The Celebration begins in South Africa - Photos: Andrew Esiebo

The Celebration begins in South Africa - Photos: Andrew Esiebo
South Africa is preparing for the start of the biggest football tournament on earth, the World Cup, which gets under way in a matter of hours in Johannesburg. It is the 19th staging of the showpiece event and will be the first time it has taken place in the continent of Africa. Johannesburg's 94,000-capacity Soccer City hosts the opening ceremony, with South Africa face Mexico at 1500 BST.

Plans for ex-president Nelson Mandela to attend were thrown into doubt by his great-granddaughter's death on Friday.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation said Zenani Mandela, 13, died in a car crash when travelling home from the pre-World Cup concert in Johannesburg.

She was one of the anti-apartheid icon's nine great-grandchildren.

"The family has asked for privacy as they mourn this tragedy," the Foundation said in a statement.

Mandela, 91, was due to be present at Soccer City, but not for the entire opening game as his family are worried about the state of his health.

The World Cup kicks off with a 40-minute opening ceremony at Soccer City starting at 1300 BST.

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American R'n'B star R Kelly is one of 1,581 performers ahead of the game between the hosts and Mexico at 1500 BST.

The global TV audience for the tournament will be made up of viewers in more than 215 countries and will run into hundreds of millions.

South Africa president Jacob Zuma and Archbishop Desmond Tutu are also expected to be at Soccer City, the newly refurbished stadium designed to look like a calabash, an African cooking pot.

"South Africa has come alive, and will never be the same after this World Cup," said Zuma, who hailed Mandela's role in securing the right to host the finals back in May 2004.

"Nelson Mandela worked hard so that we could win the right to host this tournament. We dedicate the World Cup to him.

"There are a few moments that define a nation's history. We stand on the threshold of one as we draw closer and closer to Friday, 11 June, when the World Cup officially begins."

The festivities began in earnest on Thursday, with Shakira among the artists at a vast pre-tournament concert in Soweto.

Mandela's World Cup message

The Colombian pop star performed the official World Cup song Waka Waka and was joined by a cast of international stars, including the Black Eyed Peas and Alicia Keys, along with African stars Amadou & Mariam and Hugh Masekela.

Since it was chosen as the first African host of the World Cup in 2004, South Africa has spent about 40bn rand (£3.55bn) on stadiums, transport infrastructure and upgrading airports.

The tournament, which is made up of 32 nations, could add as much as 0.5% to the country's GDP in 2010 and will bring in an estimated 370,000 foreign visitors.

Danny Jordaan, chief executive of the local organising committee, said: "For me it will be a dream come true. It's a great moment in the World Cup's 80-year history.

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"People said no African country could ever deliver this event. But we are showing that we can't just match what others have done but that we can do even better. Now the doubters are the believers."

As well as the iconic Soccer City - the biggest stadium in Africa - nine other venues will stage World Cup matches across the country, including Ellis Park, which is also in Johannesburg.

Cape Town, Pretoria, Polokwane, Rustenburg, Bloemfontein, Port Elizabeth, Durban and Nelspruit will host matches, too.

There are 64 games in total, with the final taking place at Soccer City on Sunday, 11 July.

There have been concerns about ticketing policy and security in the run-up to the tournament.

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Fifa has come under fire for the way tickets have been distributed, with critics claiming its preferred method of making tickets available online excluded many locals who did not have an internet connection.

However, football's world governing body has made a number of tickets exclusively available to South Africans and announced on Wednesday that 97% of the 3.1m tickets had been sold, allaying fears of empty stadiums.

s for security, there have been concerns about the safety of fans, media and players travelling to South Africa.

Sixteen people - including two police officers - were injured at a stampede ahead of a World Cup warm-up match on Sunday between Nigeria and North Korea outside Makhulong Stadium in the township of Tembisa near Johannesburg.

And journalists from China, Spain and Portugal were targeted in two separate armed robberies in and around Johannesburg on Monday and Wednesday.

However, Fifa president Sepp Blatter insists the World Cup will be a success.

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"Everywhere, one can feel, I hope, that this World Cup is very special, the first on African soil," he said. "We find ourselves in a position of indescribable anticipation.

"More importantly, this competition will prove that South Africa, and the African continent in general, is capable of organising an event of this magnitude."

England are among the favourites in South Africa and Fabio Capello's men get their Group C campaign under way against the United States in Rustenburg on Saturday.

Defending champions Italy start on Monday with a match against Paraguay, Brazil face North Korea in their first game on Tuesday and Euro 2008 winners Spain start their bid for a first World Cup win by taking on Switzerland on Wednesday.

South Africa have never progressed beyond the group stage at the World Cup, though they have only taken part in two previous tournaments, in 1998 and 2002.

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They are managed by Brazilian Carlos Alberto Parreira, who led his home nation to victory at the 1994 World Cup in the United States and will be coaching at a record sixth tournament.

Some of the world's best players will be on display in South Africa, among them Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney.

But some big names will be missing because of injury, such as England duo Rio Ferdinand and David Beckham, Germany skipper Michael Ballack and Ghana midfielder Michael Essien.

Didier Drogba - an icon in African sport - fractured his elbow in a recent friendly against Japan, but is hopeful of playing a part in the Ivory Coast's campaign.
-BBC

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