"Eskom's Load Shedding Turns Hollywoodbets Durban July into a National Embarrassment"
The Hollywoodbets Durban July, a prestigious sports event in South Africa, was marred by an embarrassing electrical blackout caused by Eskom's load shedding and the Durban Municipality's incompetence. As 50,000 spectators gathered at the Greyville Racecourse, they were met with darkness and disappointment due to the unreliable power supply. This not only affected essential services like ticketing booths, lighting, and security systems but also dampened the overall atmosphere of the event, turning what should have been a day of glamour and excitement into a chaotic and frustrating experience.
The repercussions of Eskom's load shedding extended beyond the event itself. The disruption caused financial losses for event organizers, vendors, and local businesses, as the Hollywoodbets Durban July is a significant source of revenue for South Africa. Additionally, the incident damaged South Africa's international reputation. The event attracts global media coverage, and Eskom's inability to provide a reliable power supply exposed the country's infrastructure deficiencies and portrayed it as incapable of meeting the basic requirements for hosting a major event. This negative image projection is likely to deter future investment in South African sports events, particularly in the racing industry.
The load shedding during such a high-profile event reflects a severe lack of foresight and planning by Eskom and the local municipality. It raises serious concerns about their ability to anticipate and address challenges related to the unreliable power supply. The failure to implement contingency plans or alternative power sources, highlights their incompetence and negligence on a national stage.
Moreover, Eskom's load shedding towards the end of the Hollywoodbets Durban July could have had catastrophic consequences. The large crowd posed a significant threat to safety and security, as the compromised power supply hindered emergency response efforts and increased the risk of accidents, criminal activities, and stampedes. Not only were the spectators at risk, but also the horses and jockeys. Sudden loss of electricity during a race could have led to catastrophic collisions and injuries, and the lack of proper illumination on the racecourse impaired visibility for jockeys, further magnifying the chances of dangerous accidents.
The Hollywoodbets Durban July should have been a moment of pride and celebration for South Africa, showcasing its vibrant sports culture and organizational prowess. However, Eskom's load shedding transformed it into a national embarrassment, exposing a shocking level of incompetence and unpreparedness. This incident resulted in financial losses and tarnished the country's international image. Gold Circle, the event organizer, must hold Eskom accountable for this disgraceful failure and ensure that such a debacle never occurs again in the future.
The following user(s) said Thank You: oscar, KitKat
The municipality had in a meeting with Gold Circle( which allegedly the Mayor attended) agreed not to have loadshedding implemented during the meeting.
I have had a long chat with Michel Nairac about yesterday’s July meeting.
The Durban Mayor had personally signed a letter to Gold Circle informing GC that there would be no load shedding. Apparently, someone made a mistake at the municipality and switched off Greyville’s feed. The municipality rectified it quickly and put the feed back on. The lights would have to be cooled for about thirty minutes and then were reinstated too early causing them to trip.
With no load shedding (as we were now put on a non-load shedding stream), they were ready to go and then the jocks protested saying that the lights could go out in a race. It was explained clearly to the jockeys that each light has a battery that runs for four minutes which would cover the race, pull up and canter back. Astonishingly, the jocks were not interested, and many had already showered by then, ready to go out and party.
Even more astonishingly, given the explanation by GC on the four minute battery backup for each course light, the NHRA then threw Gold Circle under the bus by stating that Gold Circle would have to give guarantees that the lights would not go out again. GC explained that even if they had huge generators, they could also malfunction so how could GC give guarantees.
When the jockeys had their protest, Soumillon urged them to ride as he had come to win races but the party mood had kicked in and they wanted to abandon the rest of the meeting. In cases like this, the reputational damage far outstrips the financial one. And basically, it means that we can never have night racing again.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Frodo, Craig Eudey, Ash2Ash
.....shame shift the blame....but seeing that the mayor was at hand to dish out trophies... get milage for co-sponsoring a race(may not even have had to chip in:unsure: ) got a huge freebie to attend and get wined and dined and still then f@ck it @p....:whistle: ....dont blame the jocks though....it was a rough day even with the sun shining....after all who would want to race with Soumillion especially in the dark....:lol:
There are many challenges that are outside the control of the operator or the horseracing industry. GC and HWB put on a great show and sadly our jockeys once again not played their part. This meeting could have been completed but for the jockeys.
Does anyone know whether the vehicles that transported these jockeys from HWB Greyville and the roads had guaranteed them lighting for their safety!!!
....again not easy to ride a horse and especially in the dark....as the principal guarantee for uninterrupted power was already broken....now trying to convince the little okes that there are sufficient back ups....but after seeing that there had been many issues with these back ups during several day time meetings especially at this course ....could not assure the most positive of these chaps.... bar the one not from Africa where it can get very dark in an instant....:ohmy:
Don't even dare to begin to try to put this blame on the jockeys. No way!
As for Soumillion, if he truly wanted to race, then fine, he could've went and ran the track. He has no idea of the previous mess ups South Africa has seen, and they even managed to mess it up once the lights had come back by switching it on too early. Accept this and move on.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Muhtiman, Sylvester
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