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A ‘beach’ at the Grand Parade will host the Elite 16 of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour.
The Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Elite 16 will be held in Cape Town from November 2 to 6; the grandstand and a ‘beach’ are now being constructed on the Grand Parade to accommodate 64 of the world’s best volleyball players for the prestigious international competition.
The Beach Pro Tour is Volleyball World and the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball’s men’s and women’s worldwide professional beach volleyball tour (FIVB). The Beach Pro Tour is one of the most prestigious international beach volleyball tournaments, with only the World Championships and Olympic Beach Volleyball Tournaments being more prestigious.
SPORTING ACTION FROM THE WORLD’S BEST
Next week, the heroes of international Beach Volleyball will gather in Cape Town, including World Champions in both genders, the Norwegians Anders Mol and Christian Srum and the Brazilians Eduarda ‘Duda’ Lisboa and Ana Patricia Ramos.
Grant Goldschmidt and Leo Williams comprise the South African team entered in the event as a Wild Card entrant from the host country. Goldschmidt represented South Africa at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, and he and colleague Williams hope to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Earlier this year, the pair competed at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
STAY FOR THE PARTY, COME FOR THE SPORT
The festival will feature music and entertainment, with Heart FM and other DJs keeping the celebration going after the volleyball matches have concluded for the day. The party will be fueled by a variety of food and drink options, and the atmosphere will be lively and full of energy.
It is essential for the City of Cape Town to host the tournament, especially as the matches will be aired live to millions of spectators across the world. Volleyball attracted 480 million viewers worldwide and was the most-watched event at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. All matches will be televised live on SuperSport Variety 2 in South Africa.
Contributing to the community
Volleyball World and FIVB will invest significantly in a legacy programme to develop the sport in South Africa, including the participation of local communities in the event itself, as part of their contract with the local promoter for the City of Cape Town to host the event.
Recently, two beach volleyball tournaments for disadvantaged youth were held on Muizenberg beach as part of the legacy program. On October 29, another tournament will be held on the newly constructed beach volleyball courts on the Grand Parade; for some of the children, this will be their first trip into the city center. The program will be attended by 500 children throughout the week.
The annual competition hosted in Cape Town will raise awareness of Beach Volleyball and pique the interest of local talent, promoting participation and nurturing skill to a senior level so that South Africa may compete internationally.
The Instagram account for Beach Tour Cape Town is @beachprotourcapetown.