A crowd of around 50 000 people waved flags from around the world and screamed their approval as President Jacob Zuma launched the Fifa World Cup opening concert on Thursday night.
Zuma, accompanied on the stage at the Orlando Stadium in Soweto by Fifa president Sepp Blatter, told the crowd that Africa is showing that it is capable of "handling any matter of the world".
"We would like to thank Fifa for the decision to bring the World Cup for the first time to the continent of Africa," Zuma said. "We would like to thank South Africans for having received our visitors so warmly. I want to ask you to show this warmness for the whole tournament."
Blatter told the crowd that he was "happy" to be in Soweto. "Football is not only a game, football is connecting people," Blatter said.
The concert which began at 8pm started with a performance by Jazz artist Hugh Masekela and Lira. Masekela sang "Grazing in the grass" and led into "Pata, Pata" sang by Lira.
The concert is being broadcast around the world, it would also feature Black Eyed Peas and Colombian artist Shakira.
