Cape Town is one of three South African cities bidding to host the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP17) towards the end of 2011. The fact that the event will take place in South Africa so soon after the 2010 World Cup is a major boost for our country.
Whichever city wins the bid (and I trust that an objective, fair and transparent adjudication process will be followed) will receive huge benefits in terms of global branding (apparently, ‘Copenhagen’ was the most searched word on Google during December last year), as well as a major boost to the city economy (up to 35 000 delegates for over a week).
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu has agreed to be the parton of the Cape Town bid, despite his recent retirement announcement. Here is an article about the bid that appeared recently in the Cape Times:
Cape Town has set its sights on hosting the 17th Conference of Parties (COP 17) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change taking place next year. South Africa has already won the bid to host this major event with the top three cities, Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, squaring up against each other for the privilege to host what is commonly known as the United Nations Climate Change Conference.
Cape Town's Bid document was put together through a collaborative effort by an impressive range of public, private and community agencies and organisations
This prestigious conference, which attracts over 20 000 delegates at the formal event and a further 10 000 people at parallel events would be a major coup for Cape Town and the Western Cape. The last Climate Change Conference took place in Copenhagen in 2009. This conference was attended by 150 world leaders with dignitaries including President Barack Obama of the United States of America, and Gordon Brown, the then British Prime Minister. This year the conference will be hosted in Cancun, Mexico.
The Cape Town & Western Cape Convention Bureau in collaboration with industry partners is facilitating the bid on behalf of the City of Cape Town. As a member of the BestCities Global Alliance, Cape Town is in a position to learn from the experience of Copenhagen, also a member in the Alliance. The Copenhagen Convention Bureau has already committed to share all relevant information, contacts and advice related to organising the United Nations Climate Change Conference with the Convention Bureau should Cape Town be awarded the opportunity to host this event.
“Cape Town’s bid is by far the most technically sound, with the city and province already gearing toward an environmentally sustainable future. We believe the decision-makers will be swayed not only by our unsurpassed safety and security record, but by the beauty and cleanliness of the inner city, as well as the many world-class accommodation and tourism offerings within walking distance of the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC),” says Alan Winde, MEC for Finance, Economic Development and Tourism.
Proposed Cape Town Central City 'Delegates Village' - where all conference venues are connected by walkable routes and public transport, with the Fan Walk converted into an 'EcoWalk'
Would it be possible to elaborate on the “delegates village”? Would it involve cruise ships?
I do hope the logo will “evolve” closer to the time if Cape Town is successful.
There are of course security implications but if delegates moved between the CTICC and Cape Town stadium on IRT buses, it would be great for the environment (since the IRT lanes will be in place), great for branding of the IRT and great for the branding of the city’s green credentials in general.
The level 1 podium of Cape Town stadium was designed to accommodate the height of buses and therefore these buses could stop right at the VIP glass entrance to the stadium without any issues.
No cruise ships envisaged at this stage, although I guess they would not be precluded as a method of housing delegates. The ‘delegates village’ is a concept to demonstrate Cape town’s ability to host a low-carbon event, in that most delegates would be able to walk (or cycle or catch MyCiti buses) between their accommodation, event venues and places of entertainment in the evenings. It also reinforces the concept of a ‘people’s COP’ in that unlike the World Summit on Sustainable Development in JHB a few years ago, where the main event was in Sandton and NGOs were in Nasrec, official government delegations and world leaders at the (secure) CTICC and Parliament would not be too separate from civil society and NGO representatives at, say, the Good Hope Centre or on the Grand Parade. The idea of tunring the Fan Walk into an EcoWalk is so that locals can mix with the international delegates if there was to be a global climate change concert at the CT Stadium during the event.
Essentially an urban “COP 17 Park”. Glad to hear parliament may be used, it makes so much sense.
University residences at CPUT and UCT would be ideal for the media since I’m assuming that the 20,000 delegates will fill most of the rooms within the CBD and surrounds.
I read that Copenhagen had to introduce “home-stays” to meet the demand. At first the scale of the Bella Centre in Copenhagen seemed ideal given its about 10 times the size of the CTICC but the various venues across the CBD in close proximity appears to be a major strength of this bid.
It would be great if a few floors of Customs House were made available for broadcasts. I don’t think the building is fully used.
Will there be enough hotel rooms to accommodate the 20 000 – 30 000 people within the delegates village range?
The Central City, including the City Bowl, Waterfront and Sea Point, has about 50% of all bed space in the CT metropolitan area. Having said that, the question is how much affordable accommodation is there, especially for NGO and civil society delegates? Also, you can’t force delegates to only stay in one part of the city, and nor is it desirable in terms of spreading the benefit in the hospitability industry. The Bid Book lists all accommodation options throughout the city and beyond. The key is to promote accommodation near public transport routes. The West Coast IRT route, to be launched in Feb 2011, opens up more options in this regard. I think that we would have to make use of CPUT, UCT and UWC accommodation for many NGO, civil society and local government delegates who can’t afford the more conventional accommodation. Also, at that time of the year, camping sites and caravan parks become viable options.
The idea is to make use of multiple meeting venues within reasonable walking distance, including the Civic Centre, Artscape, CT Station, City Hall, Good Hope Centre, CT Stadium, V&A Waterfront, hotels and Parliament, to support the main venue at CTICC. I guess we would also need to make space for demonstrations and protests, which could take place on the Grand Parade. I’m not sure whether we would need Customs House, but it is always a possibility.
I assume main media centre would be at the CTICC? Perhaps BBC could bring back their studio for their broadcasts.
While the WC was one of many “full circle moments” for the Central City, I suspect this event, using so many venues across the Central City will be the next one.
When will we know? When is it decided which South African city will host COP17?
National Government and the UNFCCC have indicated that they will make a decision by the end of October. There will probably be a site visit to each city mid-October
Glad to hear its not just national government making the decision. A visit to each city should put things into perspective, unlike the flawed 2010 IBC process.
We need to involve all BEE transport suppliers and ensure that no specific operator or supplier becomes greedy. Unlike SWC2010, we should create a databasis of all suppliers and therefor allow for all to become part of this event. Equal distribution of ground transport contracts. Let us create a central databasis (inclusive of detail of vehicles, pictures, etc) and then appoint a central transport project management team who can attend to all aspects i.e. operations, safety, service levels and vehicle assessments. We offer a central database on http://www.donttravelempty.co.za which was developed in the UK by operators for operators. Government must ensure that no specific indivdual or company walks away with the major share of the cake. Be fair en equal so all can be winners.
Any news on when the decision will be made?
It’s unfortunately very unclear. I suspect we will only officially know in January 2011
What a huge opportunity we just missed.