South Africa World Cup 2010 guide: How to go and see the 3 lions bark

The sight of the England captain lifting the World Cup in Johannesburg on July 11 will be a dream come true for any England football fan.

A month earlier in the same Soccer City stadium, the tournament hosts South Africa will kick off the first-ever World Cup finals to be staged in Africa. It"s sure to be a terrific competition and will be even better if you are there in person.

But unless you plan immediately, England fans may find it hard to emulate the smooth passage of their team to the finals.

Three lions: Excitement for the World Cup is building

Host cities

The matches will be played at ten stadiums in nine South African cities. Apart from Cape Town and Port Elizabeth, most of these are concentrated in the north-east of the country within a few hours" drive of Johannesburg.

The first match on June 11, as well as the final, will be played at Johannesburg"s Soccer City, while the city"s Ellis Park Stadium - where South Africa won the 1995 Rugby World Cup - will host group and knock-out stage fixtures.

England"s first group match, against America, takes place on Saturday, June 12, at the Royal Bafokeng Stadium in Rustenburg in Northern Province, one of five first-round matches and one second-round match to be hosted there. Rustenburg is the closest venue to the famous Sun City resort and its big five safari park.

Six days later on June 18, England take on Algeria at Cape Town"s Green Point Stadium, beautifully situated with the picturesque Table Mountain as a backdrop.

Along with Durban, Cape Town will host one of the semi-finals.

Normally, both these cities - along with Port Elizabeth - are great places for a beach holiday but the World Cup takes place in the middle of their winter so only the most hardy will consider the beach.

And never mind three lions on a shirt, how about seeing the real things in the wild? Pack your binoculars instead of your swimmers for a safari in the famous Kruger National Park. The game parks east of Johannesburg and Pretoria are sure to attract plenty of visitors during the tournament.

Likewise, Nelspruit, in Mpumalanga Province, is ideally placed for fans visiting Kruger, while the Mbombela Stadium is the tournament"s most exciting. Aptly, it has 18 giraffe-shaped columns supporting the roof and zebraprint seats. In contrast, Durban"s Moses Mabhida Stadium just has its own Wembley-style arch.

Here we go: Can England achieve long-awaited glory in Johannesburg

The other host cities are Bloemfontein, Polokwane and South Africa"s capital, Pretoria.

In their last group game, England travel to Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, on Wednesday, June 23, to play Slovenia at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. Eight games, including the third and fourth place play-off and a quarter-final, will be played here.

It is not end of world if you cannot get into the games as there promises to be a great atmosphere in the specially erected fan parks in each city where matches will be shown on big screens.

Plenty of refreshments and beverages will be available and visitors can mix with the locals and experience the vibrant hospitality and exuberance that South Africans are famous for.

Kirker Holidays (020 7593 2289, www.kirkerholidays.com) offers a nine-night, tailor-made itinerary that takes in the cities of two of England"s group stage matches at the same time the team is playing there.

The 3,960pp price (based on two sharing) includes four nights in one of Cape Town"s best boutique guest houses and two nights in Plettenberg Bay.

Accommodation

Unless you"re travelling on the Garden Route along the southern coast, with its plentiful supply of hotels and rentals, accommodation in South Africa during the tournament might be a problem.

If finding a place to stay seems as daunting as a penalty shoot-out against Germany, do not despair as some accommodation websites may help. Check out Crashpadder (www.crashpadder.com) and Roomorama (www.roomorama.com) where local homeowners rent out a room or an entire house.

Beyond the ball: Many visitors will be making the most of their trip to see some of South Africa"s wildlife

Accommodation ranges between a spare bed or a homestay, through to luxurious villas and high-end properties, found on sites such as www.capeportfolios.com, that rival boutique hotels. However, ensure the property has good transport links to the stadiums.

Additional accommodation will be offered by the QE2, the former Cunard cruise liner that will be moored at Cape Town and serve as a floating hotel during the tournament before its refurbishment.

Likewise, two other cruise ships have been chartered by One Ocean Club (www.oneoceanclub.com) for use as a place to stay. The Westerdam and the Noordam will dock at Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth during the tournament, offering almost 5,000 extra beds.

Independent travelling to the World Cup is possible but you will need to be as intrepid as a Victorian explorer. Visitors to South Africa in the low season would normally be able to fly to Johannesburg for under 500 return but demand has pushed up prices.

