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2010 World Cup Diary: ‘Welcome to South Africa’
June 20th, 2010It’s hard to describe the vibe here. Yes, there’s the unreasonable expectations around the team (captured well by my man Tony Karon on Time magazine’s World Cup blog) and the vuvuzelas may be annoying. But yes you can feel it. It is the World Cup. And away from the big stadiums and the tourist districts and downtowns–I spent some time today in central Cape Town with my 4 year old and shouting out Chilean and Algerian fans–there is a lot of spirit (gees, the Afrikaans word for spirit, is the preferred term here) as this short video by The Fader show. The magazine has some deal with Nike to produce an online documentary series on “… the music, art and culture of South Africa in 2010.” Blk Jks and some local groups are thrown in for good effect.
Read more at Africa is a Country
2010 World Cup Diary: Day Two and Three, Earplugs
June 14th, 2010
After watching Bafana Bafana’s close shave against Mexico on TV, my brother, David, and I went off to see France vs Uruguay at the new Cape Town Stadium. In short: imposing, massive structure. We had really good seats. 8 rows back from the field on the halfway line. (We bought tickets made available after cancellations.)
The Highlights: Seeing thousands of people–not just South Africans–walking central Cape Town streets at midnight, using public transport (we were on a 12.30am train to Observatory, a suburb of Cape Town) and the buzz of the city center filled with multinational bands of fans. This is unheard of in a place where criminals, or fear of criminals, have forced people to not venture out after dark, even less take unreliable public transport. (Trains are running specially for the World Cup late at night.)
One of my friends, also at the game, noted that if Cape Town can get its proposed rapid transport bus service completed and then to work, such a public culture could become permanent.
Oh, the match was underwhelming…Continue reading at Africa is a Country
2010 World Cup Diary: Day One
June 13th, 2010First impressions:
The dreaded vuvuzelas droning everywhere. And the myths about it being “tradition” continue. And people defend it even when it is clear it is not good for their health. I could not help notice the flags on cars. No surprises that the South African flag dominates. From the suburbs to the townships. England (largely because of the popularity of the English Premier League) and Portugal (a large Portuguese community, mostly descendants of immigrants who left newly independent Mozambique and Angola for Apartheid South Africa in the 1970s) vie for second place. Some fans have done the smart thing and have two flags: South Africa and Argentina or Brazil or Italy. They’re realistic.
Tonight I watched the Kickoff Concert on TV. I was expecting the worst. Shakira wore the grass skirt for the African World Cup. Get it. Spoke a bit of Zulu (“Ngiyabonga mZantsi” though it came out as “my zansi”), shook her hips.
Oh, and Desmond Tutu, who appeared excited to be out this late, said some nonsense about South Africa being the “butterfly nation.”
The best part of the show was the commercials. The Vodacom commercials, built around some local TV characters, are clever and funny. (They’re all a play on the breakout hit, “Make the Circle Bigger,” and involve members of the national team, Bafana Bafana, doing the moves. Remember my earlier post about it being the unofficial summer hit?)….Continue reading at Africa is a Country…