Soccer fever heats up

Big Picture banner supports grassroots soccer

Listeners, soccer supporters, celebrities and sports heroes will have the opportunity to paint part of a large welcoming banner, The Big Picture, which will be replicated and hoisted onto billboards across the city. The idea is the brainchild of Gold Reef City, 94.7 Highveld Stereo and Talk Radio 702. "As a media company, it's our responsibility to get people excited about the World Cup. We want to inspire the public to take part and really get involved," said promotions manager of Primedia Broadcasting, Simon Parkinson.

The painting party will take place every Saturday for four consecutive weeks starting on 15 May 2010, with the final reveal taking place on Wednesday 9 June at Gold Reef City, Johannesburg. The public will be able to make their mark between 9am and 12pm on 15 May at Jeppe High School for Boys, 22 May at Menlyn Park Shopping Centre, 29 May at Gold Reef City Theme Park Parking lot and 5 June at Woodmead Retail Park.

As supporters make their mark, Talk Radio 702's David O'Sullivan and 94.7 Highveld Stereo's Rude Awakening will be hosting a special one hour show while the other presenters interact with visitors and test their soccer skills in a number of activities. Gold Reef City's Diski/Tribal dancers will also be showing off their moves and while appetites are worked up, braaied boerewors rolls will be sponsored and sold by Weber. All money raised by the selling of the rolls will be donated to Roots2Shoots, a charity that provides free weekly football programmes and social skills to enrich the lives of underprivileged kids from Alexandra, Soweto, Eldoradopark and Kathlaong.

Plan your match viewing on Facebook

Visa yesterday launched its Match Planner, a social media application that allows users to create customizable, dynamic 2010 FIFA World Cup viewing schedules to share with friends via social networking channels such as Facebook. The planner is the latest extension of its first-ever global FIFA-themed marketing campaign, 'Go Fans', which also includes print, television and out-of-home advertising, host market merchant activation programs and usage promotions.

It will be available in English, Japanese, Spanish and Portuguese, and will be customized for each of the 32 qualified countries. In addition to building a customized match viewing schedule, the application also lets users organise match viewing parties, chat with friends, track scores and standings, and obtain exclusive offers from merchants such as the "FIFA Official Store" on FIFA.com.

See the show

For the duration of the World Cup, Sandton will become the world's premiere location for hospitality and brand promotion with the launch of World Football House. Hosted from 5 June to 12 July, at SCC, World Football House will offer a 'Global Village' of football to fans, young and old alike, and will provide visitors with a unique opportunity to sample and delight in the sights, sounds and flavours of the cultural and commercial diversities of the 32 countries participating in the World Cup.

Another highlight following the FIFA Congress on 11 June, is a 'street carnival' being staged by Mexico to showcase their country and their passion for the beautiful game. They will utilise SCC's Pavilion for this celebration. The government of Brazil will also utilize the SCC, showcasing their country and promoting Brazil 2014. The main Brazil event will be the launch of the emblem Brazil 2010 in early July.

Chase the Makarapa

The daily show, 'Chase the Makarapa' will be broadcast on SuperSport from June 11, as the eight participants - three from South Africa and one each from China, India, Brazil, Poland and Nigeria compete in the ultimate adventure programme to find World Cup tickets for nine matches, including the final. Every step of the way they will chart their progress online by means of blogs, Twitter, Facebook and mobi sites in their respective territories.

A cosmopolitan group of adventurers has been gathered:

• Top-rated Brazilian journalist, Ismael Augusto dos Anjos e Silva
• Computer-savvy South African with a passion for football Bongani Mundulamo
• Attractive Indian music jock Yamini Batra,
• Chinese volleyballer Wei Li,
• Nigerian student Adedamola Ogunsanwo,
• UK-based snowboarder Magdalena Jablonska of Poland,
• Tshepo Malephane (aka Coach the Roach)
• Donovan Thatcher, who skydives for fun.

The contestants convene in Johannesburg on June 9 and start their epic trek at Gold Reef City on June 11, the day the World Cup starts. Follow them on www.supersport.com/beta/football/makarapa/profile.aspx?p=2&view=full.