It’s showtime in South Africa

South Africa brimmed with pride and anticipation on Thursday, the eve of the first World Cup on African soil, as the nation’s icon Nelson Mandela said the tournament would bridge racial divides. While the last of the 32 competing teams flew in, the Rainbow Nation was caught up in a wave of euphoria not seen since the demise of the whites-only apartheid regime and Mandela’s election 16 years ago.

As blasts of the ear-splitting vuvuzela horns echoed around town, flag sellers who set up stalls by traffic lights struggled to keep pace with demand and even police officers wore jackets in South Africa’s national colours.

After tens of thousands thronged Johannesburg’s streets Wednesday to cheer on the Bafana Bafana (the Boys) national side in an open-top bus, it was the turn of Cape Town to join the party. “We came here to feel the vibe with the rest of Africa. Just to be here — it’s like an experience of a lifetime,” said Marks Louw, 23, as he arrived for a street festival in the city centre complete with bands and a light display.

The front-page of the Citizen proclaimed Bafana Mania! while an editorial in the same paper said the outbreak of patriotism in a country still struggling to escape a history of racial segregation could only be a force for good.

“For one brief shining moment we can forget the problems that beset the country and hopefully build on the enthusiasm and patriotism sweeping the land,” it said.