93-533: The Newlands Stadium is located in Cape Town, South Africa . The stadium has a capacity of 51,900 people, but is not an all-seater venue. Various sports teams used the stadium as their home base, including: The city's soccer clubs Ajax Cape Town , Santos and the dissolved club Vasco da Gama occasionally hosted matches at the Newlands Stadium. The Western Province Rugby and Football Union decided to buy
186-535: A Vuvuzela orchestra performance during half time. The second of three 'dry runs' at the new Cape Town Stadium was another Cape Town derby. Local Cape Town rugby teams, The Vodacom Stormers and the Boland Inv. XV battled it out at the Cape Town Rugby Festival that took place on 6 February 2010. The Rugby Festival had entertainment from local band Flat Stanley . Only 40,000 tickets were made available for
279-515: A prison where people were isolated, banished, and exiled for nearly 400 years. It was also used as a leper colony, a post office, a grazing ground, a mental hospital, and an outpost. The Cape Peninsula is a rocky and mountainous peninsula that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean at the south-western extremity of the continent. At its tip is Cape Point and the Cape of Good Hope . The peninsula forms
372-510: A severe water shortage from 2015 to 2018. According to Oxfam , "in the face of an imminent water shortage, the city of Cape Town in South Africa successfully reduced its water use by more than half in three years, cutting it from 1.2bn litres per day in February 2015 to 516m litres per day in 2018." In 2021 Cape Town also experienced a violent turf war between rival taxi firms which led to
465-629: A catalyst for significant improvements to surrounding buildings and spaces through spontaneous private sector investment. Ajax Cape Town have used the stadium as their home ground from the 2010–11 Premier Soccer League (PSL) season onwards. Due to the stadium's ongoing financial problems, the City of Cape Town had sought to acquire Western Province rugby as an "anchor tenant". After four years of talks, Western Province announced in December 2014 that they had decided to remain at Newlands Stadium . In March 2015,
558-603: A few other towns. Industry and commerce is largely in service of the area. After the Cape Peninsula, Helderberg is the next most mountainous part of Greater Cape Town, bordered to the north and east by the highest peaks in the region along the watershed of the Helderberg and Hottentots Holland Mountains, which are part of the Cape Fold Belt with Cape Supergroup strata on a basement of Tygerberg Formation rocks intruded by part of
651-671: A flood of immigration into South Africa. In 1895 the city's first public power station, the Graaff Electric Lighting Works , was opened. Conflicts between the Boer republics in the interior and the British colonial government resulted in the Second Boer War of 1899–1902. Britain's victory in this war led to the formation of a united South Africa. From 1891 to 1901, the city's population more than doubled from 67,000 to 171,000. As
744-532: A major gap at the Fish Hoek–Noordhoek valley. In the south much of the area is a low sandstone plateau with sand dunes. Maximum altitude is 1113 m on Table Mountain. The Cape Flats (Afrikaans: Kaapse Vlakte) is a flat, low-lying, sandy area, area to the east the Cape Peninsula, and west of the Helderberg much of which was wetland and dunes within recent history. To the north are the Tygerberg Hills and
837-459: A merger between Fedsure and Norwich, and finally back to simply Newlands by Investec when they became the main sponsor in 2002. In late 2005, Vodacom became the stadium's main sponsor, but followed Investec's precedent and kept the stadium name as Newlands. However, from 2011 the ground was known as DHL Newlands after Western Province and the Stormers changed sponsors., In 1995 the stadium was one of
930-579: A municipal entity, concluded a multi-year sponsorship agreement with DHL for a period of four years, from 2021 to 2025. It included renaming the stadium to the DHL Stadium. In this regard, Peter-John Veldhuizen, chairperson of the Board of the Cape Town Stadium (RF) Soc Ltd said: "DHL’s contribution as our naming rights partner has certainly made a significant impact on the bottom line of the business". As
1023-448: A number of satellite towns, suburbs and rural areas such as Atlantis , Bellville , Blouberg , Brackenfell , Durbanville , Goodwood , Gordon's Bay , Hout Bay , Khayelitsha , Kraaifontein , Kuilsrivier , Macassar , Melkbosstrand , Milnerton , Muizenberg , Noordhoek , Parow , Philadelphia , Simon's Town , Somerset West , and Strand among others. The Cape Peninsula is 52 km (30 mi) long from Mouille Point in
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#17328528301791116-511: A result, in 2022–2022 the revenue target was exceeded by 30% and the grant funding from the City of Cape Town was reduced from R61m to R42m. The stadium is adjacent to the site of the original 18,000 seater stadium Green Point Stadium . It replaces a portion of the Metropolitan Golf Club site which has now been realigned. The previous stadium, originally constructed in 1897 and which was partly demolished in 2007 and rebuilt in 2013 as
