Now that the 2010 Fifa World Cup is finally over, it is time for South Africans to remove the national flag from their cars and count the cost of the "beautiful" event. The biggest winner, according to economists, is Fifa, who has been left with a minimum profit of R15bn. For South Africa, the investment of R30bn plus is expected to bring a direct return of a few hundred million rands in stadium rentals. It is hoped that the feel-good factor with which international soccer fans left the country will boost tourism in the future. The successful hosting of this world event will possibly also generate new investment in the country.
But did the World Cup pay off for the South African filmmaking and production service industry? Many companies invested in facilities and equipment in anticipation of higher demand for their services prior and during the event. To assess the financial impact of the World Cup on the industry, Screen Africa did a survey of companies working in production, rentals, equipment sales, studios and post-production.
Rentals and equipment sales company Visual Impact’s World Cup related work was much smaller than originally anticipated. Says Goran Music: "In our experience most of the international broadcasters brought in large quantities of their own equipment, or they contracted suppliers with whom they had an existing relationship."
"Notwithstanding, we did have a substantial amount of work related directly and indirectly to the World Cup event. Our busiest department was our Broadcast Workshop, which was swamped by numerous requests for service support on a daily basis."
Read more in the August 2010 issue of Screen Africa
