The ceremony was followed by the first game of the tournament between the hosts and Group A rivals Mexico.Africa is staging the World Cup for the first time, with 32 nations competing in 64 games until the final on 11 July.Nelson Mandela was due to attend the opening ceremony but withdrew following the death of his great-granddaughter.Zenani Mandela, 13, died in a car crash when travelling home from the pre-World Cup concert in Johannesburg on Thursday.
She was one of the 91-year-old anti-apartheid icon's nine great-grandchildren.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation released a statement saying it would be "inappropriate" for Mandela, a former South African president, to be at the opening ceremony."We are sure that South Africans and people all over the world will stand in solidarity with Mr Mandela and his family in the aftermath of this tragedy," added the statement."We continue to believe that the World Cup is a momentous and historic occasion for South Africa and the continent and we are certain it will be a huge success."
The 40-minute ceremony began with a five-plane military flypast over the stadium, which resembles a huge African cooking pot.A group of drummers and dancers performed a 'Welcome to Africa' song that included an introduction to all 10 tournament's venues.The next sequence saw a gigantic beetle show off its football skills with the Jabulani - the official football of the finals - before large pieces of cloth were used to show a map of the continent.Musicians and artists from the other African finalists - Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria - also had their chance to perform in a joint sequence.
Mandela's World Cup message
Multiple Grammy Award winner R Kelly then sang the ceremony's showpiece song, 'Sign of a Victory' with South Africa's Soweto Spiritual Singers.But one of the loudest cheers was reserved for Mandela, whose image appeared on screens to a message of hope from him in song.Not everyone made it to their seats by the start, with traffic problems delaying some fans.But Archbishop Desmond Tutu and president Jacob Zuma were in attendance, along with the likes of United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, Mexican president Felipe Calderon, Prince Albert of Monaco and United States vice-president Joe Biden.
The global TV audience for the tournament will be made up of viewers in more than 215 countries and will run into hundreds of millions.The festivities began in earnest on Thursday, with Shakira among the artists at a vast pre-tournament concert in Soweto.The Colombian pop star performed the official World Cup song Waka Waka and was joined by a cast of international stars, including the Black Eyed Peas and Alicia Keys, along with African stars Amadou & Mariam and Hugh Masekela.
Since it was chosen as the first African host of the World Cup in 2004, South Africa has spent about 40bn rand (£3.55bn) on stadiums, transport infrastructure and upgrading airports.
She was one of the 91-year-old anti-apartheid icon's nine great-grandchildren.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation released a statement saying it would be "inappropriate" for Mandela, a former South African president, to be at the opening ceremony."We are sure that South Africans and people all over the world will stand in solidarity with Mr Mandela and his family in the aftermath of this tragedy," added the statement."We continue to believe that the World Cup is a momentous and historic occasion for South Africa and the continent and we are certain it will be a huge success."
The 40-minute ceremony began with a five-plane military flypast over the stadium, which resembles a huge African cooking pot.A group of drummers and dancers performed a 'Welcome to Africa' song that included an introduction to all 10 tournament's venues.The next sequence saw a gigantic beetle show off its football skills with the Jabulani - the official football of the finals - before large pieces of cloth were used to show a map of the continent.Musicians and artists from the other African finalists - Algeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria - also had their chance to perform in a joint sequence.
Mandela's World Cup message
Multiple Grammy Award winner R Kelly then sang the ceremony's showpiece song, 'Sign of a Victory' with South Africa's Soweto Spiritual Singers.But one of the loudest cheers was reserved for Mandela, whose image appeared on screens to a message of hope from him in song.Not everyone made it to their seats by the start, with traffic problems delaying some fans.But Archbishop Desmond Tutu and president Jacob Zuma were in attendance, along with the likes of United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, Mexican president Felipe Calderon, Prince Albert of Monaco and United States vice-president Joe Biden.
The global TV audience for the tournament will be made up of viewers in more than 215 countries and will run into hundreds of millions.The festivities began in earnest on Thursday, with Shakira among the artists at a vast pre-tournament concert in Soweto.The Colombian pop star performed the official World Cup song Waka Waka and was joined by a cast of international stars, including the Black Eyed Peas and Alicia Keys, along with African stars Amadou & Mariam and Hugh Masekela.
Since it was chosen as the first African host of the World Cup in 2004, South Africa has spent about 40bn rand (£3.55bn) on stadiums, transport infrastructure and upgrading airports.
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