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Hosting the big sporting events

The Rugby World Cup, Cricket World Cup, World Cup of Motorsport, Women's World Cup of Golf, Swimming World Cup, African Cup of Nations ... If you think South Africa will have any trouble pulling off the 2010 Fifa World Cup, look at the country's track record for hosting major sporting events - and think again. 1995 Rugby World Cup
Since 1995, when Nelson Mandela handed the William Webb Ellis Trophy to Springbok captain Francois Pienaar after a pulsating Rugby World Cup final in Johannesburg, South Africa has shown itself capable not only of hosting the really big sporting events, but of making really big successes of them.

1996 African Cup of Nations
A year later, Mandela was on hand once more to present the African Cup of Nations trophy to South Africa's soccer team, Bafana Bafana. As with the Rugby World Cup, the continent's premier footballing event went off smoothly in South Africa, with full houses and impressively well-behaved supporters - something not always associated with international soccer matches!

1996 World Cup of Golf
In the same year, Cape Town's Erinvale Golf Club played host to the World Cup of Golf. Ernie Els and Wayne Westner took full advantage of the familiar conditions and home crowd support to decimate the opposition, winning the event by a record 18 shots.

1998 World Cup of Athletics
Two years later, the world's top athletes were in Johannesburg for the World Cup of Athletics. Despite unusually poor weather for South Africa's business capital, the event went off without a hitch, with local athletes playing a vital role in helping Africa to victory in the team competition.

2003 Cricket World Cup
For once, in 2003, home advantage didn't help the South African team, as an under-performing Proteas side failed to progress to the knockout stage of cricket's showcase tournament. The event was well supported and impeccably run, with day-night matches becoming a staple of the event for the first time. In a high-scoring final in Johannesburg, Australia defended the title they had won four years previously in England.

2007 World Twenty20 Championships
We're jumping the queue here, but cricket's inaugural Twenty20 World Championships is worth a special mention. South Africa hosted the event with style to match its efficiency, creating a vibe and energy that many felt was lacking at the 2007 World Cup (for the longer, 50-overs-a-side version of the game) in the West Indies earlier in the year. South Africa - "the rainbow nation" - has one of the more colourful national flags, and the abiding memory of the event will be one of colour, with fans from far and wide becoming part of the spectacle as sports and entertainment collided in a wildly successful first edition of the shortest form of international cricket.

2010 Fifa World Cup preliminary draw
Another event worth pushing up the list was the 2010 preliminary draw, the first major Fifa event to take place on African soil. One hundred and seventy teams were given the route they will have to follow to reach the 2010 Fifa World Cup when the draw took place in Durban on 25 November 2007, in a dazzling ceremony that gave a foretaste of the magical tournament South Africa promises to deliver in 2010. 2003 President's Cup
The 2003 President's Cup, held at Fancourt near George in the Western Cape, was rated one of the best-organised - and most exciting - golfing events ever. The four-day shootout between the United States and International team culminated in a sudden-death playoff between Tiger Woods and Ernie Els that went through three holes before fading light finally halted play. In a first for the competition, team captains Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player agreed to share the trophy - even though, as defending champions, the USA should have kept it. Afterwards, Nicklaus said it was "the most unbelievable event the game of golf has ever seen." Women's World Cup of Golf 2005-2008
Fancourt was also home to the inaugural Women's World Cup of Golf in 2005, which was won by Japan. In 2006 the event moved to the Gary Player Country Club at Sun City, home of the Nedbank Golf Challenge, one of golf's richest tournaments. Sweden, led by Annika Sorenstam, took the title.

In 2007, at the same venue, first-timers Paraguay stunned the 21 other competing countries to win by seven strokes. Paraguay's Julieta Granada commented afterwards: "The crowds were awesome ... They were cheering us on and they liked our outfits. It was a lot of fun. And the baboons … I liked the baboons. They are all my friends."

In January 2008, the Philippines held off South Korea to win the title by two strokes

A1 Grand Prix Durban
The Durban leg of the 2006 A1 Grand Prix was named the best event in the World Cup of Motorsport's inaugural season. A sell-out crowd of close to 100 000 fans lined the 3.2-kilometre street circuit in South Africa's "coastal playground" as ex-Formula One driver Jos Verstappen of the Netherlands took the honours in the feature race, following France's victory in the sprint race.

In 2007, Team Germany, with Nico Hulkenberg at the wheel, scored back-to-back wins in the sprint and feature races. And in an incident-filled feature race in February 2008, Switzerland's Neel Jani took the honours, with first-time winner Robert Wickens of Canada winning the sprint race.

Fina Swimming World Cup
Since 2003, Durban has been one of eight stop-offs on the Fina Swimming World Cup short-course (25 metre) circuit, drawing some of the world's best swimmers to the Kings Park Aquatic Centre - and helping to eradicate the myth of Africa being poor in swimming talent and infrastructure. South Africa's Ryk Neethling was the overall men's winner of the event for two years running, with 21 race victories in the 2004/05 series and 16 victories in 2005/06.

Paralympic Swimming World Championships
In 2006, Durban also hosted the fourth International Paralympic Committee Swimming World Championships. South Africa's Natalie du Toit excelled, winning six gold medals, including a third place overall - against both male and female opposition - in the five-kilometre open water swim.