1209-562: A series of charity tennis matches. It took place on 7 February 2020 and featured Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal . Federer confirmed the date, location, and opponent during the 2019 edition of Wimbledon . Federer said he had pursued Nadal's participation for two years before a date as agreed upon. South Africa is the birth country of Federer's mother and the focus of his charitable foundation. The doubles match consisted Roger Federer and American tycoon Bill Gates versus Rafael Nadal and South African entertainer Trevor Noah . Federer and Gates won
1302-509: A sponsorships agreement with DHL , granting naming rights to the company. Since then the stadium has officially been known as the DHL Stadium. The first game to be hosted at the new Cape Town Stadium was a Cape Town derby between Ajax Cape Town and Santos on 23 January 2010 as part of the official inauguration of the stadium. Only 20,000 tickets were made available for the event and were sold out by Friday 15 January 2010. The Soccer Festival had entertainment from local band Freshlyground and
1395-791: A strong wind from the south-east, known locally as the south-easter or the Cape Doctor , so called because it blows air pollution away. This wind is caused by a persistent high-pressure system over the South Atlantic to the west of Cape Town, known as the South Atlantic High , which shifts latitude seasonally, following the sun, and influencing the strength of the fronts and their northward reach. Cape Town receives about 3,100 hours of sunshine per year. Cape Town Stadium The Cape Town Stadium ( Afrikaans : Kaapstad-stadion ; Xhosa : Inkundla yezemidlalo yaseKapa ; known until 2025 as
1488-585: Is the country's second-largest city, after Johannesburg , and the largest in the Western Cape . The city is part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality . The city is known for its harbour , its natural setting in the Cape Floristic Region , and for landmarks such as Table Mountain and Cape Point . In 2014, Cape Town was named the best place in the world to visit by The New York Times , and
1581-680: Is the home ground of WP Rugby and the DHL Stormers (since 2021), Premier Soccer League clubs Cape Town Spurs (since 2010) and Cape Town City (since 2016). It has also hosted the South Africa Sevens rugby tournament since 2015 and hosted the Rugby 7s World Cup in 2022. The stadium is located in Green Point , between Signal Hill and the Atlantic Ocean , close to the Cape Town city center and to
1674-518: Is the valley of the Steenbras River, in which the Steenbras Dam was built as a water supply for Cape Town. The dam has been supplemented by several other dams around the western Cape, some of them considerably larger. This is almost entirely a conservation area, of high biodiversity. Bellville , Brackenfell , Durbanville , Kraaifontein , Goodwood and Parow are a few of the towns that make up
1767-533: The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 . The city became the capital of the newly formed Cape Colony , whose territory expanded very substantially through the 1800s, partially as a result of numerous wars with the amaXhosa on the colony's eastern frontier. In 1833 slavery was abolished in the colony freeing over 5500 slaves in the city, almost a third of the city's population at the time. The Convict Crisis of 1849, marked by substantial civil upheaval, bolstered
1860-517: The Atlantic Ocean , which includes False Bay, and extends to the Hottentots Holland mountains to the east. The Table Mountain National Park is within the city boundaries and there are several other nature reserves and marine-protected areas within, and adjacent to, the city, protecting the diverse terrestrial and marine natural environment. The earliest known remnants of human occupation in
1953-742: The Battle of Salt River , the Portuguese admiral Francisco de Almeida and sixty-four of his men were killed and his party was defeated by the "Goringhaiqua" in Dutch approximate spelling) using cattle that were specially trained to respond to whistles and shouts. The Gorinaiqua were one of the Khoikhoi clans who inhabited the area. In the late 16th century French, Danish, Dutch and English, but mainly Portuguese, ships regularly continued to stop over in Table Bay en route to
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#17328528301792046-695: The Cape Supergroup , of which parts of the Graafwater and Peninsula Formations remain, were uplifted between 280 and 21S million years ago, and were largely eroded away during the Mesozoic. The region was geologically stable during the Tertiary, which has led to slow denudation of the durable sandstones. Erosion rate and drainage has been influenced by fault lines and fractures, leaving remnant steep-sided massifs like Table Mountain surrounded by flatter slopes of deposits of