Then you have a challenge travelling from game to game around a nation that is five times the size of Britain. Rail travel is an option if you are not in a hurry, but as a snapshot the daily Cape Town to Johannesburg service takes more than 24 hours. More...Cape Town: Beat the WAGs to the city of hopeA lie-in or a lion? Kay Burley takes her teenage son on the safari of a lifetimeFor more guides to South Africa click here

For those who can afford it, by far the best option is a prearranged, tailor-made package with one of the four official UK tour operators licensed by FIFA. Everything is included, and you can let the operator take the strain in getting you to and from the game, but don"t expect much change from a king"s ransom.

Thomson Sport (0845 121 2018, www.thomsonsport.com/Football) and Thomas Cook Sport (020 8739 2360, www.thomascooksport.com) is using a base-camp idea for most of its packages. Fans will stay at the same hotel in Cape Town or Johannesburg area and be flown or driven to the England games.

The starting price through Thomas Cook Sport is 2,499 for a seven-night trip to see the first of England"s matches.

Thomas Cook also has a three-game package including flights, transfers and hotel starting at 4,150 for a single person and 8,300 for a couple.

The other two official FIFA operators are Keith Prowse (0845 602 8900, www.keithprowse.co.uk) and BAC Sport (020 7456 7100, www.bacsport.co.uk). The packages include flights, accommodation, transfers and match tickets.

Staying safe

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office advises that the risk of crime to visitors travelling to South Africa is low and most serious incidents occur away from the main tourist destinations.

However, to ease concerns about South Africa"s poor reputation for violent-crime, passport theft and carjacking, the authorities will deploy 41,000 police during the month-long tournament.

The beautiful game: Rustenburg will host several first and second round matches

If you are feeling especially jumpy, a company called Red 24 (www.red24.com) offers fans " security chaperone support" - that"s minders to you and me --throughout the World Cup .

If you are driving, beware as the the roads in South Africa can rival Wacky Races at times.

Any crowd trouble is sure to be dealt with harshly, so prospective hooligans should consider the poetic, almost biblical words of South African Police spokesman, Vishnu Naidoo.

"Fans who misbehave will be put in a place where they will have every regret," he recently told BBC Radio 5 Live.

Alternatively...

For a quirky - and much cheaper --option, try following England based in one of the rival countries during the group stage from June 11 to 25.

You have the US, Algeria or Slovenia to choose from. Football-mad Slovenia might be the best bet as it is the country"s first appearance in the World Cup.

Make sure you"re in the capital Ljubljana on June 23 for the England match, where a giant screen will show the game. If England don"t win you will still have made lots of new friends.

Sir Clive Woodward admits: I still bewail England exit and I might lapse to tip moody rugby

England World Cup winning coach Sir Clive Woodward has not ruled out a return to top flight rugby after the 2012 Olympics.

The British Olympic Associations elite performance director, who ended his seven-year reign as England coach after the World Cup triumph in 2003, reveals that he still has a passion for the game that brought him such fame.

Appearing on the BBCs Desert Island Discs, Sir Clive admits he handled his resignation badly when he tore up his contract with three years still to run to the 2007 World Cup because he thought his plea for radical change after the World Cup was not getting the full support of the RFU.

Unforgettable: Sir Clive Woodward celebrates England"s World Cup triumph in Sydney

He also reveals his sadness at letting down his wife on the day he walked away from the game. ;Ninety-five per cent of Janes advice I have taken, and five per cent I havent, he said. ;The one time I didnt take her advice, which I regret, is whenI left the England job.

;She briefed me before the final Press conference. She said this is the time to thank everybody, that we had been incredibly lucky, and reminded me that I had resigned and that the RFU did not want me to go. So, thats what I decided to do. It lasted 30 seconds. Something was said and I just tore into them.

;I went into them in terms of why I was leaving. It wasnt the right time to do that because without Francis Baron, Graham Cattermole and the RFU, I wouldnt have achieved as much as we did. They had supported me brilliantly.

"I had decided to resign. It wasnt the time for cheap shots, it was time to shake hands and move on.

;Jane was sitting in front of me and I could see her face going whiter and whiter, horrified at what I was doing. We got in the car afterwards and sat in silence for a minute.

Advice: Woodward"s wife Jayne told him not to burn bridges with the RFU

"She looked at me and said, Thats that. You have just burned your bridges. There is no way you will ever come back here. You may be right in what youre saying, but it was the wrong time to do it. I got it badly wrong. I regret it now.

Asked by presenter Kirsty Young whether he wants to return to the game, he says: ;I still have a passion for the game. Whether I would do the same again, I am not so sure. Winning the World Cup? I wouldnt get up tomorrow if I thought I wasnt going to get anywhere near that again.

