By Greg Hutson
After years of planning, the biggest surfing event to hit South African shores begins this weekend with the World Surfing Games returning to the country for the first time in 24 years.
The week-long alternate year event, which begins on Saturday, has attracted more than 500 competitors from 31 countries - and has put a smile on the faces of the city's hotel industry bosses and set shop tills jingling.
Even land-locked Switzerland has sent a team.
Up for grabs are gold, silver and bronze medals in seven categories, which will be awarded at the finals next weekend, and the honour of being crowned as the world's best surfing nation.
One of the last teams to arrive was Team Bermuda, which jetted in on Thursday along with the president of the International Surfing Association, Fernando Aguerre.
Aguerre said Saturday's opening ceremony would be the start of an event that would be a rare mix of cultures, languages and religions.
Planning for the event began in 1985 but ran into infrastructural problems. Thanks to the goodwill and financial support of the city council, sponsorship from Umhlanga's Gateway Theatre of Shopping and Quiksilver, the association's vice-president, Robin de Kock, saw his dream of holding the event in Durban materialise.
"Durban has the ideal amphitheatre for an event that has three podiums. There is nowhere else in South Africa where we can do it like this," he said.
"Durban's city council should seriously consider a resolution making Surf City part of its official title," Aguerre said.
Friday's opening ceremony will include an Olympic style Parade of Nations on the Lower Marine Parade at 9am followed by a Sand Ceremony. Each team brought a sack of beach sand with them. The sacks will be mixed together and the sand redistributed among the contestants.
What can the visitors expect in the way of surfing conditions? The website wavescape.co.za on Thursday predicted "solid swell" on Sunday driven up the coast from the Cape.
It could make for big surf and, even with their local knowledge, South Africa may be hard-pressed to beat the likes of Australia, Brazil, Hawaii, France and the US.
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