World Cup round-up 3
I'm not sure how you measure excitement, but at long last it does seem to be on the rise here. It's not just the rash of flags sprouting on cars, or the advertising blitz, or the frantic rush to finish road works. On the streets, everyone I talk to seems to be catching the bug. "It's not only about football - it's about humanity," a usually level-headed sports fan told me. "It's time to intergrate Africa into the international community."
Not, of course, that it's all smooth sailing. Last week I was grumbling about baggage security at Johannesburg's OR Tambo International Airport.
But what about personal security? There's a very interesting investigation that should embarrass and alarm airline officials.
There are plenty of other critical stories in the local media. These are a couple that capture something of the ambivalent mood shared by many commentators:
The land of the World Cup is light years from reality.- So what are your unreasonable expectations for the World Cup.
But interestingly local television stations here are apparently refusing to run one particularly negative documentary.
If you haven't got any World Cup tickets yet, then here are a couple of steers - one carries a warning - and the other an opportunity.
Every time I mention crime here, people write in to say I'm either exaggerating the threat, or ignoring it. A few days ago some friends here were brutally attacked in their own home, so I don't take it lightly, and this article makes depressing reading.
But once again let me stress that the risks confronting visiting fans and ordinary South Africans are very different. Ask the British Lions rugby fans or cricket's Barmy Army about their experiences here. Interestingly, prostitution is singled out by some foreign tour organisers as a much bigger danger area. I'll be writing about that soon.
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