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Soccer City lights up
n World Cup party begins n Glittering opening ceremony

South Africa supporters hold a portrait of former President Nelson Mandela prior to the kick-off of their match against Mexico in Johannesburg on Friday. The match ended in a draw.
South Africa supporters hold a portrait of former President Nelson Mandela prior to the kick-off of their match against Mexico in Johannesburg on Friday. The match ended in a draw. — AFP

Johannesburg, June 11
The first World Cup football in Africa kicked off with a feast of song and dance as thousands of musicians and dancers in South Africa’s Soccer City stadium welcomed the world “home” to the continent where man took his first steps.

A flyby of fighter jets with South African flags on their tails kick-started the colourful ceremony in the Calabash — the nickname of the stadium that was rebuilt for the World Cup to resemble an African gourd vegetable and cooking pot. The cooking pot is also a metaphor for the rich mix of cultures in the host country and continent.

Welcoming the world in the Xhosa language was Zolani Mkhiva, an official praise singer who was wearing a red cape, headdress of porcupine quills and leopard skin over his bare chest.

“The historic moment has arrived,” he declared. Hundreds of performers wrapped in blankets in the rainbow colours of South Africa’s flag formed nine aerial lines from the centre of the stadium, representing bridges to the other nine World Cup host cities.

Xhosa songstress Thandiswa Mazwai performed the famous Click song of the late Miriam Makeba, South Africa’s “Mama Africa.”

Algerian rai icon Khaled and Nigerian afrobeat star Femi Kuti, both of whose countries are participating in the tournament, also entertained the crowd of mostly South African supporters, who were still arriving when the opening ceremony began after long delays in traffic.

Dancers dressed in red and mustard yellow recreated a sizzling calabash on the pitch from 48 giant panels in the ochre and dun colours of the stadium’s outer shell.

US soul singer R. Kelly teamed up with a Soweto gospel group to perform the World Cup anthem Sign of a Victory in front of a multicoloured baobab — the iconic African “upside down tree.” A group of dancers also used their African-patterned wrap skirts to form a fluttering patchwork Africa over the pitch and a giant dung beetle played with an oversized Jabulani — the official tournament football. A sea of South African flags fluttered over the crowd, which came dressed from head to foot in the national team’s yellow and green. From the outside, the sound of thousands of buzzing vuvuzelas sounded a disturbed wasp’s nest. — DPA

Mandela absent due to family tragedy

Nelson Mandela’s granddaughter Zenani died in a car crash on the way home from a pre-World Cup concert, forcing the 91-year-old father of post-apartheid South Africa to cancel his attendance at the opening ceremony in the Johannesburg stadium. Zenani, 13, was one of the nine great-grandchildren of Mandela, whose charisma and prestige is credited with helping South Africa win the World Cup bid in 2004.“South Africans and people all over the world will stand in solidarity with Mr Mandela and his family in the aftermath of this tragedy,” the former president’s foundation said. — Reuters

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