South African State Visit
The Dorchester Hotel transformed into the colours of the Rainbow Nation as hundreds of diplomats, businessmen, politicians and South Africans gathered to meet President Jacob Zuma on the eve of his State Visit to Britain.

In his speech, President Zuma said 2010 was a “seminal year” for South Africa marking as it did the 20th anniversary of the release of Nelson Mandela, that ushered in a new democratic era. This year South Africa will also host the greatest spectacle in world sport, the 2010 Fifa World Cup.

Speaking on the 100-day countdown to the tournament, he said South Africans were working around the clock to ensure a successful event, the first on the African continent. He announced the first-ever ‘event visa’ to facilitate travel to the
country and assured guests that with 41,000 police on patrol and 24-hour courts, visitors would be safe and secure.

The World Cup had been enormously beneficial to South Africa, he added, helping the country to weather the financial crisis, while the legacy would continue long after the event, with improved infrastructure and investment in skills.

President Zuma made a special appeal to the South African diaspora in the UK, inviting them to be “Ambassadors for the Rainbow Nation” and concluded by saying the state visit was an opportunity “to advance both a greater South Africa and a better world.”