Recently we celebrated the completion of the incredible Arch which spans the middle of our Moses Mabhida stadium. Many don't know but we were the only stadium in the country to hold a competition to come up with our stadium designs.  The winning consortium Ibhola Lethu were inspired by our history as captured in our flag.  For them, and us all, they captured the symbolism of the grand arch as something that "represents the unity of a sport loving nation, and the two legs on the southern side of the stadium come together to form a single footing on the northern side, symbolizing the unity of a once divided nation".

The completion of the stadium arch celebrates a truly South African architectural, engineering and construction milestone.  This accomplishment has massively increased the awareness of our new landmark facility and starts positioning the stadium complex as not only THE icon of Durban, but shows the world again that we are Africa's sporting and events capital.  We have a 2010 and beyond strategy which recognizes that we must build on our strengths and ensure that every event focuses on growing the economy, providing jobs and uniting our people.

We must all celebrate this incredible accomplishment.  Julie-May Ellingson and her team at Strategic Projects have led this initiative and their continual attention to detail, value engineering and keeping within budgets has kept this project on track and on time.  Tim te Haar has led a great team of professionals through the Ibhola Lethu consortium.  The majority are South Africans and we have also drawn on international experts when needed.  The Group Five, WBHO and Pandev consortium have again shown us that South African construction companies are world class.  This incredible workforce of over 2000 has truly made us proud.

But I must also thank the Premier Sbu Ndebele, Mayor Obed Mlaba and MEC Zweli Mkhize for supporting us in our work and making it possible.  A few years ago very different ideas for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in Durban did the rounds, but today we stand tall in the eyes of the world.

The value of the arch as a tourist attraction to the City will soon be realised. On completion, visitors will be able to experience panoramic views of the ocean and the city from a viewing platform situated 106m above the pitch. Visitor access to this viewing platform will either be via the cable car or the 550 steps on the southern side of the arch.

The completion of the Arch is not only an engineering and architectural marvel, but, more than this, it symbolizes the hopes and dreams of Durbanites as they prepare for the historic 2010 FIFA World Cup.