The world came to Soweto in South Africa tonight for a celebration of football, music and unity on the eve of Africa’s first World Cup.
Thousands attended a star studded concert in the Johannesburg township which featured Shakira, the Black Eyed Peas and Alicia Keys.
Warm-up acts played for hours before the internationally televised portion of the concert began at 8pm with a frenzy of flag waving, drumming and African-inspired dancing.
Veteran South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela took the stage with Grazing in the Grass, a number one international hit in 1968.
He was quickly joined by a new South African star, Lira, who covered the late Miriam Makeba's Pata Pata, another worldwide hit that originated in South Africa.
The Black Eyed Peas were next with a medley of their hits, then it was back to Africa, with performances from the blind duo Amadou & Mariam of Mali.
About a third of the seats at Soweto's 40,000-seat Orlando stadium were blocked off to make space for the stage and backstage areas. Most of those left were filled, as was a massive dance floor on the pitch.
The month-long tournament the concert celebrates begins tomorrow afternoon at the main Soccer City stadium just outside Soweto, with hosts South Africa taking on Mexico.
Organisers called the concert and the first game triumphs after years of questions about whether a world class event could be staged in a nation saddled with poverty and crime and still affected by the legacy of apartheid.
"This is a showcase," concertgoer Nana Masithela said as she entered Orlando Stadium. "We are showcasing ourselves, to say, 'Blacks can do it.'
Sepp Blatter, head of world football governing body Fifa, had pushed to bring the World Cup to Africa. He made a brief appearance during the concert to speak about 1GOAL, a campaign to improve education in impoverished countries.
South African president Jacob Zuma, who took the stage with Blatter, thanked South Africans for the welcome they have given World Cup fans, and called on them "to show the warmness for the whole duration of the tournament".
PA