Today FIFA World Cup 2010 South Africa - Johannesburg

Ahead of the opening ceremony, fireworks lit up the sky over Soweto in Johannesburg as 30,000 folks watched local and international superstars in a concert.
Protection was tight, but the environment was jovial as Cape Town opened its official Fan Fest for the World Cup. Crowds queued up for hours to enter the Grand Parade in the heart of the city, where matches will be shown live and musical acts will entertain South Africans and tourists alike.

Police set aside a close eye on fans in the park while hired protection screened the thousands of people who entered the capacity. Nearly 4,00,000 tourists visiting South Africa are estimated to put the 'Mother City' of Western Cape on their itinerary.

The month-long occasion kicks off on Friday with the opening match between Mexico and hosts South Africa which will take place at 7.30 pm Indian time.

And trust the Soccer City stadium to be an ocean of color with loud local horns called Vuvuzelas.
South Africa's previous president Nelson Mandela is set to be present at part of the opening ceremony and the opening game. He will be attend on Friday, but will not be present at the entire opening game as his family is troubled about his health.

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

Defending champions Italy start on Monday with a match aligned with 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.

Some of the world's best players like Cristiano Ronaldo, Wayne Rooney, Lionel Messi, David Villa and Fernando Torres will feature in this edition of the World Cup.
But some big names will be absent because of injury, such as England David Beckham and duo Rio Ferdinand, Ghana midfielder Michael Essien, Germany skipper Michael Ballack, and Porugal winger Nani.

In all, 32 teams will take part in this year's World Cup with total of 64 games to be played. The final will take place on July 11 at the Soccer City stadium here.