2139-590: The Cape Town Stadium . However, the Western Province Rugby Union decided at the time that they would rather remain at Newlands. In 2020 it was confirmed that the stadium would be sold to a preferred bidder via a sealed-envelope bidding process and demolished in 2022 for residential and retail developments to be built. The sale was delayed when a group of former rugby players, led by former Springbok , Wynand Claasen , submitted an application to have
2232-543: The DHL Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is an association football (soccer) and rugby union stadium in Cape Town , South Africa , that was built as part of the country's hosting of the 2010 FIFA World Cup . During the planning stage, it was known as the Green Point Stadium , which was the name of the older stadium on an adjacent site, and this name was also used frequently during World Cup media coverage. It
2325-450: The Fanwalk , highlighting local businesses and providing entertainment, while promoting crowd safety. A consortium consisting of South Africa's Sail Group and French-based Stade de France were awarded the service contract to operate the stadium and ensure that it remains a sustainable multi-purpose venue after the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The consortium, called Business Venture Investments 1317,
2418-544: The Fort de Goede Hoop (later replaced by the Castle of Good Hope ). The settlement grew slowly during this period, as it was hard to find adequate labour. This labour shortage prompted the local authorities to import enslaved people from Indonesia and Madagascar . Many of these people are ancestors of modern-day Cape Coloured and Cape Malay communities. Under Van Riebeeck and his successors, as VOC commanders and later governors at
2511-576: The Northern Suburbs of Cape Town. In current popular culture these areas are often referred to as being beyond the " boerewors curtain," a play on the term " iron curtain ." UNESCO declared Robben Island in the Western Cape a World Heritage Site in 1999. Robben Island is located in Table Bay, some 6 km (3.7 mi) west of Bloubergstrand, a coastal suburb north of Cape Town, and stands some 30m above sea level. Robben Island has been used as
2604-492: The South African Rugby Union announced that the South Africa Sevens tournament would be staged at Cape Town Stadium for four years, beginning in December 2015. In June 2016, it was announced that new PSL club Cape Town City would also play at Cape Town Stadium. In late 2020, Western Province RFU announced that they were selling their longtime home of Newlands Stadium to developers, who planned to demolish
2697-595: The Southern Suburbs , close to the mountains, rainfall is significantly higher and averages closer to 1,000 mm (39.4 in). Summer, which lasts from December to March, is warm and dry with an average maximum of 26 °C (79 °F) and minimum of 16 °C (61 °F). The region can get uncomfortably hot when the Berg Wind , meaning "mountain wind", blows from the Karoo interior. Spring and summer generally feature
2790-615: The Table Mountain group sandstones that were deposited on the eroded surface of the granite and Malmesbury series basement about 450 million years ago. The sand, silt and mud deposits were lithified by pressure and then folded during the Cape Orogeny to form the Cape Fold Belt , which extends in an arc along the western and southern coasts. The present landscape is due to prolonged erosion having carved out deep valleys, removing parts of
2883-659: The USA , where they played for the Nelson Mandela Challenge Trophy. DHL Stadium hosts numerous rugby matches each year. Prior to 2021, the stadium hosted several Stormers matches when they couldn't play at their previous home ground in Newlands. Beginning in 2021, Western Province Rugby and the DHL Stormers announced that they would use DHL Stadium as their home ground for both the domestic Currie Cup and international URC competitions. During their first season at their new home,
Newlands Stadium - Misplaced Pages Continue
2976-586: The VOC Cape Colony , the first permanent European settlement in South Africa. Cape Town outgrew its original purpose as the first European outpost at the Castle of Good Hope , becoming the economic and cultural hub of the Cape Colony . Until the Witwatersrand Gold Rush and the development of Johannesburg, Cape Town was the largest city in southern Africa. The metropolitan area has a long coastline on
3069-514: The Victoria & Alfred Waterfront , a popular tourist and shopping venue. The stadium had a seating capacity of 64,100 during the 2010 World Cup, later reduced to 58,309. The stadium is connected to the Waterfront by a new road connection; Granger Bay Boulevard. Cape Town Stadium is the largest stadium in Cape Town, and the fifth-largest in South Africa. During construction, Cape Town Stadium
3162-562: The 19th century came to an end, the economic and political dominance of Cape Town in the Southern Africa region during the 19th century started to give way to the dominance of Johannesburg and Pretoria in the 20th century. In 1910, Britain established the Union of South Africa , which unified the Cape Colony with the two defeated Boer Republics and the British colony of Natal . Cape Town became
