2010 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony

Notable attendees

Although in frail health and 91 years old, the former South African president Nelson Mandela was scheduled to attend the opening ceremony, however had pulled out after the death of his great-granddaughter, who was killed in a car crash earlier in the day. A pre-recorded message appeared on the stadium screens instead.

Dignitaries from 4 organizations and 24 countries attended the event, which included 20 heads of state and 18 eminent persons. Alongside the FIFA President Sepp Blatter and the then South African president Jacob Zuma, other delegates included the South African religious leader Desmond Tutu, the United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, the Mexican president Felipe Calderón, Prince Albert of Monaco.

Guests

Official guests included :

• United Nations Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the United Nations
• African Union Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission
• [[File:FIFA logo without slogan.svg|25px]] Sepp Blatter, President of FIFA
• IOC Thomas Bach, Vice President of International Olympic Committee
• South Africa Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa
• Mexico Felipe Calderon, President of Mexico
• United States Joe Biden, Vice President of the United States
• Bolivia Evo Morales, President of Bolivia
• Paraguay Federico Franco, Vice President of Paraguay
• Angola Jose Eduardo dos Santos, President of Angola
• Hungary Viktor Orban, Prime Minister of Hungary
• Monaco Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco
• Ivory Coast Laurent Gbagbo, President of Ivory Coast
• Mozambique Armando Guebuza, President of Mozambique
• Sahrawi Republic Mohamed Abdelaziz, President of Sahrawi Republic
• Sudan Bakri Hassan Salih, Vice President of Sudan
• Congo Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of Congo
• Democratic Republic of the Congo Joseph Kabila, President of Democratic Republic of the Congo
• Lebanon Saad Hariri, Prime Minister of Lebanon
• Lesotho Letsie III, King of Lesotho
• Gabon Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of Gabon
• Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe, President of Zimbabwe
• Ghana John Atta Mills, President of Ghana
• Kenya Mwai Kibaki, President of Kenya
• Algeria Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of Algeria
• Nigeria Goodluck Jonathan, President of Nigeria
• Cameroon Paul Biya, President of Cameroon
• Ethiopia Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister of Ethiopia

Attended as eminent persons included :

• Kofi Annan, former Secretary General of the United Nations
• Alpha Oumar Konare, former Chairperson of the African Union Commission
• Kenneth Kaunda, former President of Zambia
• Morgan Tsvangirai, Prime Minister of Zimbabwe
• Raila Odinga, Prime Minister of Kenya
• Desmond Tutu, Religious leader of South Africa

Opening celebration concert

One day prior to the ceremony, the first-ever FIFA World Cup Kick-Off Celebration Concert took place on 10 June at Orlando Stadium in Soweto. Warm-up acts including Goldfish, 340ml and Tumi Molekane performed before the internationally televised portion of the concert began at 20:00 SAST. The three-hour main event included performances by Alicia Keys, Amadou & Mariam, Angelique Kidjo, The Black Eyed Peas, BLK JKS, The Dave Matthews Band, Freshlyground, Hugh Masekela, Juanes, K'Naan, Lira, Shakira, The Parlotones, Tinariwen, Vieux Farka Touré and Vusi Mahlasela.

References

References

1. Murray, Scott. (2010-06-11). "World Cup 2010 opening ceremony - as it happened {{!}} Scott Murray". The Guardian.
2. Murray, Scott. (2010-06-11). "World Cup 2010 opening ceremony - as it happened {{!}} Scott Murray".
3. (2010-06-11). "World Cup begins in South Africa".
4. (11 June 2010). "Zuma opens 2010 World Cup". News24.
5. "Mandela Misses World Cup Opening Ceremony, Great-Granddaughter Killed". CafeMom.
6. Murray, Scott. (2010-06-11). "World Cup 2010 opening ceremony - as it happened {{!}} Scott Murray". The Guardian.
7. (2010-04-16). "Shakira to sing World Cup anthem".
8. Farley, Christopher John. (2010-06-10). "R. Kelly on the World Cup 2010 Opening Ceremony".