Germany celebrates SA freedom
David Masango
21 July 2004
Celebrations of South Africa's decade of democracy are continuing outside the country's borders, this time in Germany.
South African Tourism - in partnership with South African Airways, the Cape Craft and Design Institute and Wines of South Africa - has organised a special 10-day celebration, from 31 July to 8 August, at Germany's biggest theme park.
The event at Europa Park - at Rust near Freiburg in southern Germany - is expected to attract up to 20 000 visitors a day, mainly from Germany, France and Switzerland
South Africa "will be omnipresent throughout the Park" for this period, SA Tourism said in a statement. "This will be achieved through the creation of a South African Village, with South African food served at the Park's three hotels and at various restaurants around the site.
"There will also be wine tasting, with South African music performed by a South African band, crafters will produce authentic crafts, and visitors
will be treated to evening braais."
South African chef Monica Mahloane, from Lelapa Restaurant in Langa township, Cape Town, will be flying in to ensure that the food served during the promotion is prepared and presented in an authentically South African fashion.
Mahloane will guide the Europa Park chefs as they serve some of South Africa's best-loved dishes, including bobotie and pap and vleis.
There will also be plenty of activities for children, including SA-style face-painting and storytelling, and a soccer shoot-out with South Africa-branded vuvuzelas on offer as prizes. South African Airways will be giving away model aircraft and branded South African balloons.
SAA will also run a competition in which a family of four stands to win return tickets to Cape Town from Frankfurt, with all ground arrangements being donated by a local tour operator.
During the promotion, the Europa Park Information Channel will broadcast a two-minute promotion on South
Africa in the SA Village and in all its hotel rooms and reception areas, inviting visitors at the theme park to be part of the South African experience at the SA Village.
"The Park attracts large numbers of visitors daily, and we will encourage them all to visit the South Africa Village and immerse themselves in experiencing what that great country has to offer", said Europa Park managing director Roland Mack.
Annemarie Ferns, SA Tourism's general manager in Germany, said the promotion would "bring to life the essence of the South African brand - real human contact, real answers, and the joy of real sensation, as well as the fact that in South Africa, everything is possible."
Source: BuaNews
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