3255-600: The 2022/23 season after they won home field advantage, including the URC Final scheduled for May 27, 2023. DHL Stadium has also hosted international rugby union matches played by South Africa's Springboks . In July 2021 the Springboks defeated the British & Irish Lions in a 3 match series that were hosted at the stadium no fans were allowed because of COVID-19 . In July 2022, the Springboks defeated Wales at DHL Stadium in what
3348-491: The Atlantic Ocean with significant precipitation and strong north-westerly winds. Winter months in the city average a maximum of 18 °C (64 °F) and minimum of 8.5 °C (47 °F). Winters are snow and frost free, except on Table Mountain and on other mountain peaks, where light accumulation of snow and frost can sometimes occur. Total annual rainfall in the city averages 515 mm (20.3 in) although in
3441-593: The COVID-19 pandemic. However, the competition returned to Cape Town during the 2022–23 season. In September 2022, DHL Stadium played host to the Rugby World Cup Sevens. The men's tournament was won by Fiji, who defeated New Zealand in the Final. The women's competition was won by Australia over their cross-Tasmine rivals New Zealand. The Cape Town Stadium hosted the sixth edition of Roger Federer 's Matches for Africa,
3534-569: The Cape was considered a " Coloured labour preference area", to the exclusion of " Bantus ", i.e. Black Africans. The implementation of this policy was widely opposed by trade unions, civil society and opposition parties. It is notable that this policy was not advocated for by any Coloured political group, and its implementation was a unilateral decision by the apartheid government. During the student-led Soweto Uprising of June 1976, school students from Langa , Gugulethu and Nyanga in Cape Town reacted to
3627-464: The Cape, a wide range of agricultural plants were introduced to the Cape. Some of these, including grapes, cereals, ground nuts, potatoes, apples and citrus, had a large and lasting influence on the societies and economies of the region. With the Dutch Republic being transformed into Revolutionary France 's vassal Batavian Republic , Great Britain moved to take control of Dutch colonies, including
3720-540: The Green Point Athletics Stadium, was a multi-purpose stadium used for cycling, athletics, cricket and soccer. Later used mainly for soccer matches, it was the home ground of Santos Football Club and Ajax Cape Town at different points. It also hosted music concerts, including the November 2003 46664 Concert for the benefit of AIDS victims. The section of the old stadium that remained was redeveloped into
3813-597: The Green Point Athletics Stadium, which opened in 2015 with a seating capacity of 4500. Construction of the Cape Town Stadium, located on the Green Point Common , began in March 2007. In 33 months, joint venture contractors Murray & Roberts , now known as Concor and WBHO completed the project at a cost of R4.4billion – or approximately US$ 600million. The project architects were an association between GMP Architects of Germany and local firms, Louis Karol Architects and
Newlands Stadium - Misplaced Pages Continue
3906-582: The Indies. They traded tobacco, copper, and iron with the Khoikhoi clans of the region in exchange for fresh meat and other essential travelling provisions. In 1652, Jan van Riebeeck and other employees of the United East India Company ( Dutch : Verenigde Oost-indische Compagnie , VOC) were sent to the Cape Colony to establish a way-station for ships travelling to the Dutch East Indies , and
3999-588: The Stellenbosch district. The Helderberg area of Greater Cape Town, previously known as the "Hottentots-Holland" area, is mostly residential, but also a wine-producing area east of the Cape Flats, west of the Hottentots Holland mountain range and south of the Helderberg mountain, from which it gets its current name. The Helderberg consists of the previous municipalities of Somerset West, Strand, Gordons Bay and
4092-566: The Stellenbosch granite pluton. The region includes the entire catchment of the Lourens and Sir Lowry's rivers, separated by the Schapenberg hill, and a small part of the catchment of the Eerste River to the west. The Helderberg is ecologically highly diverse, rivaling the Cape Peninsula, and has its own endemic ecoregions and several conservation areas. To the east of the Hottentots Holland mountains
4185-630: The Stormers defeated their South African rivals, the Vodacom Bulls, to win the URC Final at DHL Stadium. The Stormer's success in the URC qualified the team to compete in the European Rugby Championship during the 2022/23 season with several matches being hosted at the DHL Stadium, in addition to those for the Currie Cup and URC. DHL Stadium also played host to the Stormers' URC playoff matches during
4278-402: The Western Cape province. The official boundaries of the city proper extend between the City Bowl and the Atlantic Seaboard to the east and the Southern Suburbs to the south. The City of Cape Town , the metropolitan municipality that takes its name from the city covers the Greater Cape Town metropolitan area , known as the Cape Metropole, extending beyond the city proper itself to include
