Newsletters

Pretoria, 10.06.2010. South Africans celebrated the World Cup in style yesterday when Bafana Bafana, the country´s national team, drove through the streets of Sandton, the business hub of Johannesburg in an open bus with 50 000 people lining up the streets. For a few hours, four of the top ten ‘trending topics´ on Twitter worldwide were South African: #Vuvuzela, #Sandton, #Bafana, #SouthAfrica. But despite all the positive spirit visible in the country, it is clear that the country remains vulnerable to negative coverage.

A few days ago, a test match between Nigeria and North Korea ended in turmoil and a number of people were injured as fans attempted to enter the stadium with fake tickets. International media were quick to place this story on their sports front pages, particularly in Germany. Conclusions were drawn to a ‘similar´ event last year in the Ivory Coast where 22 visitors died in a stampede – despite the obvious geographical distance between South Africa and the Ivory Coast. This example shows how difficult it is to break entrenched stereotypes in international media, which often make large generalisations about Africa that would not be made in Europe. Similarly, a hotel theft at the Columbian team hotel and an alleged robbery of foreign journalists a few days ago, received considerable coverage. International media, heavily critical towards South Africa´s ability to host the World Cup a few years ago have, over time, been introduced to the infrastructural developments, the building of the stadiums as well as the opening of the ‘bullet train´ from Johannesburg´s airport to the City. And with these visible improvements, the international media coverage become more positive. But local organisers must not be fooled, there will continue to be negative stories, despite the current hype and enthusiasm.

Media Tenor´s analysis of the first week of June indicates a cautious, yet slightly optimistic, view of the country by international media. Europe and the Middle East show generally neutral reporting; North America, South America and Asian countries display much enthusiasm. Australia and New Zealand remain largely negative, with safety and security being amongst the greatest concerns. African media have rallied behind South Africa, reversing a trend of the past few months. Namibia, Zimbabwe, Swaziland, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya and Nigeria are all reporting favourably on South Africa as a host as well as the preparedness of the country. With the opening match less than 24 hours away, the attention will now likely shift to the participating teams. The moment has come, international media´s attention has reached a peak. The next four weeks will be a pivotal point for South Africa´s global perception in the years to come.

Basis: 70 696 statements on World Cup 2010 in international media

<< back <<

Please login to get more in pdf