Ticket Purchases by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation to the 2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer Tournament, the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, and other Entertainment Event

QOUTE

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

FOR A WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NO: 1543

PUBLISHED INTERNAL QUESTION PAPER NO 14 OF 21 MAY 2010

MR K S MUBU (DA) TO ASK THE MINISTER OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AND COOPERATION:

Whether her department and/or any of its entities have purchased any tickets for (a) the 2010 FIFA World Cup Soccer tournament, (b) the Cape Town International Jazz Festival and (c) any other entertainment event in the (i) 2009-10 financial year and (ii) during the period 1 April 2010 up to the latest specified date for which information is available; if not, what has been the position in each case; if so, in each case, (aa) what is or has been the date of the event, (bb)(i) how many tickets have been purchased and (ii) why, (cc) what has been the total cost of the tickets and (dd)(i) to whom has each of these tickets been allocated and (ii) on what was the decision for the allocation of these tickets based?

REPLY:

The Department has not purchased any tickets for:

(a). 2010 FIFA World Cup
(b). Cape Town International Jazz Festival
(c). Any other entertainment event.

The Department has, however, secured a hospitality suite:

(c). The Department secured a hospitality suite for both the opening and closing ceremonies, at Soccer City for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, on the 30 March 2010: Private Suite with 200 seats.

(aa) The dates of the event are the 11 June and 11 July 2010

(ii) The President has invited the International Heads of State and eminent persons for both the opening and the closing ceremonies of the 2010 FIFA World Cup to be hosted at the Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg. The suite was therefore secured to accommodate the Heads of State and other dignitaries, especially those from the continent as well as the African Diplomatic Corps (all African Ambassadors accredited to RSA), in order to align with the African character of the World Cup.

(cc) the total cost of the suite, for both ceremonies, amounted to R 10,297,500.00

UNQOUTE