Lessons from Beijing

After years of bitter controversy, Beijing rose to the occasion and produced an Olympic Games which will be remembered for its sleek organisation, spectacular ceremonies and a feast of sensational sport.

London may have received the baton for the next Olympiad, but the reality is the spotlight has now shifted to South Africa as the hosts of the world’s next mega sporting event.

The significance was not lost on government, the 2010 Local Organising Committee – and even FIFA – which sent a team of heavyweights to the Chinese capital to highlight that the 2010 hosts are well on track with their preparations.

“The 2010 FIFA World Cup will be hosted in South Africa, by South Africans and nowhere else. If we say the World Cup will take place in South Africa, it will take place in South Africa,” said FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke.

It was, for the most part, a successful initiative, albeit for Minister in the Presidency Essop Pahad’s remarks that ‘some’ white South Africans don’t support the tournament. Once again, South Africa was back in the headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Whether Pahad’s comments were fair or not is open to debate, but it certainly stirred a hornet’s nest. Nevertheless, it was interesting to see opposition parties, the media and many ordinary South Africans confirming their belief in the World Cup and their determination to help make it a success.

The Games also served notice that Africa will be a force to be reckoned with on centre stage in 2010. Nigeria highlighted the continent’s two-decade boom by making it to the final, despite losing 1-0 to Argentina.

The biggest lesson we can take from Beijing — and the hosts of other previous major global sporting events — is that we are in for a rough ride, particularly in terms of international media coverage.

There is a trend to highlight the negatives and focus on what can go wrong. The best we can do is keep our preparations on track, present a united front and look forward to the moment when the tournament kicks off and the entire planet will be focused on what really matters.