The great World Cup vuvuzela debate

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The great World Cup vuvuzela debate Inflation, global warming, giant oil spills in the Gulf of Mexico, are all trivial news items in comparison to what most people are talking about, the vuvuzela is ruing viewers World Cup experience.

The BBC has already reported receipt of 545 complaints about the vuvuzela horns that blare during its daily World Cup coverage.  In response, the BBC is considering showing coverage that can cut out the sound of the horns using its red button service.

At the beginning of the week, the organizers behind the World Cup decided against banning the plastic horns from the stadium, despite the fact that fans and players have complained about the 130 decibels they are capable of voicing.

Experts at the BBC state they are attempting to minimize the noise, but experts believe it is nearly impossible to exclude the horns from coverage without also affecting crowd noise and commentary.

A spokeswoman for the BBC stated that if the vuvuzela horn continues to impede on viewer satisfaction then the broadcaster will need to look at other ways to reduce the sound of the horns during the matches.

Already the BBC is thinking about using the red button service but the final decision regarding the option has not yet been made.

Trevor Cox, president of the Institute of Acoustics, stated this past Monday that the horns have the same frequency as human speech tones and thus if they were tuned out the voices of the commentators would be as well.

Cox added that it would be horrible to try to fade out the horns because sounds and vowels in the commentary would get dropped as well.

Police warn against rowdy behaviour during World Cup

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Police warn against rowdy behaviour during World Cup The Association of Chief Police Officers has warned football fans that while watching the World Cup they should monitor their drinking and stay out of trouble, because disorderly conduct will be punished.

In fact, outside of court punishments, troublemakers may also face football banning orders.

The World Cup runs up until July 11th, during which time Dave Thompson, an Assistant Chief Constable has stated fans will be encouraged to enjoy watching the matches, but will need to stay safe by drinking responsibly.

Thompson went on to say that football disorder and violence will not be tolerated and any offenders will be dealt with in a robust manner.  According to him, this may mean football banning orders and arrests.

Acpo, the representative organization of senior offices in Northern Ireland, England, and Wales has also warned fans to watch out for suspicious behaviour and terrorism.  It also stated that they will be increasing their resources around the match times of England games.

Acpo also stated that they will be working on a co-ordinate response for any disorder that is widespread and long lasting.

Thompson stated that the police are aware people will want to celebrate and have a few drinks, but the police simply asks that each person takes care of themselves by watching their belongings and making safe plans for the night.

World Cup is an essential to the local pub

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World Cup is an essential to the local pub Pub owners across England are hoping that the World Cup encourages a hangover for patrons that lasts the entire month, given the fact that pub patronage is not quite what it used to be. In fact, there has been a steady decrease in the amount of pub beer sales since the smoking ban went into effect in 2007.

Adding to the declining sales is the fact that now England’s supermarkets is able to offer much cheaper beer leading to Bloomberg News to report that only about 50% of all beer consumed in the UK is consumed in pubs which is a sharp difference from 88% back in 1979.

Punch Taverns Plc Operations stated that the World Cup without a question is the best way to get people back in the pubs, but in order to truly be effective England needs to make it to at least the quarterfinals so that people will continue to tune in at the pubs.

Directory of Punch Taverns, Kevin Georgel, stated that if England does not make it past the first round pub owners across England will be ‘cheesed off.’

Manager of Sun & Doves, Nicky Francey, stated that pub owners have a lot riding on the back of World Cup 2010 and after the horrible years in sales they are hopping for sales to pick up and help them survive just a little longer.

Watching football in a pub is the natural setting without debate, as British as eating fish and chips out of newspaper, of course that’s another tradition that has slipped away

Massive fight for the World Cup anthem

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Massive fight for the World Cup anthem The World Cup can set off some people’s equilibrium due to the fact that it only happens every four years and is usually a situation that sorts who are the current pop stars of the sporting worlds with the major celebrities, minor celebrities, and comedians heading off to the competition in hopes that they will get the nod of the fans official World Cup anthem as the event rolls along.

More annoying is that music critics that usually devote their time to accepted valuable music such as Arctic Monkeys and The Fall are forced to turn their attention to less esteemed music causing the entire music scene to drop an octave as the most serious veterans as all have to sit through Hollyaoks or Terry Venables.

While it is hard to debate that music and football do indeed fit together well given the fact that stadium sing alongs are a large part of the community of England fans, but watching footballers grab the microphone to attempt their own versions is enough to make everyone turn a little red for the stars that seem to lack shame.

Back in the day, unless a rock n roll star such as Elton John happened to be rich enough to purchase their own team; rockers could care less about football.  However, now with the passing of the nineties everyone from Oasis to Posh Spice to The Lightening Seeds has help entwine the two to the point that now the two are inseparable; for good or bad.

Personal safety in South Africa for World Cup

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Personal safety in South Africa for World Cup Three British students that died in a South African bus crash have brought to life just how important it is to know the risks of travelling outside of the country.

Nelspruit authorities in the location of the accident stated that the bus driver had lost control of the bus along a winding road that is notorious to the area.  With thousands of English fans excepted to travel to South Africa over the course of the World Cup, here is a guide to the top risks that visitors need to be aware of.

The first major problem is crime which is rampant throughout the entire country, but most violent offences take place in isolated areas and townships outside of the tourist spots.  With this in mind, passports in particular need to be watched, especially at travel terminals.

Over the last few years an increasing amount of cases have been noted in which criminals followed tourists via vehicle from the Johannesburg airport to their destination, which has prompted authorities to remind tourists to be careful while leaving the airport.

The next concern is driving since like the bus crash, South African driving results in many fatal accidents.  Tourists should know that the country is quite large so all trips should be properly planned beforehand.

On highways tourists should be vigilant of the fact that overtaking occurs on all lanes including the shoulder and at four way stops the first driver to arrive has the right to move.

The general roads of South Africa are decent quality in cities but in remote cities there are many potholes and sticking to the speed limit is a most.

Health care while abroad is also a concern with high standard care in developed areas that is costly and basic care in rural areas.  Visitors should be aware that rabies, TB, cholera, and malaria are all very common to South Africa and that they should seek care immediately if side effects such as diarrhoea are present.