The mighty Springboks including the Beast and the captain John Smit have thrown their weight behind the campaign to have Table Mountain named one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.
Springbok wing Bryan Habana signs on as an ambassador for Table Mountain along with New 7 Wonders Campaign Manager Fiona Furey
“I promise we’ll win the world cup if you promise to vote for Table Mountain,” quipped coach Peter de Villiers after members of the Springbok rugby squad pledged their support for Table Mountain and became official ambassadors for the Vote for Table Mountain campaign.
Table Mountain is in the running to be named a New7Wonder of Nature, a global election that predicts over 1 billion votes worldwide. South Africa’s flat-topped wonder needs to beat 27 other natural sites from around the world such as the Amazon, the Grand Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef to make it into the final seven.
The new Springbok ambassadors include captain John Smit, Schalk Burger, Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira, Butch James, Bryan Habana, Jean de Villiers, Jaque Fourie, Andries Bekker, Morne Steyn, Jannie du Plessis, Gurthro Steenkamp and coach Peter de Villiers.
The Springboks will fly the Table Mountain flag high ahead of the Castle Tri Nations tournament starting on 23 July in Sydney, Australia. Their support will continue through to the 2011 Rugby World Cup where they will represent their country, and Table Mountain. “I urge all South Africans to put some time aside to Vote for Table Mountain,” said Smit.
They join ambassadors such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Jo-Ann Strauss, Liezel van der Westhuizen and Stuart Taylor. These celebrity ambassadors have shown their support for the campaign through their various roles in the South African media, entertainment, sporting and humanitarian industries.
An independent impact report conducted by Grant Thornton, has predicted a R1.4billion annual tourism bonanza for South Africa if Table Mountain is named one of the New 7 Wonders of Nature.
“South Africans have to make sure that our flat-topped wonder makes it into the final seven. It’s a once-in-a lifetime opportunity to create a legacy, an opportunity that we can’t ignore – there will never be another election like it. Once the final seven are decided, that’s it,” says Sabine Lehmann, chairperson of the Table Mountain Bid Committee.
Springbok wing Bryan Habana said, “I live in Cape Town now and have been up the mountain many times. Let’s all get behind our mountain, vote for Table Mountain today!”
To see a full list of celebrity ambassadors, and to vote for Table Mountain, visit www.votefortablemountain.com or SMS “table” to 34874.