FIFA WORLD CUP IBC OPENS FOR BUSINESS

The International Broadcast Centre for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ was officially opened this morning by a number of dignitaries including FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter, Chairman of the FIFA Organising Committee Issa Hayatou, Director of FIFA TV Niclas Ericson and HBS CEO Francis Tellier. The ceremony featured an official ribbon-cutting in the African Plaza, a visit to the African Union of Broadcasters' (AUB) unilateral premises and the switching-on of the Master Control Room (MCR).


President Blatter began his remarks by saying that today "is a great day indeed for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa." He discussed the evolution of the "love story" between FIFA and broadcasters as well as the progression in the quality of IBCs over the years, before pointing out that this was the fifth IBC he inaugurated in the company of Francis Tellier, following Paris in 1998, Yokohama and Seoul in 2002 and Munich in 2006. President Blatter then stated how much "we appreciate the professional work of Host Broadcast Services," and expressed FIFA’s goal of reaching record audience figures, praising the energy of South Africa as the final preparations come together. Francis Tellier returned the compliment, noting what a "great honour" it is "to work with FIFA TV all these years" to implement their vision of the "4 screens policy".

With the MCR switched on and the IBC fully operational, President Blatter then wished all broadcasters the best of luck for their operations throughout the upcoming tournament.

IBC Facts and figures:-

22750 hours of feed produced by HBS
1,900km of cabling for all 10 venues
30 Interview studios
50 Presentation studios
25 Matches will be broadcast in 3D