Seven days to go to Rugby’s Biggest Party
Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
With just seven days to go Nelson Mandela Bay is gearing up and ready to host Rugby’s Biggest Party of the Year and rugby supporters still have time to book their tickets to this exciting, world class event.
The Bay is buzzing with excitement and ready to welcome the world’s best Sevens players for the Nelson Mandela Bay South Africa Sevens, to be hosted in the brand new iconic Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on 9-10 December.
The stadium is instantly recognisable for its unique design featuring a rooftop that resembles a collection of sails and it is situated on the edge of a lake, which makes for a spectacular sight at night when the lights are switched on.
Nelson Mandela Bay will host the South African leg of the HSBC Sevens World Series for the four five years after it emerged as winner of a very competitive bidding process at the beginning of the year. It replaces George where the tournament was held previously for the past decade.
The tournament is round three of the HSBC Sevens World Series which consists of nine events across the world.
Tickets are very affordable and range from R80 on the Friday and from R100 on Saturday and fans can book their seats at any Computicket outlet.
The South African Rugby Union and the City of Nelson Mandela Bay have drawn up a great entertainment programme for next week which will not only ensure the many visiting players and officials enjoy their stay in Friendly City, but that the locals also share in the fun, enjoyment and excitement of this hugely popular tournament.
Speaking during a briefing session earlier today, Mandlakazi Skefile, the CEO of Nelson Mandela Bay Tourism, told media the city was ready to welcome the players, match officials, IRB dignitaries and out of town visitors. She said the city of Nelson Mandela Bay was fully committed to make this tournament a success so that in future, it can rival the most popular Series tournaments in the world.
She appealed to Bay rugby fans to buy tickets and to welcome the teams, including hosts South Africa, with typical Eastern Cape warmth.
“We are, I reiterate, 100% ready for the event. All security measures are in place, a comprehensive traffic plan will be implemented in line with our operational plan for big stadium events and we are all systems go. All we need now is for the fans to buy the remaining tickets.
“So we encourage rugby and party-loving people from areas surrounding Nelson Mandela Bay – Jeffery’s Bay, Patense, Kenton, Grahamstown – to make a weekend outing of the event and to come and enjoy our friendly city,” said Ms Skefile.
Steven Roos, SARU’s Tournament Director who is overseeing all the operational arrangements for the two-day international tournament, said SARU was looking forward to stage the Sevens at the beautiful Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
“The stadium is a fantastic venue and it has outstanding modern facilities in addition to a seating capacity of 45 000 people. We have worked extremely hard the past few months with the City, our joint venture partners, to make sure all the logistics and operational matters, as required by the IRB, are in place when the teams arrive in the Bay on Sunday evening,” explained Mr Roos.
He added that a full list of events next week will ensure an exciting build-up to the two days of action next Friday and Saturday.
One of the many highlights of the week is the Castle Lager SuperFan concert next Friday evening which will be staged immediately after the final whistle of the last match, at 8.30pm. Popular South African bands Goldfish, Dr Victor and the Rasta Rebels and DJ Reddy D are the main attractions.
Fans will be able to meet the Blitzbokke during a signing session on Tuesday at the Greenacres Mall, while a meet and greet session with all the international captains is scheduled for the next day at the same venue.
The line-up of events for next week in Nelson Mandela Bay is:
Sat 3 Dec Start of Taxi activation campaign
Sun 4 Dec 20h10 Arrival of first group of teams at the Port Elizabeth Airport
Mon 5 Dec 14h00 Tag Rugby coaching clinic for coaches
09h00 First training session for all teams at various training venues
Tues 6 Dec 14h00 Tag Rugby and HSBC competition featuring 100 kids from local schools
17h00 Springbok Sevens signing session at Greenacres Mall
18h00 Official Mayoral welcome function, NMB Stadium
Wed 7 Dec 14h00 International captains’ signing session
Thu 8 Dec 07h00 Springbok Sevens Absa charity breakfast
10h00 Captain’s Run (last training session for all teams)
Fri 9 Dec 11h37 Start of match day 1
20h30 Castle Lager SuperFan Concert at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium
Sat 10 Dec 11h16 Start of match day 2
20h10 Trophy presentation and pyrotechnics display
Sun 11 Dec Teams departure to various destinations
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