A stunning WC 2010 Cape Town Stadium at night

Click image to enlarge

From the World Cup 2010 Cape Town Stadium I wish you all a sparkling Christmas

My Christmas gift to you all where ever you are in the world I hope you have a wonderful Christmas

It was difficult to choose the images for this special day

I hope you like these !

World Cup Soccer 2010 Cape Town Stadium in Green Point on a cloudy day

The mountains were hidden in the clouds except Signal Hill straight ahead

Spanking new part of Fritz Sonnenberg Road

 Devil's Peak is now totally hidden by the clouds

but the light was really beautiful

On the bottom left you can see the parking area entrance

Table Mountain is hidden in the clouds

I am standing close to the Green Point light house here

If you look  here

you will see where I was standing Note the buildings

Cape Town Stadium Glowing with pride !

I was just in the middle of taking this shot when a fellow "flickerite" walked up to me

with the question of....

If interested read the story here

and see his photos which can be purchased if wished

here

Devils Peak and table Mountain just peeking over the steps

Fritz Sonnen berg Road

This was actually the first shot I took of the evening at 7.30 PM

Devils Peak, Table Mountain and Signal Hill

The Diamond of Cape Town reflected in the Metropolitan golf course water feature

The 2010 FIFA Soccer Stadium Cape Town and Table Mountain during the blue hour As usual I could have stayed forever, just shooting.....but instead was there  for just over an hour

Unfortunately the sprinklers were going full speed and popping up in the most unexpected places

I would have liked to walk around the stadium but alas I was already getting damp from the spray where I was standing

Kirstenbosch by candlelight 6000 Capetonians and me singing Christmas songs under the African stars

A flower seller close to the entrance of Kirstenbosch

It was a first for me but this is a long standing tradition in Cape Town
There were 6000 people singing Christmas carols in Kirstenbosch
tonight

At 5PM whole families and friends young and old brought a picnic and sat on the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden lawn

everybody got a paper bag and a candle which is lit as soon as it is dark

and a song sheet so you can sing along

At 8 PM the fun started

The setting alone is spectacular but the whole event is so atmosheric

really special

Traditional Christmas Carols accompanied by the Cape Town Concert Brass Band

and the Cape Town Male Voice Choir

Believe it or not but I did not take one photo of the stadium today !

So I like to take the opportunity to recommend an excellent  virtual tour of the Cape Town Stadium

created by a very talented photographer in Cape Town

see it here

Cape Town Stadium the closest I can get without jumping right in

I wonder what the view is like from those seats near the "port holes"

or whatever you call those openings to the outside, it must be amazing

Click on images to see large version

BTW the green lights in the foreground are really that green
and the reason the roof is not blue like here
is that only the inside lights were on and not the 350 spotlights in the roof which make up the "Ring of fire "

You have no idea how annoyed I get when the photo is blown out like here ..

so anyway the well lit :) white road is the new Granger Bay Boulevard which gives access to the stadium

that is where I stood when I took these shots (the last 2 images)

And this is a close up of the V&A Waterfront
it is very busy now with  tourists from other parts of South Africa and abroad

Note the Aqua Festival sign, you can see the seating area and the floating platform