Sir Clive says Englands chances of repeating their World Cup triumph have been damaged because the game has ignored his warning that the elite performers are playing too much domestic rugby.

;You cannot play the amount of rugby they are playing and think they can roll up and beat South Africa and New Zealand.

"The team that seems to suffer most is England. I was trying to fix that and didnt do a very good job with my negotiating skills!

More...England reject Danny Cipriani heads Down Under to rebuild career with Melbourne RebelsJohnno stands by Wilkinson and blasts critics for working to "their own agenda"

Duchess of Cornwall finds being a parents mother utilitarian on sanatorium visit

Helen Nugent & , : {}

With five grandchildren of her own, it was no warn when the Duchess of Cornwall struck up an affinity with a ill baby in Hungary yesterday.

The Duchess met four-month-old Aida and her mother, Adrienn Turcsik, as she toured wards at Semmelweis Universitys second dialect of paediatrics at the countrys heading childrens sanatorium in Budapest.

When she asked what was wrong with the baby, a alloy told the Duchess that the infant had a urinary tract infection and a fever but was responding to treatment.

On conference Aidas age, the Duchess replied: Shes not majority comparison than my grandsons.

The Duchesss majority new grandchildren were identical tiwn boys innate to her daughter Laura last December.

The infant done the Duchess grin when she reached up with her little hands to the stately visitor.

The Duchesss revisit heralded the begin of the institutions 125th anniversary celebrations.

Staff took her to a series of rheumatology and immunology wards where youngsters were being treated with colour for assorted conditions.

The healing establishment was the initial in Hungary to inspire the impasse of relatives in the wards and is at the forefront of early diagnosis of osteoporosis, a disease in that the Duchess has a special interest.

Before withdrawal the establishment the Duchess denounced a board commemorating her revisit and told healing staff: Its been a good honour for me to revisit this smashing sanatorium and I would only similar to to honour all the nurses, all the staff, all the doctors for you do such a smashing pursuit seeking after all these ill children.

When the Duchess was at the childrens hospital, Prince Charles was driven to Raday Castle outward Budapest to debate tools of the captivate and hold discussions with officials about Hungarys heritage.

The stately integrate after came together for a accepting at the British Embassy in the capital.

hair wig

Christopher Hitchens happy hurl with Tories

Maurice Chittenden & , : {}

THE supervision of Margaret Thatcher was not well known for the friendship to happy rights or leftwingers.

However, the bard Christopher Hitchens has suggested that when he was a in advance tyro at Oxford in the late 1960s he had passionate entanglements with dual men who would after offer as Thatchers ministers.

Hitchens, 60, discloses the encounters in his stirring autobiography, Hitch-22. He provides serve debate with a explain that Bill Clinton, the destiny American boss who was a Rhodes academician at Oxford, might have sloping off CIA agents about programmed anti-war protests.

Hitchens, who has separate from the left since of his views on what he calls Islamofascism, has enjoyed a 40-year career as a writer, pundit and critic.

Related LinksMaggie still rules. So does Harvey Milk Thatcher elite "whites" over Vietnamese

In his memoirs, an remove from that appears in todays Sunday Times News Review, he describes his initial happy fumblings whilst at the Leys propagandize in Cambridge.

He says he had dual personae at Oxford: Chris, the rabble-rouser in a dickey jacket, and Christopher, the intellectual. Every right away and then, he writes, even though I was by afterwards bound on the office of immature women, a amiable and softly beguiling relapse would start and I suspect that I can explain this ... of dual immature men who after became members of Margaret Thatchers government.

For this unequivocally reason I cant unequivocally give any some-more names.

Michael Dobbs, writer of House of Cards and an Oxford � la mode who became Tory arch of staff, said: The thought of him seducing Tory cupboard ministers is rather intriguing. Nowadays I do not know if it would assistance or criticise the Tories choosing effort.

hair wig

Turner hints column traders will shun ban

Patrick Hosking, Financial Editor & , : {}

British banks see expected to shun an undisguised anathema on exclusive trade as regulators currently settled their welfare for tougher collateral controls to deter banks from the practice.

Lord Turner, the authority of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), pronounced some-more toilsome collateral mandate for trade activities would be key.

However, in grave justification to the Treasury Select Committee, he played down any disproportion of perspective with Paul Volcker, President Obama"s adviser, who wants to see a solid anathema on bank trade separate to patron service.

"I hold the thought that there is a little elemental dissimilarity in between the Volcker proposals and the approach the Financial Stability Board (FSB) is addressing this issue is a difficulty in an critical debate."

