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The first World Cup ever held in Africa
opened Friday in a dazzling burst of joy, color and noise - and
just a tinge of sadness.


      Before a jubilant, horn-blowing crowd in Soccer City, the
spectacular stadium between Johannesburg and Soweto, hundreds of
African dancers in vivid greens, reds and yellows paraded onto the
field for the opening ceremony of the monthlong tournament.


      Most of the fans were in the yellow jerseys of Bafana Bafana -
the host country's team - which was playing Mexico following the
pageantry.


      The elation was tempered by news that Nelson Mandela, the
revered anti-apartheid leader and former South African president,
would not attend the ceremony. The 91-year-old Mandela is frail,
and decided not to come after his 13-year-old great-granddaughter
was killed in a car crash on the way home from Thursday night's
World Cup concert.


      Several other icons of the anti-apartheid struggle in South
Africa were on hand - including Mandela's former wife, Winnie, and
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who at one point was dancing in his seat
to the music.

      Former South Africa President F.W. De Klerk, who shared a Nobel
Peace Prize with Mandela for negotiating an end to white-minority
rule, also was present, organizers said.


      Other VIPS included the presidents of South Africa and Mexico -
Jacob Zuma and Felipe Calderon - and U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.

      It was not an occasion for those who like it quiet. Many of the
fans came equipped with vuvuzelas - the plastic horns which emit a
loud and distinctive blare. Incredibly, the din from the horns was
briefly drowned out by the overflight of military jets just before
the ceremony started.


      The public address announcer then begged the crowd to ease up on
the horns so the global television audience could hear the music.
The plea met with limited success.


      An all-star cast of musicians, including South African trumpeter
Hugh Masekela and American singer R. Kelley, performed. Cast
members brought out large placards with the flags of the 32 nations
competing in the tournament, holding them high as a final burst of
fireworks ended the show.


      Soccer City, which seats more than 90,000, wasn't yet full at
the start of the ceremony. Thousands of fans were stuck in traffic
jams on roads leading to the stadium - regaled along the way by
groups of dancing, chanting young people in Bafana shirts and by
vendors selling the multicolored South African flag.

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Sports

The first World Cup ever held in Africa
opened Friday in a dazzling burst of joy, color and noise - and
just a tinge of sadness.


Opening ceremony kicks off 2010 World Cup

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