Confed Cup mania hits SA

Before I get to my blog, it has to be said that my previous entry, I want to start something new, resulted in an unexpected avalanche of emails from those keen to join my quest. We've scheduled a meeting for next week and will no doubt come up with something that will make a meaningful contribution. If you're keen to join us in finding a way to make a difference, let me know on or watch this space.

If you're a regular on Bizcommunity, you may have read that VWV Consortium was appointed by the LOC to produce the opening and closing ceremonies for the Confed Cup. On all accounts this has been an interesting experience for our business. Yes, VWV has done some big events in the past but none with a global audience such as this.

One of the toughest challenges was dealing with so many stakeholders in order to get everyone on the same page to pull it all together. We were co-ordinating between the LOC, FIFA, stadium management, technical teams, audio technicians, and media, to name but a few. And then there were the children! All 700 of them, and ranging in ages!

In this case it was the children who came with complex stakeholder management, namely parents, principals, teachers, and the Department of Education. Our biggest blunder was not involving the National Association of Parents in School Governance (NAPSG) and it let us know all about it when we met them eventually. We were already half way through our planning stage when the association approached us with policies and procedures to implement.

It was an unforeseen set-back, but we appreciated the need to be extremely careful with minors. Having said this, we had already meticulously implemented the guidelines given by the Department of Education. Our efforts to make the required adjustments eventually meant that all the NAPSG policies were met too.

The fruits of our labour received unprecedented media coverage, and it seems the people of Mzansi were extremely happy with the production. Not only has public feedback been fabulous, but we received the nod of approval from FIFA president, Sepp Blatter and other dignitaries.

It was indeed an honour to help raise the curtain on such an incredible moment in our history, and as the saying goes, what goes up must come down, and now our team are hard at work preparing for the closing ceremony. Don't miss out - join us on Sunday, 28 June 2009 at Ellis Park, Johannesburg.

As South Africa and the world stands by, we wish our team well; crossing fingers that Bafana Bafana reaches the final. But perhaps it's more about the spirit of the game than the scoreboard.

Laduma!