4371-533: The all-seated Grandstand and Railway stands along both sidelines, and the Danie Craven and Jan Pickard stands behind the goals. Both of the end stands feature many of the ground's corporate boxes: the Craven stand also has a large standing terrace area, while the alcohol-free Pickard stand is mostly seating while also playing home to the stadium's video screen. The stadium's name was changed several times by various sponsors, first from Newlands to Norwich Park Newlands in 1996, then to Fedsure Park Newlands in 2000 due to
4464-408: The area, arrived in 1488 and named it "Cape of Storms" ( Cabo das Tormentas ). It was later renamed by John II of Portugal as " Cape of Good Hope " ( Cabo da Boa Esperança ) because of the great optimism engendered by the opening of a sea route to the Indian subcontinent and East Indies . In 1497, Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama recorded a sighting of the Cape of Good Hope. In 1510, at
4557-481: The balcony of Cape Town City Hall , hours after being released on 11 February 1990. His speech heralded the beginning of a new era for the country. The first democratic election , was held four years later, on 27 April 1994. Nobel Square in the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront features statues of South Africa's four Nobel Peace Prize winners: Albert Luthuli , Desmond Tutu , F. W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela . Cape Town has undergone significant changes in
4650-424: The best governed province and city in the country. Of South Africa's 257 municipalities, only 38 received a clean financial audit in 2022 from the Auditor-General . Of those, 21 were in the Western Cape. The city's economy has diversified, with growth in sectors such as finance, real estate, and tourism. The establishment of the City Centre Improvement District (CCID) has been particularly successful in revitalizing
4743-413: The city center, bringing businesses and people back into the area. This initiative has transformed public spaces such as Greenmarket Square , Company's Garden , and St George's Mall, attracting both locals and tourists. In 2014, Cape Town was named World Design Capital of the Year. Cape Town was voted the best tourist destination in Africa at the 2023 World Travel Awards in Dubai and continues to be
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#17328528301794836-509: The city centre. The legacy of Apartheid means Cape Town remains one of the most racially segregated cities in South Africa. Many Black South Africans continue to live in informal settlements with limited access to basic services such as healthcare, education, and sanitation. The unemployment rate remains high at 23% (though nearly 10 points lower than the nationwide average), particularly among historically disadvantaged groups, and economic opportunities are unevenly distributed. Cape Town faced
4929-399: The colonial possessions of the VOC. Britain captured Cape Town in 1795 , but it was returned to the Dutch by treaty in 1803. British forces occupied the Cape again in 1806 following the Battle of Blaauwberg when the Batavian Republic allied with Britain's rival, France, during the Napoleonic Wars . Following the conclusion of the war Cape Town was permanently ceded to the United Kingdom in
5022-414: The deaths of 83 people. Since the 2010s, Cape Town and the wider Western Cape province have seen the rise of a small secessionist movement . Support for parties "which have formally adopted Cape independence" was around 5% in the 2021 municipal elections . Cape Town is located at latitude 33.55° S (approximately the same as Sydney and Buenos Aires and equivalent to Casablanca and Los Angeles in
5115-406: The east and joins the peninsula to the mainland. The Cape Town region is characterised by an extensive coastline, rugged mountain ranges, coastal plains and inland valleys. The extent of Cape Town has varied considerably over time. It originated as a small settlement at the foot of Table Mountain and has grown beyond its city limits as a metropolitan area to encompass the entire Cape Peninsula to
5208-607: The entire bottom of False Bay exposed. During this period an extensive system of dunes was formed on the sandy floor of False Bay. At this time the drainage outlets lay between Rocky Bank Cape Point to the west, and between Rocky Bank and Hangklip Ridge to the east, with the watershed roughly along the line of the contact zone east of Seal Island and Whittle Rock. Cape Town has a warm summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen : Csb ), with mild, moderately wet winters and dry, warm summers. Winter, which lasts from June to September, may see large cold fronts entering for limited periods from
5301-428: The eroded material overlaying the older rocks, There are two internationally notable landmarks, Table Mountain and Cape Point , at opposite ends of the Peninsula Mountain Chain, with the Cape Flats and False Bay to the east and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The landscape is dominated by sandstone plateaux and ridges, which generally drop steeply at their margins to the surrounding debris slopes, interrupted by
