World’s Biggest Soccer Ball Sculpture set Guinness Records..........

The soccer ball sculpture that had been constructed at Telkom’s Lukasrand tower, in Pretoria, has set a Guinness World Record in the ‘largest football sculpture’ category, while a second similar structure at Telkom’s Hillbrow tower, in Johannesburg, was under construction.


The 50-t structure in Pretoria was constructed out of fibreglass shells that were mounted on and supported by steel frames on the inside. It measures about 24 m in diameter and is eight storeys high, making it larger than any structure of its kind in South Africa and on the African continent, the fixed-line operator said on Thursday.


“As a national supporter of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Telkom is confident that this initiative will engender greater public support and excitement ahead of this year’s final draw on December 4, in Cape Town, and the world’s largest football showpiece to be hosted in South Africa next year,” Telkom Group CEO Reuben September commented.


The operator had consulted the South African National Defence Force, the Civil Aviation Authority, the South African National Roads Agency, the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Conservation and Environment and resident’s associations, about the project before the start of construction.


FIFA and the City of Tshwane had also contributed to the approval of all design plans for the structure, Telkom said.


Construction had started in December and was completed by mid-September.


Telkom Group executive for multinational customers Thami Magazi noted that the operator had now joined the ranks of other well known brands that have lit up the skies of Las Vegas, London and New York by branding telecommunications’ towers.


Meanwhile, the structure being built at Telkom’s Hillbrow tower would be completed by the end of the year.


“By creating a large visual spectacle at the pinnacle of the Lukasrand and Hillbrow towers, Telkom is offering every citizen of, and visitor to Gauteng, an opportunity to share in the soccer frenzy that’s starting to envelop our country,” Magazi said.


He added that all materials used in the construction of the structures were recyclable and that the operator would, when the structures are eventually removed, look at ways in which these materials could be used to benefit disadvantaged communities.