Football mania will reach fever pitch during mid June when the whistle blows for the first World Cup match at Soccer City in Soweto. In South Africa, it's going to be party season with a capital ‘P'. Whether your team's match is preceded by a braai, a party, or a gathering of friends and family, you want to get the ambience right. Radiant has some ideas to light the way.
First up, you want your team's colours on display - and we all know you will be rooting for more than one team depending on ‘lady luck' and how skilful your favourites prove to be on the day. Light emitting diode (LED) tube lights, which you can buy by the metre in a range of colours (green, yellow, red, blue), offer myriad possibilities. These tubes are highly flexible and weather proof so you can twine and wind them around pillars and trees, around doorframes, in the shape of a team logo or along walls.
You can even try your hand at creating a light sculpture by winding tubes around a football-like object which can act as a centrepiece in the garden. LEDs are extremely energy efficient so your creative endeavours won't increase your electricity bill!
If you are after a lighter, more sophisticated look, try some decorative fairy lights in different shapes - in the garden, indoors or on a table. There are also finer, net-like LED-lit mesh lights that can be hung across a window or displayed in bar areas. The colours of the downlights along walkways or in your entertainment area can be changed to create a softer light-hearted mood.
And of course you cannot do without LED ice for your guests' drinks. Another innovation from Radiant, these little plastic jewels look like ice blocks but have tiny LEDs inside that change colour. Imagine their effect in brightly coloured cocktails.
The World Cup will put South Africa firmly in the global spotlight for four weeks. Add a little imagination, some light-hearted creativity and colour, some clients and/or friends and a sporting spirit and you may just create an event that is remembered for more than that defining goal that puts your team into the finals.