5394-402: The event. This was double the amount that attended the Soccer Festival. Cape Town Stadium hosted its third test event on Monday 22 March, during which all 55,000 permanent seats were available for the first time. A total of 52,000 tickets were sold. ‘Cape Town For Jesus', a religious gathering addressed by South African evangelist Angus Buchan , was the first major non-sporting event hosted at
5487-413: The ground and convert it to a mixed-use development. From 2021 onwards, franchise rugby team Stormers and Currie Cup side WP will call Cape Town Stadium home, as will international rugby tests played in Cape Town. The Cape Town Stadium (RF) SOC Ltd, a municipal entity of the City of Cape Town , was formed in 2018 to provide various operational services to the stadium. In 2021 the Entity entered into
5580-399: The ground the stadium stands on in 1888. The first official match at Newlands took place on 31 May 1890 when Stellenbosch defeated Villagers in front of a crowd of about 2,400 people. The following year the stadium hosted its first rugby test when the British Lions toured South Africa. The first permanent concrete stands were erected on the grounds in 1919. Later, in 1927, the new grandstand
5673-402: The headquarters of SA Rugby moved to Newlands, and several stands were built or renovated, while the 1980s saw private suites and function rooms erected on top of the North stands as well as demolition of the old South stand and inauguration of the new Danie Craven stand (also with private suites and function rooms). The 1980s also saw 10,253 seats added to the stadium. Between 1990 and 1995
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#17328528301795766-449: The host venues for the Rugby World Cup held in South Africa . The stadium hosted two pool games in Pool A. The stadium also hosted one quarter final with England defeating Australia 25–22. The stadium was then used for the semi-final between England and New Zealand , with England losing 29–45. In 2016, speculation began that WP rugby would sell Newlands, and that the Stormers and Western Province would play their home matches at
5859-426: The joint venture practice Point Architects comprising Comrie Wilkinson Architects and Urban Designers, Jakupa Architects and Urban Designers, Munnik Visser Architects and Paragon Architects. The lead urban designer for the 18hactare stadium precinct was Henri Comrie. The structural engineers comprised a joint venture between BKS, Henry Fagan & Partners, KFD Wilkinson, Goba, Iliso and Arcus Gibb. Cape Town Stadium
5952-407: The legislative capital of the Union, and later of the Republic of South Africa . By the time of the 1936 census , Johannesburg had overtaken Cape Town as the largest city in the country. In 1945 the expansion of the Cape Town foreshore was completed adding an additional 194 ha (480 acres) to the City Bowl area to the city centre. Prior to the mid-twentieth century, Cape Town was one of
6045-404: The match 6–4. In singles, Federer beat Nadal with the score 6–4, 3–6, 6–3. The event was attended by 51,954 people (the highest attendance ever recorded at a tennis match) and more than $ 3.5 million was raised in aid of children's education in Africa. Cape Town Stadium was featured in the film Safe House (2012). The stadium also features in many local advertising and print media campaigns. It
6138-400: The most important tourist destination in the country. Cape Town has been named the best travel city in the world every year since 2013 in the Telegraph Travel Awards. The legacy of apartheid's spatial planning is still evident, with significant disparities between affluent areas and impoverished townships . 60% of the city's population live in townships and informal settlements far from
6231-638: The most racially integrated cities in South Africa. In the 1948 national elections , the National Party won on a platform of apartheid (racial segregation) under the slogan of " swart gevaar " (Afrikaans for "black danger"). This led to the erosion and eventual abolition of the Cape's multiracial franchise . In 1950, the apartheid government first introduced the Group Areas Act , which classified and segregated urban areas according to race. Formerly multi-racial suburbs of Cape Town were either purged of residents deemed unlawful by apartheid legislation, or demolished. The most infamous example of this in Cape Town
6324-430: The mountain. To the immediate south of the city, the Cape Peninsula is a scenic mountainous spine jutting 40 km (25 mi) southward into the Atlantic Ocean and terminating at Cape Point . There are over 70 peaks above 300 m (980 ft) within Cape Town's official metropolitan limits . Many of the city's suburbs lie on the large plain called the Cape Flats , which extends over 50 km (30 mi) to
6417-399: The news of the protests against Bantu Education by organising gatherings and marches of their own. A number of school buildings were burnt down and the protest action was met with forceful resistance from the police. Cape Town has been home to many leaders of the anti-apartheid movement . In Table Bay , 10 km (6 mi) from the city is Robben Island . This penitentiary island was
