Feel it forever with Bay’s World Cup book
03 May 2011
The dust has finally settled on the biggest sporting event ever held in South Africa and on the African continent. Now to celebrate the first anniversary, local award-winning journalist, Traci Mackie, has published a book on the successful hosting of the event in the Bay. The book was commissioned by the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipal 2010 Directorate.
The hard-cover coffee table book entitled Feel it Forever – Mackie’s second on Nelson Mandela Bay – documents the road to the spectacular showpiece. It records each and every 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 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 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. 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 have 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 the Bay’s executive mayor Zanoxolo 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. “It will also be a tribute to the hard-work of the unheralded team members of the 2010 Directorate.”
Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism’s chief executive, Mandlakazi Skefile, said the book was a key device for not only remembering the World Cup, but for promoting Nelson Mandela Bay as a destination, particularly when it comes to sports and events.
Feel it forever charts the advent 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 Danny 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 with 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.
Author: Amy Shelver
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