Related LinksObama reforms bluster banks, Varley tells MPsPaulson scorns Obama"s promissory note reformsObama statute throws cold H2O on RBS section sale

The FSB is the general physique underneath the G20 nations charged with environment out promissory note reforms to forestall a repeat of the monetary crisis.

The FSB was deliberation the Obama/Volcker proposals, Lord Turner said. "Having discussed this with Paul Volcker, I hold we are in full agreement on the equates to and that collateral mandate for trade activities will be key."

There is outrageous feud over what just constitutes column trade with majority banks insisting roughly all their trade is without delay or in a roundabout way related to patron requirements. But regulators are dynamic to crackdown on an activity, that they see as potentially forward and destabilizing to the monetary system.

In the past Lord Turner has pronounced existent collateral mandate to behind column trade are most as well low and that in a little cases 6 times as most collateral would be required. Such toilsome changes would have most column trade uneconomic.

BBC: protests competence shift the mind about 6 Music Media The Guardian

Lauren Laverne: "Most romantic day at work of my life." Photograph: BBC

The BBC has since the initial spirit of a U-turn over plans to close the digital air wave hire BBC 6 Music, after a mad recoil from listeners, traffic unions and a little of the own staff.

The due closure of 6 Music, along with the sister digital hire the Asian Network, was reliable by the BBC currently as piece of a wide-ranging plan examination by the comparison manager general, Mark Thompson.

Half of the BBC"s web pages will be close and £100m will be saved from beyond costs as piece of a package of cuts dictated to free up £600m a year to be reinvested in high-quality content. The proposals additionally embody slicing spending on unfamiliar shows such as Mad Men by 20%, capping investment on sports rights and potentially offered off BBC magazines such as Top Gear.

But BBC Trust authority Sir Michael Lyons pronounced that if there was a big sufficient open reply about the cuts, he would ask government to rethink the strategy.

"If we find that... there"s large open regard that we need to take criticism of afterwards we will go behind to the comparison manager ubiquitous to rethink the plan prior to it"s approved," he said. The proposals will right away be the theme of a 12-week open conference by the Trust.

The BBC has committed to spending at slightest 90% of the looseness price on "high-quality calm and distribution" by 2013. Within that 90% guarantee, at slightest 80% of the looseness price will be outlayed on "content creation".

The inform traffic kinship Bectu claimed the cuts could lead to an additional 600 pursuit waste at the corporation, that has seen some-more than 7,000 jobs go in the last five years. Its ubiquitous secretary, Gerry Morrissey, described the cuts as "totally nonessential and quite politically motivated".

Thompson described his examination as a "step change" in the BBC"s history. "These are formidable decisions and it"s unpleasant for the people who attend and watch a since have use of and for those people that promote it," he said.

"I don"t wish to fake that these are easy decisions. It"s really engaging that politicians say: "Why don"t you cut these services?" When we begin you do that, they say: "Have you left mad?" This is a impulse for concentration and definition after a duration of really extended expansion of activities opposite the BBC."

Confirmation of the preference to mattock the eight-year-old song hire 6 Music – it is due to stop inform at the finish of subsequent year – stirred an indignant reply from the station"s listeners. About 90,000 people had assimilated the Facebook organisation "Save BBC 6Music" by the finish of yesterday.

Jeremy Dear, ubiquitous cabinet member of the National Union of Journalists, pronounced Thompson had put BBC government "on a incident march not only with us and the hundreds of BBC staff who face losing their jobs, but with looseness price payers up and down the country.

"If the BBC has to see at savings, they should plunge in to comparison manager compensate rather than programmes or content."

Lyons said: "The open collect up the check for the BBC and it is right that it all the time evolves to encounter their expectations. We acquire the ubiquitous citation of this report, nonetheless we will wish to exam and cruise how it is delivered. We are transparent it heads towards a some-more trained and neatly focused BBC. That will meant a little formidable choices. But we will not cringe from those choices where they are in the interests of looseness price payers."

BBC Radio 5 Live presenter Richard Bacon, who additionally has a show on 6 Music, was one of the BBC presenters to publicly verbalise out opposite the preference to close the station.

"6Music is staffed by gifted people on condition that "distinctive" programming that values "quality over quantity". Exactly what this restructure is ostensible to be about," he said.

"6Music is particular and serves an assembly not catered for by the blurb sector. What happens when folk have use of whatever motive they have come up with to clear the 6Music preference and request it to alternative tools of the BBC?" pronounced Bacon on Twitter.

