The City of Durban experienced a festival of lights on Valentines Day as fireworks decorated the night sky in celebration of the completion of the signature arch of the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

The celebrations, which were attended by City dignitaries as well as LOC officials, saw the lights of the stadium and the arch being switched on for the first time.

Addressing guests, KZN premier Sibusiso Ndebele said that the milestone signified South Africa’s and indeed Durban’s readiness to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup, adding that the event should be seen as a celebration of unity.

“[Tonight] is a celebration of teams working together to create not only an architectural and engineering masterpiece, but to physically create an icon, that symbolizes and spans years of history, years of hope and years of work - to let all South Africans feel the pulse of unification,” he said.

Engineers completed the arch at the end of January when the last of the 60ton segments forming the Y-shaped arch was slotted into place.

The arch will provide critical support for the stadium roof, reports Engineering News. The roof will have a surface area of 46 000 m2 and will be suspended from the arch by steel cables and secured around the perimeter of the stadium by a compression ring. The cost of the roof and arch is R448-million.

The stadium is now more than 60% complete with the final completion date set for October 30th 2009. Once complete, the stadium is expected to provide a world-class venue for sport events in South Africa. The three-tiered stadium will have a gross seating capacity of 70 000. It will also form part of Durban’s King Park sporting precinct which will accommodate a variety of sporting disciplines including athletics, rugby, golf and swimming.

The stadium is named after struggle stalwart Moses MnCane Mabhida. He was one of the founding members of the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) and was elected a vice-president at its first congress in 1955. He also served as a commander in the MK before serving as General Secretary of the Communist Party. He died of a heart attack in 1986 while working in Maputo. His body was embalmed and transported to South Africa in 2006, where he was buried at the Slangspruit Heroes Acre in his birthplace of KwaZulu Natal.

Source: South Africa: The Good News

According to Julie-May Ellingson, Head of 2010 Programme, a significant amount of work has been completed in recent months on the more aesthetic elements of the stadium - giving local Durbanites an idea of what their 2010 stadium will look like.

“With the completion of 75% of the precast seating (the concrete structure onto which the seats themselves will be fitted), the view from inside the stadium bowl is increasingly one which gives you a preview of our future stadium.

“The VIP area is taking shape too, with the full-glass façades for the VIP suites being installed now,” says Ellingson.