Press Release: Unveiling of the World Cup banner

Berlin, 27.5.2010. Fourteen days before the official kick-off in Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg the Embassy gets an additional decoration feature for its front fence. The German artist Eckhard Böttger received the commission from Deutsche Afrika Stiftung E.V. and Deutsche Industrie und Handelskammer to design a banner that will span the whole 20 meter fence along the Embassy facing the street.

Mr. Böttger took on the challenge and designed a banner that illustrates South Africa’s love for the beautiful game of soccer, it shows fans with a Vuvuzela, the typical South African trumpet for sports fans,  flags of the participating countries, children playing soccer symbolizing that soccer is the biggest and most popular sport in South Africa.

The banner will decorate the Embassy of the Republic of South Africa during the time of the World Cup and will remind passers-by of the festival of soccer that is taking place in ten stadia, in nine different cities, 10 000 kilometers away. The Embassy clock is already regularly mentioned on tourist buses that pass Tiergartenstrasse on their routes and the banner will now contribute to the Embassy`s further visibility as South Africa`s representation in Germany.
The unveiling of the banner will be the last World Cup 2010 event at the Embassy as all World Cup activities thereafter are moved to a fantastic setting: The Haus der Kulturen der Welt.

For the World Cup, the Embassy has teamed up with Haus der Kulturen der Welt and other partners. All the matches will be broadcasted live and it is the perfect opportunity to experience the first World Cup on African soil with fans from all over the world and especially from South Africa and the rest of the continent. Besides the matches the great cultural talents of South African and African artists including music, poetry and dance will be on stage for a truly African World Cup experience. 

For the unveiling of the banner initiators, partners, representatives from art, culture, sports and politics, representatives of the media and neighbors from other Embassies in Tiergartenstrasse were invited. And even though it is not “Football Friday” Embassy wore their yellow Bafana Bafana T-shirts to show their support for their team.

For further information please contact:

Sarah Poehlmann
Press Officer
Embassy of the Republic of South Africa
PoehlmannS(at)foreign.gov.za

For programme information on Haus der Kulturen der Welt please visit: http://www.hkw.de/de/programm/2010/cup_of_cultures/veranstaltungen_43003/AlleVeranstaltungen.php

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