DJ Lauren Laverne, mid-morning presenter on 6 Music, pronounced listeners" messages about the closure of the hire had marked down her to tears. "Worst travel to work ever. Like that last outing to the vet"s," she tweeted. "Most romantic day at work of my life."

Liberal Democrats enlightenment orator Don Foster indicted the BBC of utilizing 6 Music and the Asian Network as "sacrificial lambs". "Today"s inform signals the finish of the BBC in motion wherever it fancied. The preference to concentration on high peculiarity UK calm is welcome," he said.

"However, I am not assured that utilizing 6 Music and the Asian Network as sacrificial lambs to compensate for it is the right approach. While the BBC has turn disproportionate in a little areas and needs pruning, the licence-fee-payers contingency have their contend about what"s to go."

The preference to close the Asian Network was criticised by Professor Daya Thussu, comparison manager of the London-based India Media Centre, piece of the University of Westminster, who pronounced the closure showed the BBC was "abandoning the thorough bulletin and to illustrate compromising the open have use of remit".

"The closures show that the BBC is abandoning the thorough bulletin and to illustrate compromising the open have use of remit. The passing of the Asian Network would have the BBC less multi-cultural and, to steal an good word from one of the former bosses, some-more "hideously white"."

The enlightenment secretary, Ben Bradshaw, pronounced the BBC was a "great British item and should not proceed the destiny presumption the Conservatives, who are viscerally antagonistic to the BBC, will win the election". He warned opposite politicians "compromising the BBC"s autonomy by giving a using explanation on the decisions".

The shade enlightenment secretary, Jeremy Hunt, pronounced he longed for to see "actions not words" from the corporation. "I am gratified that the BBC is receiving a prolonged tough see at only what it should be you do ... Will the BBC be less expansionist? Will it think delicately about the stroke on the eccentric sector? Above all, will it outlay looseness price payers" income on peculiarity open have use of calm that they wish to see?"

The closure of 6 Music and the Asian Network is a blow to the air wave industry"s efforts to go digital. The dual stations had around a million listeners in between them.

But Ford Ennals, arch comparison manager of digital air wave switchover physique Digital Radio UK, remained upbeat. "Whilst a little listeners will fundamentally be unhappy by the closure of particular services, we hold the BBC"s prophesy as summarized in the vital examination will in conclusion outcome in larger levels of altogether listening to digital radio."

BBC2 will be one of the main beneficiaries of the preference to smash in to some-more income in to programming, with a £25m enlarge in the programme check from 2013. Children"s programming will see a progress of £10m each year, but the BBC intends to leave the teenager marketplace to rivals such as Channel 4 and has due the closure of BBC Switch and Blast!.

The BBC pronounced that it aims to cut outlay on alien programming by 20% from a check of £100m currently and to tip it at a limit of around £85m a year in the future. Sports rights expenditure, on events such as Wimbledon and Formula 1, will be capped at about £300m a year.

The BBC"s internet operation will see the series of web pages it publishes separate by 2013. The scaling behind of the web operation will embody an estimate 25% cut in check and identical slicing of staff numbers, potentially inspiring as most as 350 employees. Regional journal groups will be buoyed by a joining to diminish internal activities together with a guarantee to "never be some-more local" than it is now.

The BBC additionally pronounced that during the subsequent licence-fee period, from 2013 to 2016, Thompson will be done privately obliged for shortening the corporation"s overheads check from about £410m to only over £300m per year – from 12% of the looseness price to 9%.

The inform states that the house contingency go serve than formerly voiced cuts to comparison government levels and pay, sum of that were voiced last October, with serve reductions in costs compared with tip talent, skill and distribution. The inform additionally pronounced that the normal BBC hierarchy indispensable to be since a "flatter, some-more energetic and stretchable structure". It pronounced that the BBC indispensable to have a "step change" in simplifying the operations and structure.

Last week the National Audit Office criticised the BBC for overspending by some-more than £117m in 3 building a whole projects.

• To hit the MediaGuardian headlines table email editor@mediaguardian.co.uk or phone 020 3353 3857. For all alternative inquiries greatfully call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000.

• If you are essay a criticism for publication, greatfully symbol obviously "for publication".

Heathrow runway opponents launch authorised plea to stop enlargement Environment

The residents of Sipson have been protesting opposite a third runway at Heathrow for the last 7 years. Photograph: Steve Parsons/PA Wire

A bloc of internal councils, immature groups and residents will currently mountain a authorised plea to supervision plans for a third runway at Heathrow airport.

The coalition"s lawyers will disagree at the high justice in London that the