Triumph and tragedy in South Africa
Reporting from Johannesburg, South Africa -- The first World Cup to be held on African soil opened with pomp amid trying circumstances that diminished the joy of Friday’s events.
Thirteen-year-old Zenani Mandela, a great-granddaughter of former South African President Nelson Mandela, was killed in a car accident after attending Thursday’s World Cup kickoff concert in Soweto. After learning of the accident, a spokesman for the Nelson Mandela Foundation said the 91-year-old Nobel Prize winner, who is in frail health, would not attend the tournament opener between Mexico and South Africa.
“It would … be inappropriate for him to personally attend the FIFA World Cup opening celebrations,” the spokesman said, reading from a prepared statement. “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.”
So the show went on without him.
With several other stalwarts in the fight against apartheid in attendance, including Nobel Prize winners Desmond Tutu and F.W. De Klerk, Soccer City Stadium rocked through a 45-minute opening ceremony that included aerial acrobatics and hundreds of African dancers in vivid red, green and black dress.
Singer R. Kelley and South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela also performed, although neither could be heard over the incessant din of the fans’ vuvuzelas. The stadium’s public-address announcer repeatedly pleaded with the fans to let up with the plastic horns so the international TV audience could hear the music, but those requests were ignored.
Meanwhile, a huge traffic jam outside the stadium prevented thousands of fans from getting to their seats in time for the opening ceremony, which began at 2 p.m. local time.
But even though Mandela wasn’t present, he wasn’t ignored.
Just before Friday’s opening match, FIFA President Sepp Blatter, who sent a personal note of condolence to the Mandela family, addressed the crowd, calling the World Cup a victory for Africa before adding “the spirit of Mandela is in Soccer City.”
Elephants 2, U.S. 0
Members of the U.S. soccer team were delayed twice on Friday by elephants that blocked the road in front of the team bus.
On the second occasion, the team was leaving for practice from the Bakubung Bush Lodge, which is in the heart of a national park, when their bus stopped for an elephant eating from a tree on the side of the road. No one seemed to mind the wait, with players pulling out cellphones to take photos.
Earlier in the day, a bus carrying players to an open-air market got stuck behind a pachyderm.
Biden’s pick
Much to the relief of the South African security forces, President Obama passed up attending the opening game. But Vice President Joe Biden was in Johannesburg, where he made a prediction for Saturday’s U.S.- England game.
“In the spirit of an Irishman, we are going to beat England,” he told a gathering of diplomats and South African politicians at the U.S. Consulate before leaving for the opening ceremony.
Biden didn’t say how he thought the tournament would play out, but British bookmaker Ladbrokes lists Spain as the favorite. A Reuters poll of more than 12,000 soccer fans in 23 countries backs Brazil, with 31% picking the South Americans.
Times wire services contributed to this report.
