Big Acts Before 2010 Kick Off

Four of the most popular musical acts in the world will be performing during the Kick Off Concert for the World Cup on the 10Th of June.

It's only 85 days to go until the world of football feast their eyes on the beautiful country we call South Africa and the games begin. Before the first kick off between hosts Bafana Bafana and Mexico, there's something extra special that fans can look forward to. The Kick Off Concert will be held on June 10Th at Soweto's Orlando Stadium and some big names will be gracing the stage. If you've been to a dance club, birthday or even a shopping mall in the past 5 years you should know who the Black Eyed Peas are. The Grammy Award wining hip hop group will be in Soweto on the night and should win the crowd over with ease. If you had to sit down after reading the last line then brace yourself because there's even more. The Peas will be joined by Latin American stunner Shakira, chart topper John Legend and mega star Alicia Keys. The event will be broadcast live to 92 countries which means over a billion people will be watching this show in Soweto. To add a little local flavor to the show, some of Africa's best acts will be there too. Rock group,the Parlatone's and songstress Angelique Kidjo will be at Orlando Stadium to show the World what our local scene is made of.

If that's not enough Hollywood A list celebs have also been invited,what a way to get the fans geared up for the biggest sporting event of the year?

The Good Sport

Americans are getting fatter, I read yesterday, but thats old news. Every year someone does a study that measures the average American girth. If we had to wait for the fat lady to sing before it was over, I'd say she's got the pipes for the final curtain call and the waiting is up. Its not all bad for Americas fattest fatties though, the rest of the world is getting fatter, right along with "Lady Liberaly." I guess the Aussies and even South Africans figure they're ok as long as the Americans are still carrying the bulk of the weight.

A few things got me thinking about the ever illusive "sports tourism." Strange, I've never travelled anywhere for sport, so to speak. But when I did a mental inventory about my travels, it surprised me that the most memorable activities absolutely involved the commitment of my body. I think they call that excercise...

So it got me thinking...well a combination of a torturous spin class, watching the Lions and Boks last Saturday got me thinking. Firstly, I couldn't believe how many red jerseys were in the stands in suppoort of the Lions last Saturday. It looked like tens of thousands supporters took themselves on an internatinal holiday to support their rugby team. I suppose it was surprising because I've never had the urge to travel anywhere because of sporting events but what do you know, it happens.

So I thought I'd take a little peak into South African sports tourism. if you think about it, we're pretty sporty (and by "sporty" I include sedentary lifestyle shapeshifters who watch a lot of sport). We run marathons, play cricket, rugby, soccer, we swim, play golf, dance, play netball, hockey, volleyball...the list goes on. We have so many balls in South Africa, its no wonder we're so competitive.

Its definately added a new dimension to our already successful tourism industry. along with shopping (which should actually be a sport), eco, luxury, safari, sightseeing and all the other travel options we have available, we can now create an itinery thats sure to stretch even tighest joke strap.

And consider it an open invitation to the Americans! Welcome to the Land of free thinkers and brave attempts, sports wise anyway. Come and join us on an adventure and hopefully, catch a glimpse of what it feels like to run under the African sun.

Send them cycling, white water rafting, road racing, hiking, golfing, its like an Iron Man race that just never ends. So I'd say its time to get physical. See South Africa from an athletes point of view. A great way to record your sports holiday is with your cell phone. If you're GPS enabled, than log onto www.hummba.com and download the FOOTPRINTS application, you can track your entire race/trip/hike and show to your friends from around the world. All you do is upload all your photos and they'll appear exactly where you took them on your profile. So now you can't cheat.

Go on, log on to hummba.com...I'll race you...