The beautiful Eastern Cape city of Port Elizabeth is known as the ‘Friendly City’, and it will certainly be welcoming thousands of visitors with open arms in the near future. The city is home to the newly-built Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, where eight World Cup matches will take place next year.

Port Elizabeth was founded in 1820 by Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin, a British soldier and the acting governor of the Cape Colony, who named the new settlement after his late wife, Elizabeth.

The city is the epicenter of South Africa’s auto industry, as several automobile and part plants are located in Port Elizabeth, and the Southern Hemisphere’s top ore loading facilities are located in the city as well.

Along with having a brand new stadium for the World Cup, the city is also home to the Eastern Province Rugby Football Union Stadium, and the oldest cricket ground in South Africa, St. George’s Park, is located in Port Elizabeth.

Port Elizabeth is also known as the watersports capital of Africa, and as such, visitors can do everything from scuba diving, to surfing, to game fishing. And as with several of the other World Cup host cities, the area around Port Elizabeth offers up the chance to see plenty of animals, with attractions like the Addo Elephant Park relatively close by.

See all World Cup host cities.