Australia's World Cup coverage event ends with success: officials

Australia's hopes of hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup have received an enormous boost from the success of Sydney's World Cup Fan Fest event, local media reported on Monday.

Sydney was selected by FIFA as just one of the six Fan Fest sites around the world to screen live coverage of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

The Federal Football Australia (FFA) said about 140 thousand people watched the first three games at Sydney's Fan Fest site and around half a million attended over the course of the four-week tournament, despite the unfavourable kick-off times and occasionally freezing cold temperatures.

FFA spokesman Rod Allen said the success will certainly be noticed by FIFA as it was the first time the official fan sites were held outside the host nation.

Acting New South Wales Premier John Hatzistergos said the FIFA Fan Fest at Darling Harbor had been a huge success.

"The atmosphere at the International FIFA Fan Fest in Darling Harbor this morning was fantastic," Hatzistergos said in a statement.

"I want to congratulate not only Spain and the Spanish fans for an historic World Cup win, but also every one of the half a million football fans that braved the early mornings to support their teams over the past 31 days - their behavior has been exemplary."

Sydney is the largest and most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales.

Source: Xinhua

Special Report: World Cup 2010