By Abhishek Roy, IANS,
Cape Town: There is a little bit of the Dutch in everything in Cape Town. The Netherlands will be enjoying their biggest fan base outside their country when they face two-time world champions Uruguay in the semifinal of the World Cup at the Green Point Stadium here Tuesday.
Cape Town, affectionately called the Mother City by locals, shares a long history with the Netherlands dating to 1652, when Jan van Riebeeck arrived to set-up a half-way post for the Dutch East India Company.
And on the eve of the Netherlands’ semifinal, the whole city has been painted oranje, the colour of the national team.
Nearly 1,000 Dutch fans from the Netherlands have settled on the banks of the Berg River in the nearby town of Paarl, some 60 kilometers northeast of Cape Town, the same place where their forefathers had settled more than 300 years ago.
‘De Oranje’ camp is believed to be the world’s largest football fan camp and consists of a convoy of 175 vehicles travelling across the entire African continent.
They follow their national team in every World Cup and their other two bases in South Africa are in Pretoria and Durban.
The Dutch fans are hoping to witness history as their team is eying the country’s maiden World Cup title.
The city centre in Cape Town is swarming with 8,000 Dutch fans and Sunday night they partied on the Long Street till the early hours Monday.
“I can promise you the whole stadium will be painted in oranje tomorrow (Tuesday). We have to go back home with the World Cup. We have to do it,” Dennis van der Merwe, an enthusiastic Dutch fan, told IANS.
The oranje-clad adventurers have not only added to the beauty of this colourful city, but also boosted the local economy.
“Even budget travellers such as these Dutch campers provide a significant injection into the local economy. Their contribution of approximately six million rands is new money entering the local economy,” says Alan Winde, a finance, economic development and tourism official.
The local Dutch-origin population has increased their support base.
“After the exit of the South Africa and Ghana, we can now cheer for the Netherlands. I hope the Dutch will create history in South Africa. They have been the best team in the tournament and deserve to win,” Robin de Villiers, a local of Dutch origin, told IANS.
(Abhishek Roy can be contacted at [email protected])