6510-432: The north to Cape Point in the south, with an area of about 470 km (180 sq mi), and it displays more topographical variety than other similar sized areas in southern Africa, and consequently spectacular scenery. There are diverse low-nutrient soils, large rocky outcrops, scree slopes, a mainly rocky coastline with embayed beaches, and considerable local variation in climatic conditions. The sedimentary rocks of
6603-447: The northern hemisphere) and longitude 18.25° E. Table Mountain , with its near vertical cliffs and flat-topped summit over 1,000 m (3,300 ft) high, and with Devil's Peak and Lion's Head on either side, together form a dramatic mountainous backdrop enclosing the central area of Cape Town, the so-called City Bowl . A thin strip of cloud, known colloquially as the "tablecloth" ("Karos" in Afrikaans ), sometimes forms on top of
6696-450: The once continuous Table Mountain Group sandstone cover from over the Cape Flats and False Bay, and leaving high residual mountain ridges. At times the sea covered the Cape Flats and Noordhoek valley and the Cape Peninsula was then a group of islands. During glacial periods the sea level dropped to expose the bottom of False Bay to weathering and erosion, with the last major regression leaving
6789-469: The push for self-governance in the Cape. With expansion came calls for greater independence from the UK, with the Cape attaining its own parliament (1854) and a locally accountable Prime Minister (1872). Suffrage was established according to the non-racial Cape Qualified Franchise . During the 1850s and 1860s, additional plant species were introduced from Australia by the British authorities. Notably rooikrans
6882-574: The region were found at Peers Cave in Fish Hoek and have been dated to between 15,000 and 12,000 years old. Various Khoikhoi groups notably the Gorinaiqua lived on these lands for thousands of years. Khoikhoi communities were some of the wealthiest groups in Africa and their lands and cattles would go on to build colonial Cape Town and the rest of South Africa. Bartolomeu Dias . Dias, the first European to reach
6975-479: The site of a maximum security prison where many famous apartheird-era political prisoners served long prison sentences. Famous prisoners include activist, lawyer and future president Nelson Mandela who served 18 of his 27 years of imprisonment on the island, as well as two other future presidents, Kgalema Motlanthe and Jacob Zuma . In one of the most famous moments marking the end of apartheid, Nelson Mandela made his first public speech since his imprisonment, from
7068-610: The south, the Cape Flats , the Helderberg basin and part of the Steenbras catchment area to the east, and the Tygerberg hills, Blouberg and other areas to the north. Robben Island in Table Bay is also part of Cape Town. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and False Bay to the south. To the north and east, the extent is demarcated by boundaries of neighbouring municipalities within
7161-507: The stadium as well as manage and maintain the defined areas of the surrounding urban park and sport precinct on the 85-hectare Greenpoint Common from stadium revenue. The Greenpoint Park was completed within a year of the World Cup ending as was promised to the people of Cape Town during the public consultation process preceding stadium construction. The park has since become one of Cape Town's most popular recreational facilities and has acted as
7254-468: The stadium declared a heritage site. As of 1 March 2023 this process is still ongoing. In March 2023 the Cape Town Stadium became the official home of Western Province Rugby after the union signed an Anchor Tenant Agreement. Cape Town, South Africa Cape Town is the legislative capital of South Africa . It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa . It
7347-443: The stadium was under constant renovation, adding technology, increasing capacity, and upgrading facilities, as part of a 3-phase redevelopment plan in anticipation of the 1995 Rugby World Cup , when Newlands hosted the opening match of the tournament. After the World Cup, development continued with several redevelopment and expansion projects to make the stadium more modern and increase capacity. There are four main stands at Newlands:
7440-409: The stadium's readiness for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup , Cape Town Stadium hosted five first round matches, one second round, one quarter-final, and one semi-final. During the World Cup, all FIFA media referred to the stadium as 'Green Point Stadium'. On 17 November 2010, the Cape Town Stadium hosted its first international friendly . The match was between South Africa and
7533-484: The stadium, and gave the stadium operators another chance to test their readiness ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Cape Town Stadium hosted its fourth and final test event on Saturday 10 April. This was the first time that the stadium was utilised at night, for the International Under-20 Soccer Challenge between South Africa, Brazil, Nigeria and Ghana. About 40,000 attended the event that tested
