Street View brings a taste of South Africa to football fans everywhere
June 8th, 2010 | Published in Google Earth
It’s not every day that you find an elephant in Street View, or for that matter get to visit most of the South African football (or you may know it better as soccer) stadiums in one day. But from today you can do both with our bumper set of brand new Street View images and 3D models of host nation South Africa.
With just days to go before the tournament kicks off, football fans can start soaking up the atmosphere in seven of South Africa’s soccer stadiums, including Soccer City in Johannesburg, Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane and Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Thanks to some serious pedal-power by our trike riders in South Africa we’ve made available these pitch-level pictures from inside and outside of these stadiums. And we’ve created complete 3D models of all 10 stadiums, as well as many host cities which can be viewed in Google Earth -- check them out on the SketchUp Blog.
To make it easier for people to find all these great places South African Tourism have provided information on the most important sights. Visit maps.google.com/exploresouthafrica to start virtually exploring South Africa. Here are some amazing shots from on the field to get you excited:
Moses Mabdhiba Stadium:
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Soccer City Stadium:
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You can view more photos from inside the stadiums in our Street View gallery. But for those who can’t tell their keeper from their striker we’ve got something altogether different. There’s dramatic coastal scenery in the Cape; the urban buzz of Soweto, home to Nelson Mandela; or the world renowned Kruger National Park to explore at your leisure.
In fact, you’ll be greeted by a special host when you start exploring the imagery of Kruger:
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And this coastal view lets you see the sea, as well as Table Mountain in the distance:
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Whatever colours you’ll be wearing when the whistle blows and whichever side you’ll be cheering for in the dreaded penalty shoot out, you can now get a sense for how it might feel for the players to step out onto the turf to take part in the most famous football/soccer tournament in the world!