ABSTRACT
South Africa’s successful hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup has profiled the country and specific host cities as significant players in the arena of sport tourism events. In particular, the picturesque backdrop of Cape Town’s scenery and an impressive stadium ensured that the city retained its position as Africa’s most prominent tourist destination (Alexander, 2010). With the event over, significant attention has been placed on the legacy impacts of hosting mega-events (Alegi, 2007; Cornelissen et al., 2011; Cottle, 2011; Swart et al., 2011), including long-term sustainability considerations, particularly in relation to the significant infrastructural investments made using public funds. There have been and continue to be several debates pertaining to whether South Africa should have hosted the World Cup, with the general position being that given the massive development backlogs and high poverty levels in the country, the money could have been better spent in addressing these issues. Additionally, there is a focus on legacy aspects intended to examine the long-term positive and negative impacts of Africa hosting a mega-event for the first time.
