Bay book on World Cup ensures city feels it forever

A BOOK and DVD to commemorate Nelson Mandela Bay’s hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup was launched yesterday to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the event amid fanfare with top business, politicians and personalities joining in the celebration. The book is titled Feel it Forever.

Local organizing committee chief executive and “son of the Nelson Mandela Bay soil” Dr Danny Jordaan gave the keynote address to dignitaries including executive mayor Zanoxolo Wayile, deputy mayor Nancy Sihlwayi, 2010 Directorate executive director Errol Heynes, sports personalities, World Cup and book sponsors, Miss Port Elizabeth and the media.

Jordaan said the book demonstrated the capacity of the people of Nelson Mandela Bay, who achieved great things during the World Cup, including the early completion of the Nelson Mandela Bay stadium.

“This is a proud moment in the history of the city – this book is an incredible acknowledgement and contribution to the World Cup legacy in Nelson Mandela Bay,” said Jordaan. “It is a legacy to keep 2010 in our minds forever.

“This book captures the essence of a history of a celebratory people, highlighting what can be achieved if we all work together, non-racially. The city proved to be as efficient, if not better, than any other cities around the world.”

Feel it Forever was written, to celebrate the successful hosting of the event in the city, by local businesswoman and journalist, Traci Mackie. The book was commissioned by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality 2010 Directorate.

The hard-cover coffee table book is Mackie’s second on Nelson Mandela Bay and documents the road to the spectacular football showpiece. It records each match held in the city with an accompanying selection of “incredible” photographs.

“For so long I was close to all the action, I saw the planning for the World Cup take shape and then manifest into tangible realities when the stadium was completed and the first games were played,” said Mackie, whose company Yithethe maAfrika, was appointed communication consultant to the 2010 Directorate for 14 months.

“But there was so much more to the World Cup than what meets the obvious. From within the engine room I was privy to all the innuendos and anecdotes: challenges, trials, triumphs, politics, personalities and landmark breakthroughs.

“Feel it Forever is also a tribute to the many, many people who worked tirelessly behind the scenes and in the firing line to ensure Nelson Mandela Bay produced an event of which the residents of the city will be proud for many, many years to come.

“Writing this book has been an opportunity to put all those unique insider experiences into perspective, and packaged in a way that will cement the World Cup in our great city in the annuals of history.”

Executive director of the 2010 Directorate, Errol Heynes, was instrumental in the commissioning of the book and gave it editorial direction. Feel it forever would be one of the legacies of the World Cup project in Nelson Mandela Bay and is one of the final deliverables of the event, he said.

Originally it was meant to focus on FIFA Fan Fest at St George’s Park, but the 2010 Directorate later decided that it should cover the whole event.

City officials welcomed the book as an historical testament to Nelson Mandela Bay’s hosting of the event. “Many people made this great event happen. Some faces were often visible in the media and World Cup press, but many unsung heroes made the World Cup worth it for the country and the thousands of visitors to South Africa. Feel it forever is both an ode to those anonymous contributors to the World Cup and those who played a leading role,” said mayor Wayile.

“It successfully documents what happened at strategic and planning levels and, importantly, the vibrancy and voices of the people who gave the World Cup an African face. Feel it forever also contributes to the legacy of the World Cup, by standing as an historical document of what occurred in the city before and during the event.” 

Nelson Mandela Bay is the only city to have produced a book commemorating the World Cup, although FIFA did bring out a photo book on the World Cup in South Africa.

“Creating this book was like adding the full stop to the World Cup in Nelson Mandela Bay. So much happened, it’s hard to always capture the totality of things – but this book will do exactly what the title proclaims, help us feel and remember the life-changing World Cup forever,” said Heynes.  

Feel it forever charts the arrival of the World Cup in South Africa from winning bid to closing ceremony – and all the bits in-between. It also features a unique chapter of personal World Cup moments from high-profile people like Dr Jordaan and Freshlyground’s Zolani Mahola, top politicians to everyday locals who shared their heart-warming football memories. 

Also included in the book is a DVD featuring the five minute short film on the city’s World Cup, the joint television commercial that was shot for Nelson Mandela Bay municipality and Office of the Eastern Cape premier, and the award-winning Discover Freedom tourism destination short film all shot by local production company Rooftop Productions. Feel it forever will be available in stores from June 11, 2011 at a cost of R195. Proceeds from the book will be used to buy sports equipment for the disabled.