Chris and Pat Mulder were the major actors in the creation of Thesen Island. They gave us some background as to how they feel the 2010 World Cup has impacted their business.
Thesen Island, Knysna
Chris explained to us that “Thesen Island was originally a timber factory” and was created ten years ago.
Thesen Island’s goal during the World Cup was to “make the teams and supporters feel welcome and at home”. Pat and Chris realised that the event only comes once in a lifetime, and they wanted to make the most of it for the people.
“The community was very involved in the hosting of the two national teams”, in particular by paying attention to small details like “all the decorations. We included people from the previously disadvantaged areas.”
The main difficulty was to “convince the people” to buy in and to involve the community.
The Mulders decided to go against the general opinion and “make Thesen Island’s fan park free.” Contrary to what people thought, there was not a single incident. Everyone was happy, and the South African games brought in various nationalities and cultures which was a great experience.
“The Bafana Bafana fever” started on the island a week before the World Cup with noticeable flags on cars, people wearing jerseys and singing their anthems proudly
Compared to the problems experienced in the Rustenburg area of Johannesburg, “Knysna did not experience any problems” in terms of traffic or violence and everything went according to the Mulder’s plan!
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