7626-449: The time said that the consortium considered the agreement as non-viable. The City subsequently took over management of the stadium. Following the World Cup, temporary rows of seating on either side on the top tier were replaced by events suites and clubrooms, reducing the stadium's capacity to 58,300. The stadium features corporate hospitality suites, medical, training, and conferencing and banqueting facilities. The consortium will operate
7719-525: The west side of False Bay and the Cape Flats. On the east side are the Helderberg and Hottentots Holland mountains. The three main rock formations are the late- Precambrian Malmebury group (sedimentary and metamorphic rock), the Cape Granite suit, comprising the huge Peninsula, Kuilsrivier-Helderberg, and Stellenbosch batholiths, that were intruded into the Malmesbury Group about 630 million years ago, and
7812-479: The years since Apartheid. Cape Town has experienced economic growth and development in the post-apartheid era. The city has become a major economic hub in South Africa, attracting international investment and tourism. The Democratic Alliance (DA), a liberal political party which came to power in Cape Town in 2006, has been credited with improving bureaucratic efficiency, public safety and fostering economic development. Opinion polls show that South Africans see it as
7905-501: Was South African lock Eben Etzebeth 's 100th test for the national team. And, in September 2024 The Springboks defeated New Zealand at the Stadium. See also World Rugby Sevens Series The World Rugby Sevens Series hosts a tournament each year in Cape Town, traditionally in December. It was played annually from 2015 to 2019. However, no tournaments took place during 2020 and 2021 due to
7998-486: Was also featured as a motorsport venue in the video game Dirt 5 . On 7 November 2012, shortly before the U.S. rock band Linkin Park was set to perform at the sold-out stadium, gusts of wind caused advertising scaffolding outside the stadium to collapse onto a crowd of people injuring 19 and killing 1; of the 19 injured, 12 were taken to hospital for further treatment. Prior to 2021, several individuals and groups called for
8091-468: Was erected and the field layout was changed to run from north–south. Yet more changes came in 1931 when the South stand was also enlarged. In the 1950s parts of a new grandstand as well as South stand were completed, facilities such as lifts and a Presidential room were added, a fourth bay was added to the grandstand, and an extension was added to the lower gallery. The 1970s saw the stadium change once again as
8184-600: Was introduced to stabilise the sand of the Cape Flats to allow for a road connecting the peninsula with the rest of the African continent and eucalyptus was used to drain marshes. In 1859 the first railway line was built by the Cape Government Railways and a system of railways rapidly expanded in the 1870s. The discovery of diamonds in Griqualand West in 1867, and the Witwatersrand Gold Rush in 1886, prompted
8277-463: Was involved in the management of the stadium from January 2009 onwards. The city municipality paid the consortium to manage the stadium up to and during the World Cup, after which the consortium will lease the stadium from the city for a period of not less than 10 years and not more than 30 years. However, in December 2010 the Sail/Stade de France consortium cancelled the lease. Reports in the media at
8370-403: Was officially handed over to the City of Cape Town on schedule on 14 December 2009. At a ceremony in front of over 200 invited guests and the media representatives from around the world, Cape Town Executive Mayor Alderman Dan Plato, received the keys to the stadium officially confirming the opening of Cape Town Stadium. The pedestrian route from the central city to the stadium was designated as
8463-611: Was similarly ranked number one by The Daily Telegraph in both 2016 and 2023. Located on the shore of Table Bay , the City Bowl area of Cape Town is the oldest urban area in the Western Cape , with a significant cultural heritage. It was founded by the Dutch East India Company (VOC) as a supply station for Dutch ships sailing to East Africa , India , and the Far East . Jan van Riebeeck 's arrival on 6 April 1652 established
8556-486: Was the suburb of District Six . After it was declared a whites-only area in 1965, all housing there was demolished and over 60,000 residents were forcibly removed. Many of these residents were relocated to the Cape Flats . The earliest of the Cape Flats forced removals saw the expulsion of Black South Africans to the Langa , Cape Town's first and oldest township, in line with the 1923 Native Urban Areas Act . Under apartheid,
8649-412: Was unofficially known as Green Point Stadium; the name of an older stadium , then-situated adjacent to it, that was partially demolished and rebuilt into the Green Point Athletics Stadium. During October 2009, the city asked for the public to propose names for the new stadium and the name Cape Town Stadium was chosen. With effect from June 2021, the City of Cape Town as owner of the stadium, through
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