Mega sport events, like most large-scale projects, present urban risks, especially in terms of economic viability and post-tournament sustainability, as well as safety and security. However, when South Africa won the FIFA 2010 bid on 15 May 2004 no one could predict an unforeseen urban risk - the May 2008 xenophobic attacks in major cities like Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban against undocumented migrants from Africa. The violent attacks and threats against this community continued sporadically before, during and immediately after the FIFA 2010 tournament. This paper analyses the contradictions between organizing a successful ‘African’ World Cup and the xenophobic threats against foreigners from the continent. The South African government response to the urban risk of xenophobic attacks was inconsistent, often denying that it was a problem, and conflating it with general crime. This denialism was attributed to a sense of embarrassment that the victims were foreign nationals from Africa. Furthermore, xenophobic attitudes appeared to be entrenched at all levels of government. The first section of this chapter focuses on the rhetorical reference to the African bid, and its critique. This is followed by an analysis of the May 2008 xenophobic violence. There were subtle suggestions that FIFA was considering other options for the 2010 tournament because of urban risks. The responses of political and civil society organisations to the xenophobic violence and threats are also assessed, and this ranged from public condemnation to tacit support.
Mots clés : xenophobia |South Africa |Fifa 2010|urban risks|megaevents
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