Fighter jets sped low over Johannesburg’s Soccer City stadium, briefly drowning out the constant din of tens of thousands of vuvuzela trumpets as South Africa opened the 2010 soccer World Cup with a celebration of African culture.
The stadium, resembling a massive African cooking pot, erupted in cheers as performers took to the field to mark the first time that sports’ most watched tournament has been staged on the continent.
Reported traffic problems, though, delayed some fans, leading to the ceremony kicking off to many empty seats.
PHOTO: REUTERS
A giant dung beetle rolled a ball across the arena as Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu danced in the stands and 1,500 performers jived to African music.
Boards displayed the colors of the 32 teams and banners pointed to the nine host cities while drummers beat a constant rhythm.
About 70,000 people, a sea of green and gold, South Africa’s national team colors, listened to songs from the six African nations in the tournament — South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Ivory Coast and Algeria — and Grammy winner R. Kelly’s anthem Sign of a Victory.
PHOTO: AFP
Pockets of Mexican fans waved banners and flags, many adding to the overwhelming noise made by vuvuzelas, the loud plastic trumpet that has quickly become a symbol of this World Cup.
But one of the loudest cheers was reserved for former South African president Nelson Mandela, whose image appeared on screens to a message of hope from him in song.
“The generosity of the human spirit can overcome all adversity. Through compassion and caring, we create ... hope,” he said.
PHOTO: AFP/NELSON MANDELA FOUNDATION
The 91-year-old Mandela, who led the country out of apartheid in 1994 and whose global stature helped win the country the right to host the World Cup, canceled an appearance at the ceremony after a great grand-daughter died overnight.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation said Zenani Mandela died in a car accident after attending the World Cup kickoff concert at the Orlando Stadium on Thursday.
Mandela and his family were “torn up” by the accident, the foundation said at its Johannesburg office.
PHOTO: AFP
“Mr. Nelson Mandela this morning learnt of the tragic death in an accident of his great-granddaughter Zenani Mandela,” spokesman Sello Hatang said, reading from a prepared statement. “It would therefore be inappropriate for him to personally attend the FIFA World Cup opening celebrations.”
“We are sure that South Africans and people all over the world will stand in solidarity with Mr. Mandela and his family in the aftermath of this tragedy,” Hatang said.
Johannesburg Metro police spokeswoman Edna Mamonyane said the driver of the car, a man, had been arrested and charged with drunk driving. Mamonyane said the driver, who police would not name, could also face culpable homicide charges.
“He lost control of the vehicle and it collided with a barricade,” Mamonyane said.
FIFA president Sepp Blatter wrote to Mandela to “convey the condolences of the entire football family.”
Zenani, who celebrated her 13th birthday on Wednesday, was one Mandela’s nine great-grandchildren.
Also See: 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP: PREVIEW: Argentina must answer critics
Also See: 2010 FIFA WORLD CUP: PREVIEW: England go into opener with something to prove
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
CHINA REACTS: The patrol and reconnaissance plane ‘transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,’ the 7th Fleet said, while Taipei said it saw nothing unusual The US 7th Fleet yesterday said that a US Navy P-8A Poseidon flew through the Taiwan Strait, a day after US and Chinese defense heads held their first talks since November 2022 in an effort to reduce regional tensions. The patrol and reconnaissance plane “transited the Taiwan Strait in international airspace,” the 7th Fleet said in a news release. “By operating within the Taiwan Strait in accordance with international law, the United States upholds the navigational rights and freedoms of all nations.” In a separate statement, the Ministry of National Defense said that it monitored nearby waters and airspace as the aircraft
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique