JOHANNESBURG // The long wait is over. Amid a riot of colour befitting the Rainbow Nation, and a cacophony of noise from the ubiquitous vuvuzela horns, the biggest sporting event in the world kicks off here today. Watched by a capacity crowd of 94,700 inside the Soccer City stadium and a worldwide TV audience in the hundreds of millions, the opening ceremony of the 2010 Fifa World Cup will feature hundreds of singers and dancers in a celebration of Africa's culture and heritage.
Only one guest remains to be confirmed. Nelson Mandela, the statesman who dragged South Africa out of its apartheid nightmare, is now a frail 91-year-old. But if, as expected, he makes a brief appearance today, the stadium will erupt - just as the same venue did 20 years ago when, newly released from prison, Mr Mandela addressed 100,000 of his countrymen there and called for a united South Africa.
The euphoria that has gripped the nation was summed up yesterday by the footballer Lucas Radebe, the former captain of the South African national football team. "It's amazing and this is a great spectacle for us - it is once in a lifetime," he said. "We have to take this opportunity to celebrate because we pride ourselves on our achievements. "There is nothing bigger than the football World Cup and I think this will change our country. The World Cup will not only unify Africa but bring the world together and closer to Africa."
The party has already begun. On Wednesday, 48 hours before the South African national team so much as kicked a ball in today's opening match against Mexico, 250,000 yellow and green clad fans lined the streets of the Johannesburg suburb of Sandton to cheer the Bafana Bafana as they paraded in an open-top bus. And last night thousands more packed the Orlando Stadium in Soweto for the Kick-Off Celebration Concert, featuring the Colombian singer Shakira and the American band the Black-Eyed Peas.
Fifa's well-oiled commercial vehicle has also hit top speed. Official World Cup product sales - this week the South African government announced a tax rebate on official merchandise - are booming. And for every Fifa-licensed outlet, there are a dozen entrepreneurial street vendors hawking discount flags, scarves and replica tops of the tournament's 32 teams. The item at the top of both legitimate and pirate sales is the vuvuzela, the metre-long stadium horn that bellows a tinny, raucous din. Children hoot them from bus shelters, adults blast them from passing car windows.
How long the party lasts will depend largely on the Bafana Bafana's performances. Radebe, for one, does not believe the team will let the country down. "To be given the opportunity to host a World Cup shows how far we have come as a nation," Radebe added. "This tournament is setting the new standard and to play it in South Africa is a great opportunity for our young boys to show their talent and the skills we have in African football and society."
But this is not just about football, or even just about sport. Everyone is aware that the latest chapter in the country's history is being written daily. "The players and teams are making history, but the people of South Africa and all the foreign fans who have come over are living it," said Moabi Malebye, a freelance journalist based in Johannesburg. For others, however, the benefits of South Africa's moment in the spotlight are less instantaneous.
The city's taxi drivers fall into two corners when it comes to the World Cup. An opportunist contingent, intent on boosting winter revenues by ferrying around the estimated 400,000 inbound fans who will visit South Africa during the tournament, are buoyant. Pretuis Mzizi, a self-employed limousine driver in the thick of the action, said: "The tournament is just starting and I am hoping to get something out of it. I'm running around with tourists and soccer-loving people."
Away from the bustling fan zones and upper market areas, however, the World Cup provides considerably less income for one of Mzizi's peers. "The fans are here, but I don't know where they are," said Emil, from the window of his beaten-up old cab. "I haven't driven any tourists yet, only locals. But I am hoping in the next couple of days I will get some and benefit from the World Cup." Although the general feeling among the South African population is pride, the news that three journalists were held up and robbed at gunpoint in their hotel rooms has caused some alarm.
Authorities have addressed Johannesburg's notorious crime rate by increasing urban-based police patrol numbers, many of which are plain-clothes units. Ultimately, uniformed officers at every street corner is not the first impression that South Africa, which suffered 50 murders a day nationally last year, wants to give its World Cup visitors. Subtle law and order methods are in operation. "You do not see many police, but there are plain-clothes policemen everywhere," said Emil, his eyes betraying inside knowledge gained from nearly three decades in his cab. "Safety for the next month is guaranteed.
"But it is like any big city, you have to use common sense and you shouldn't walk around at night. But if you are sensible then your safety is guaranteed, police are everywhere." While the Rainbow Nation remains gripped in its vice-like state of football fever, other nations will also be up and running today. France, World Cup winners in 1998, and Uruguay, the tournament's first winners in 1930, play tonight in Cape Town.
But it is the 64-match competition's opening game which is generating the frenzied excitement. For the sake of romance, a home win would be momentous, while a draw would help to prolong the Bafana Bafana drama. Even a defeat, however, will not necessarily pop South Africa's World Cup balloon. emegson@thenational.ae