da poker： The Soweto Cricket Oval became the focus of international attention on Thursday whenit was turned into dazzling scene of colour and song for the official launchof the eighth ICC Cricket World Cup to be staged in South Africa in Februaryand March
Media Release02-Nov-2001The Soweto Cricket Oval became the focus of international attention on Thursday whenit was turned into dazzling scene of colour and song for the official launchof the eighth ICC Cricket World Cup to be staged in South Africa in Februaryand March of 2003.More than 400 guests – who included South Africa’s Minister of Sport andRecreation Ngconde Balfour and the International Cricket Council’s chiefexecutive officer Malcolm Speed – were treated to a taste of what Africa’sfirst cricket World Cup will be about.In an event televised around the world, Mr Balfour performed the ceremony ofraising the new 2003 World Cup flag for the first time on a day in which theeye-catching official logo and Dazzler, the tournament’s zebra mascot were unveiled.The president of the United Cricket Board of South Africa, Adv Percy Sonn,said it was symbolic that the launch function should be staged in Sowetowhere so much of the future of South African cricket lay. It was, he said,demonstrably the greatest cricket function that Soweto had ever hosted.More than 100 Soweto schoolchildren, dressed in bright World Cup regalia,celebrated the event by taking part in a mass cricket clinic.The SA Post Office’s chief executive officer Mr Maanda Manyatshe also usedthe occasion to reveal the first in a series of 13 World Cup postage stampsand hand over commemorative issues.The guests, who included the Minister of Water Affairs and Forestry, MrRonnie Kasrils, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr Aziz Pahad,were reminded of Ali Bacher’s prophetic words, uttered in a speech to theWisden Dinner in London 12 years ago, promising that cricket in South Africawould survive its international isolation and that “out of Africa will comesomething new. It will be dazzling, it will be strong, it will be good.”As the executive director of the 2003 World Cup, Dr Bacher’s use of the word”dazzling” in 1989 now takes on special significance. The collective nounfor zebras is a “dazzle” and the World Cup mascot – a zebra in 12 cricketposes – will be known as Dazzler.Nathan Reddy, of the agency TBWA Gavin Reddy, who designed the logo andmascot, explained that the zebra colours represented the fusion of black andwhite peoples and the cultural diversity of South Africa.Dr Bacher reaffirmed the World Cup’s mission statement that promises toenhance the lives of South Africans in all walks of life through the event.He said the teamwork of the United Cricket Board, the International CricketCouncil and the Global Cricket Corporation, who hold the television andsponsorship rights, would ensure the success of the tournament, as would thestrong partnerships that had already developed with, among others, the SAPost Office, Department of Trade and Industries, Reserve Bank, SA SportsCommission and SA Mint.Mr Speed, who came to Soweto from London especially to attend the launch,emphasized the scope of the event internationally when he announced anexpected television audience of 1 billion people. He said he was confidentthat South Africa would deliver an excellent event.The World Cup’s information website was also launched with a big-screensneak preview. It can be accessed on www.cricketworldcup.com