Have you hugged a tourist today? Do you know the diski dance? Can you sing the national anthem without stumbling over the words? Do you own a South African flag?
This is the checklist of preparations that the government is compiling to ensure that South Africa comes away from the 2010 Fifa World Cup with a brand-new image. No more poverty, hunger and underdevelopment. The country and the continent will now be seen as friendly, proud — and, well, um, rhythmic.
The government is spending more than R2-billion on a marketing campaign aimed at changing the way South Africa and Africa are viewed by the world. The event itself is expected to draw 1,5-million visitors to the country, with a million from the rest of the continent and the bulk of the remainder from Europe, Brazil and the United States. But that’s nothing when you think of the billions of viewers expected to be tuning in and getting to know us up close and personal, thanks to the hordes of journalists that will inundate the country and broadcast not just the 2010 World Cup but stories about everything and anything South African while they are at it.
So even with a generous budget, 17 government departments working at maximum capacity, 15 000 soccer-loving volunteers and high doses of goodwill from around the globe, our image makeover will not be an easy feat.
South Africa’s shift from a wobbling, crime-soaked, teenage democracy to a pulsing and primed travel and foreign investment destination will not happen overnight. But Paul Bannister, chief executive of the International Marketing Council of South Africa, hopes the World Cup will act as an accelerator.
“What happens now will determine how the world defines South Africa from now on,” Bannister told a local group at the World Cup conference of the National Communications Partnership in Johannesburg in November.
President Jacob Zuma even chimed in on the importance of an international image makeover with his New Year message, getting in on the patriotic fervour that followed the release of Clint Eastwood’s Invictus.
“The World Cup must revive the spirit of unity and patriotism in the same manner the 1995 Rugby World Cup brought the nation together,” Zuma told South Africans. “It must remind us that there is a lot to celebrate about our country. Our successes have made us an inspiration to the world in a manner that many South Africans do not even realise.”
Meanwhile, the government has backed up its spin game with a host of campaigns, which has everyone from South African Tourism to the presidency, police, international relations and sport departments getting in on the action.
The diski dance, a set of moves imitating football players on the field, was invented by South African Tourism to get locals — and the world — hyped about an African-style World Cup. Each host city was doled out a dedicated team of dancers, who can be rented for functions, and videos of the dance can be downloaded off the internet. Step-by-step guides to doing the diski are being passed around. South African Tourism has introduced Football Fridays, to replace casual Fridays, when workers are expected to wear football shirts and organise football games among one another.
The Fly the Flag campaign will ensure that South Africans have enough flags for their homes, schools and cars, while everyone will be expected to learn to sing the national anthem properly.
A group of travel operators called Travel Buddies will advise foreigners on how to be streetwise in South Africa and locals are expected to hug and help confused tourists instead of ignoring them.
Sound a bit over the top? Perhaps, but big money is at stake. The government says R55-billion will be injected into the local economy and 415 000 jobs will be created. The spin-offs of the World Cup are expected to increase the numbers of visitors to South Africa significantly and boost investment and trade for years to come.
And, despite the fact that the diski dance is a made-up dance tradition meant to invoke a sort of patchwork of South Africanness, teaching locals to smile at foreigners is not too far-fetched. Teaching friendliness was the key part of Germany’s campaign to shift its image when the country hosted the 2006 World Cup. With its slogan “Time to make friends”, Germans wanted to show the world that its serious and stern exterior masked an inviting and friendly nation.
“We were perceived before the World Cup with certain stereotypes: being very disciplined, diligent and a bit of a grumbling lot,” German ambassador Dieter Haller told the parliamentary portfolio committee on tourism in November. “During the World Cup the country and its people showed its real assets, as warm-hearted, open-minded and generous people who also know how to party.”
It paid off. Tourism to Germany increased by 3,5% annually after the World Cup, which translated into a R33-billion boost for its economy.
South Africa’s “Alive with possibility” campaign has been replaced for the World Cup with the equally vague “Ke Nako — Celebrate Africa’s humanity”, which is meant to show Africa’s good side and what nice people we are. But international journalists aren’t so sure that South Africans should start basking in the glow of the positive image that the World Cup will bring. The epic photograph of the World Cup probably won’t be of a group of tourists getting down to the diski. More likely, it’s going to be one of poor black township children kicking around a handmade football with the gleaming Soccer City in soft focus in the background. And any old mugging of a bloodied or beaten tourist will undoubtedly make headlines in Britain.
“We must be honest about the negatives — the moment that people play down crime, we are setting ourselves up for a disaster,” says David Smith, Africa correspondent for The Guardian.
One top official explains the government’s stance: “We would first want to ensure it doesn’t happen in the first place. But one assurance people have is that all incidents will be treated very seriously.”
Our spin doctors will be realistic, he says. “We are not going to be embarrassed by our inequalities: those are our challenges. We are out there first, saying these are the realities in South Africa. If that context is given in newspaper reports, we are happy.”
But 2010 spokesperson Rich Mkhondo has a more proactive approach. “If we can plant a positive story once a week, then we will make a big difference to the perceptions of the country and the World Cup across the continent.”
Still, saying crime is “a universal thing” that exists in all big cities around the world where there are no-go areas isn’t going to be enough, says one German television journalist working in South Africa.
“That is not the issue here. There is this concept that South Africa is dangerous. People have to know they are safe and the defensive stance will simply push journalists to look for stories that show the opposite.”
But even with the 50 000 extra police officers dispatched for the World Cup, the 10 water cannons, 100 BMWs and 40 helicopters at a cost of R665-million, meant to curb crime, the reality is that the serious security focus will be on terrorism, not petty crime. Intelligence services are working with international agencies to ensure South Africa does not fall prey to bomb attacks, especially after recent fears of Somali security threats.
So you can dance? Tick. And sing? Tick. Make South Africa the sweetheart of the world? Maybe.