Green goal: Awareness of the 2010 FIFA World Cup’s greening programmes and implications for environmental education

Abstract

South Africa hosted its first mega event (the FIFA World Cup) from 11th June to 11th July, 2010. Given the scope of the event and the opportunities it provided, the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism (DEAT) embarked on the 2010 National Volunteer Programme together with other greening initiatives/ programmes such as the Green Passport (DEAT, 2010). The volunteers were placed in specific locations in all nine provinces and the programme included the implementation of a survey aimed at assessing environmental awareness and behaviour among respondents, their perceptions of the environmental impacts of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, awareness of greening programmes associated with the World Cup and perceptions and experiences of foreign visitors in relation to South Africa specifically. In total, 15 066 visitors were surveyed. This article presents and discusses the findings in relation to the greening programmes, deemed to be a component of DEAT’s environmental education and awareness strategy during the World Cup. The results reveal that event greening is important in relation to mega sport events and that the Green Goal programme adopted during the 2010 FIFA World Cup yielded benefits. A well planned and implemented Green Goal programme can be used to promote environmental education during mega sport events.