Red Bull Big Wave Africa
The annual Red Bull Big Wave Africa is the world's second-longest running big wave surfing event, after the Quiksilver Eddie Aikau event at Waimea Bay in Hawaii. It takes place at the Dungeons reef at the mouth of Hout Bay in Cape Town, renowned for its ability to produce the biggest rideable waves on the coast of Africa. Not surprisingly given the extreme nature and stringent criteria of the event, there have only been three champions: South Africa's Sean Holmes in 2000, Californian Greg Long in 2003, and South African John Whittle in 2006.

Six-star rated surfing events
Still on surfing, South Africa is home to a six-star rated World Championship Tour event, the Billabong Pro at Supertubes in Jeffreys Bay - said to be capable of producing "the perfect wave" - as well as two six-star rated World Qualifying Series events: the long-standing Mr Price Pro (formerly the Gunston 500) in Durban, and the Quiksilver Pro Durban. HOMEGROWN INTERNATIONALS

Besides the growing list of international competitions that have been hosted in South Africa, the country boasts a number of homegrown sporting events that have become international events in their own right.

Nedbank Golf Challenge
"Africa's Major", the annual Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City in North West province, consistently attracts a world-class field, and for good reason. When American Jim Furyk successfully defended his title in December 2006, he pocketed a cool US$1.2-million out of $4 385 000 in total prize money. Scotland's Colin Montgomerie, champion in 1996, earned $200 000 for coming last. Furyk was unable to return to Sun City in 2007, and South Africa's Trevor Immelman took full advantage of his absence.

Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour
The largest individually timed cycling event in the world, the Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour is part of the International Cycling Union's prestigious Golden Bike Series, one of only nine races in the world accorded this honour. Besides drawing a host of top professionals, who ride the Argus as the final stage of the Giro del Capo, the event has drawn many famous names through the years, including former Tour de France winners Miguel Indurain, Jan Ullrich and Greg Lemond. If there is one event that might one day eclipse the Argus in size, it is another South African race, Johannesburg's Pick 'n Pay 94.7 Cycle Challenge. Giro del Capo
Preceding the Cape Argus Pick 'n Pay Cycle Tour, the Giro del Capo is South Africa's foremost professional stage race. The event is contested through the stunning winelands of the Boland and the areas surrounding Cape Town, finishing with the Argus as its final stage. Besides the entries of top local teams, the Giro has attracted teams from Germany, Denmark, Belgium, the Netherlands and Norway. Cape Epic
The Cape Epic has become a huge drawcard for mountain bikers from around the world, with the 2007 edition drawing over 1 000 entrants from 42 countries. It is the most widely broadcast mountain bike event in the world, and it's not hard to see why: the picturesque but torturous 900 kilometre route covers some of Africa's most spectacular scenery, while requiring competitors to use a variety of skills over an eight-stage course that challenges in every different way. Comrades Marathon
The world's greatest ultra-marathon, contested annually between Durban and Pietermaritzburg, the Comrades is internationally recognised for the body-sapping challenge it poses and the camaraderie it fosters among its participants. In 2000, when the 75th anniversary of the race was celebrated, it drew a record field of 23 961. Many of the world's top ultra-marathon athletes enter the race, with Eastern Europeans making an especially strong impression in recent years. The King of Comrades, though, remains South Africa's Bruce Fordyce, with nine wins between 1981 and 1990. Two Oceans Marathon
Like the Comrades, the Two Oceans Marathon is, in fact, an ultra, covering 56 kilometres on a route often described as the most beautiful in the world. The race drew over 1 000 foreign entries in 2007, when 8 000 athletes entered the ultra, 11 000 entered the half-marathon and 6 000 turned out for the fun run - making for a total of 25 000 runners on the day. Dusi Canoe Marathon
The Dusi Canoe Marathon is recognised as one of the toughest canoe marathons in the world, testing not only the paddler's skills on the water but also his or her running ability, with plenty of portages along the route between Pietermaritzburg and Durban. While foreign competitors have been few and far between in the past, due to the Dusi's unusual combination of challenges, that has begun to change in recent years. Surf Ski World Cup
Durban's Surf Ski World Cup, first held in 2006, has been officially accredited by the International Canoe Federation - the first time a surf ski world cup event has received ICF recognition. The 2007 event boasted the biggest prize money in the sport, confirming South Africa as a world leader in ocean paddling, both on and off the water. Article last updated: March 2008

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Artist's impression of the 50 000-seat Nelson Mandela Stadium, to be built in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape for the 2010 Fifa World Cup (Image: South Africa 2010 Local Organising Committee)

Nelson Mandela presents the William Webb Ellis Trophy to Springbok captain Francois Pienaar after South Africa's victory in the final of the 1995 Rugby World Cup

The Gary Player Country Club at Sun City in North West province is home to the multimillion-dollar Nedbank Golf Challenge (Photo by John Hrusa, copyright South African Tourism)

Look closely. The surfer is Brazilian Carlos Burle, after he was towed beyond the break to catch a 68-foot monster in the 2003 Red Bull Big Wave Africa (Photo: Red Bull BWA)

Durban hosts the only street race in the A1GP World Cup of Motorsport (Photo: A1GP.com)

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