In February 1990, I sat in the lounge room of my house in Surry Hills, Sydney, and watched on TV as Nelson Mandela walked out of prison in Cape Town.
 
This was a long time ago but not as long as Mandela spent in jail – 27 years – imprisoned as a political prisoner by the apartheid South African government.
 
Vision of that historic walk out of jail, at the age of 71, was broadcast around the world and at the time it seemed as if the whole world was watching this event.
 
"The destruction caused by apartheid on our sub-continent is in-calculable," Mandela said in a speech on his release. "The fabric of family life of millions of my people has been shattered. Millions are homeless and unemployed. Our economy lies in ruins and our people are embroiled in political strife."
 
A BBC report on the historic day was as historic as it was prescient.
 
There was celebration at Mandela's release but also chaos, desperation, crime, hyper-aggressive policing (shoot now, ask questions never), a lot of hope, and some hopelessness.
 
Three years after that historic day, South Africa held its first democratic elections and Mandela was elected President.
 
Now, 20 years later, South Africa hosts the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
 
Australia, of course, has qualified for the tournament and with that will come an influx of fans supporting the Socceroos.
 
There's been progress in South Africa but many problems, as we are frequently told, still exist.
 
Last week, plans for Fanatics, a travel company that pitches itself at Australian sports fans with a preference for shouting Aussie! Aussie! Aussie! Oi! Oi! Oi!, made the news.
 
In what could prove to be the biggest social experiment (or disaster) of all time, like TV's Big Brother but on a green and gold set, the company has hired a cricket stadium in Durban to serve as accommodation for up to 1,500 Australians wanting to attend the World Cup.
 
"It will be like a massive backyard barbecue," enthused Fanatics spokesperson Warren Livingstone.
 
Fanatics has successfully tapped what they consider to be the psyche of young Australian travelers, proving so sharp that the company has banned alcohol from its tours of Gallipoli.
 
In South Africa, the Australian band Powderfinger will play a concert at the Durban campsite (which includes "semi-luxury" tents for your enjoyment), and boasts "Johnny Warren Square" as its geographical, if not spiritual, heart and soul.
 
There's also plans for a football pitch, named after "Barton Park", which for those of you who live outside of Sydney, was once home to St-George Budapest, the club which Warren famously played for.
 
There will be bars and beer and, no doubt, tons of fun watching World Cup matches on a big screen replicating the "Fan Fests" that were popular in Germany in 2006.
 
It will be going off and, being the legend that you undoubtedly are, you will be so stoked you could be at home in your own backyard.
 
Then it gets complicated.
 
Another of the campsite's advertised attractions is its state-of-the-art security.
 
(Plans for the Fanatics to host fans in Johannesburg were cancelled after "security concerns", presumably for the visitors, not the locals.)
 
"The difference between Sahara Stadium Kingsmead and normal camping is that Kingsmead is built to keep non-paying fans out," reads the Fanatics website.
 
To ensure this, the security team will employ, according to the website:
 
# Biometric Access Control (finger print)
# Patrolled perimeters on a 24 hour a day basis – foot patrol with dogs
# Controlled access for cleaning and catering staff
# Safe deposit area for valuables, passports, laptops etc.
# Security sweeps with sniffer dogs daily
# Security stewards in bars and other public areas
# Controlled visitors access
# Subtle security in unmarked vehicles and plain clothes
# Limited entrance and gates into premises - premises to be fenced off
 
For "non-paying fans", replace with the word "locals".
 
In other words, travel to South Africa, where you can stay in a tent on a cricket oval, and meet thousands of people from your own country just like you and watch World Cup matches on a big TV screen safe from the outside world in your paramilitary-protected compound.
 
It's probably not what Nelson Mandela or FIFA President Sepp Blatter had in mind when South Africa was awarded the World Cup.
 
But at least you were there.
 
Right?
 
More on Mandela:
 
Here's an article on Mandela as Nobel Peace Prize winner.
 
Here's the website for the Nelson Mandela foundation.


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