World Cup opening ceremony: Top 10 things you need to know about the Soccer City extravaganza

The 19th FIFA World Cup kicks off in South Africa today at Johannesburg’s Soccer City Stadium.

Ahead of the first game, featuring hosts South Africa and Mexico, an hour-long opening ceremony will take place at 2pm to celebrate the start of the tournament and Africa’s rich cultural heritage.

Here’s the low-down on the opening day extravaganza.

1. Former South African leader Nelson Mandela was due to attend the World Cup opening ceremony but has pulled out after the death of his great granddaughter Zenani on the way home from yesterday's concert in Soweto.

2. Another political giant set to be inside Soccer City for the ceremony is US President Barack Obama. “The president of the United States has been invited to the opening ceremony of the 2010 World Cup. He has accepted our invitation,” said a FIFA spokesperson

3. Exact details of the ceremony itself are being kept well under wraps, with performers signing confidentiality documents, but we know for sure that the event will feature dancers, flag bearers and dancing mascots

4. David Beckham is rumoured to appear during the ceremony. The organising committee's chief executive Danny Jordaan has approached the injured England player about a role at the event. “I think that already there is an indication that he [Beckham] will come with the England team and he will work for the 2018 bid," Jordaan said. “So we will meet him when he comes here”

5. South African singer Siphiwo Ntshebe was scheduled to perform at the World Cup opening ceremony and sing the song Hope but sadly he died in Port Elizabeth of bacterial meningitis earlier this year. FIFA chief Sepp Blatter paid tribute to him: “I am very sad indeed to hear this news. This young man, whose talent had been identified and supported by no less than Nelson Mandela was about to showcase that talent to millions of people around the world”

6. The hour-long opening ceremony will be broadcast live in more than 215 countries worldwide, with an expected global audience of 500 million. Some 85,000 of those will be at Soccer City to watch the event live

7. South Africa’s Arts and Culture Minister Lulu Xingwana has promised the ceremony will be "a super celebration of the very best of African arts, culture, song and dance"

8. The night before the official opening ceremony a three-hour live music concert took place at the 30,000-capacity Orlando Stadium in Soweto featuring Alicia Keys, Black Eyed Peas, John Legend, Shakira, The Parlotones and Freshly Ground. It is the first time an official pre-World Cup event of this scale has taken place


9. Motivating the opening ceremony performers ahead of the show, Danny Jordaan told the 1,500 performers this week: “You'll be the first to [take] the pitch, even before Bafana Bafana, so the World Cup starts not with Bafana but with you”


10. The centrepiece of the opening ceremony is set to feature Grammy Award winner R Kelly and the Soweto Spiritual Singers performing Sign of a Victory. Other musical performers will include trumpeter Hugh Masekela, Nigerian Femi Kuti, Algerian Afro-pop artists Khaled and Hip-Hop Pantsula