London: South Africa celebrates World Cup

While the eyes of the whole world zoom in on South Africa today, Londoners are gathering in Trafalgar Square to celebrate the first day of the first ever soccer World Cup to be hosted in Africa. The event is organised by the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson in conjunction with the South African High Commission, 2010 FIFA sponsors Coke and EA Games, as well as the England 2018 bid team.

The celebrations will last throughout the day and will be graced with a performance by the award winning South African soprano Pumeza Matshikiza.

At 3.00 pm the people will celebrate the kicking off of the first game of the tournament, with Bafana Bafana challenging Mexico.

SA High Commissioner Dr Zola Skweyiya says that ‘all South Africans have to be proud of what we have realized and we are celebrating today, because this World Cup has not been the product of the Government, but the result of a joint effort of the whole South African society’.

Referring to the critics about the high unemployment rates and the difficulties the nation still has to overcome he replied that ‘we know that there are challenges, but we hope to show to everybody that working together is possible to achieve important goals’. Every one of the nine South African provinces now has a stadium and improved infrastructures, which in their own various ways have improved the living conditions of the people, Skweyiya explains.

Former president Nelson Mandela will not be present at the opening ceremony due to the tragic loss of his great granddaughter in a car crash early this morning for which the High Commissioner expresses his condolence to the family of young Zenani Mandela. Nonetheless, all former presidents of the rainbow republic will follow the event from the stadium ‘giving energy to our united nation and, of course, supporting Bafana Bafana.’