The opening ceremony took place on 11 June at the Soccer City stadium in Johannesburg

Johannesburg

Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...

, two hours before the opening match of the tournament. It lasted 40 minutes, and included 1500 performers, including Thandiswa Mazwai

Thandiswa Mazwai

Thandiswa Mazwai is a multi-award winning South African musician, and is also the lead vocalist and songwriter of Bongo Maffin.-Early life:...

, Timothy Moloi

Timothy Moloi

-Education:Schooled in South Africa, Timothy Moloi went on to complete a Bachelor of Arts degree at Ohio Wesleyan University in Delaware, Ohio in the U.S.A.-Music career:...

, Hugh Masekela

Hugh Masekela

Hugh Ramopolo Masekela is a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer.-Early life:Masekela was born in Kwa-Guqa Township, Witbank, South Africa. He began singing and playing piano as a child...

, Khaled

Khaled (musician)

Khaled Hadj Ibrahim , better known as Khaled, is a raï singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist born in Sidi El Houari in Oran Province of Algeria...

, Femi Kuti

Femi Kuti

Olufela Olufemi Anikulapo Kuti popularly known as Femi Kuti, is a Nigerian musician and the eldest son of afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti....

, Osibisa

Osibisa

Osibisa is a British Afro-pop band, founded in London in 1969 by four expatriate African and three Caribbean musicians. Osibisa were one of the first African bands to become widely popular, leading to claims of founding World Music.-History:...

, R. Kelly

R. Kelly

Robert Sylvester Kelly , better known by his stage name R. Kelly, is an American singer-songwriter and record producer. A native of Chicago, Kelly began performing during the late 1980s and debuted in 1992 with the group Public Announcement. In 1993, Kelly went solo with the album 12 Play...

, Hip Hop Pantsula

Hip Hop Pantsula

Hip Hop Pantsula, born Jabulani Tsambo, is a popular South African Motswako hip-hop MC who frequently performs in ethnic languages, though mostly in Setswana.- Career :...

 and the Soweto Gospel Choir

Soweto Gospel Choir

-History:The Soweto Gospel Choir was formed in Soweto, South Africa by David Mulovhedzi and Beverly Bryer, two choir directors. The 30+ member ensemble blends elements of African gospel, Negro spirituals, reggae, and American popular music...

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Although in frail health and 91 years old, the ex-South African president Nelson Mandela

Nelson Mandela

Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...

 was thought to be going to attend the opening ceremony, however he pulled out after the death of his great-grand-daughter who was killed in a car crash earlier in the day. Dignitaries that did attend the ceremony alongside the FIFA President Sepp Blatter

Sepp Blatter

Joseph S. Blatter , commonly known as Sepp Blatter, is a Swiss football administrator, who serves as the 8th and current President of FIFA . He was elected on 8 June 1998, succeeding João Havelange. He was re-elected as President in 2002, 2007, and 2011...

 and the current South African president Jacob Zuma

Jacob Zuma

Jacob Gedleyihlekisa Zuma is the President of South Africa, elected by parliament following his party's victory in the 2009 general election....

, included the South African religious leader Desmond Tutu

Desmond Tutu

Desmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...

, the United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon

Ban Ki-moon is the eighth and current Secretary-General of the United Nations, after succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before going on to be Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he...

, the Mexican president Felipe Calderón

Felipe Calderón

Felipe de Jesús Calderón Hinojosa is the current President of Mexico. He assumed office on December 1, 2006, and was elected for a single six-year term through 2012...

, and Prince Albert

Albert II, Prince of Monaco

Albert II, Sovereign Prince of Monaco is the head of the House of Grimaldi and the ruler of the Principality of Monaco. He is the son of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco, and the American actress Grace Kelly...

 of Monaco

Monaco

Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...

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Opening celebration concert

The first-ever FIFA World Cup Kick-Off Celebration Concert took place on 10 June at Orlando Stadium

Orlando Stadium

Orlando Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium, in Soweto, a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. The stadium was originally built in 1959, at a cost of £37,500, with a capacity of 24,000....

 in Soweto

Soweto

Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...

/Johannesburg

Johannesburg

Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...

. Warm-up acts including Goldfish

Goldfish (band)

Goldfish are an electronica and dance group hailing from Cape Town, South Africa, consisting of Dominic Peters and David Poole. They create dance music containing elements of jazz and African music, combining live instruments like double bass, saxophones, keyboards, flute, and vocals with samplers,...

, 340ml

340ml

340ml is an African musical group who originate from Maputo, Mozambique, but are now based in Johannesburg, South Africa. They have therefore jokingly been described by some as being "Jozambican". The band incorporates many different elements into their music including Dub, Jazz, Ska, Afro-jazz and...

 and Tumi Molekane

Tumi Molekane

Tumi Molekane, born in 1981 in Tanzania, is a popular musician from South Africa. A poet, musician and MC, he is famous as the lead singer/rapper of Tumi and the Volume]]....

 performed before the internationally televised portion of the concert began at 20:00 local time (2:00 PM EST

Eastern Time Zone

The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...

). The three-hour main event included performances by Alicia Keys

Alicia Keys

Alicia Augello Cook , better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and occasional actress. She was raised by a single mother in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York City. At age seven, Keys began playing the piano...

, Amadou & Mariam

Amadou & Mariam

Amadou & Mariam are a musical duo from Mali, composed of the couple Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia . The pair, known as "the blind couple from Mali" met at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind, and found they shared an interest in music...

, Angelique Kidjo

Angélique Kidjo

Angélique Kpasseloko Hinto Hounsinou Kandjo Manta Zogbin Kidjo, commonly known as Angélique Kidjo is a Grammy Award–winning Beninoise singer-songwriter and activist, noted for her diverse musical influences and creative music videos. Time Magazine has called her "Africa's premier diva". The BBC has...

, The Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas

The Black Eyed Peas are an American pop group , formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1995. The group includes rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, and Taboo, and singer Fergie. Since the release of their third album Elephunk in 2003, the group has sold an estimated 56 million records worldwide...

, BLK JKS

BLK JKS

BLK JKS are a South African rock band from Johannesburg, formed in 2000. Their EP Mystery has been remastered for a 10 March release in the United States on the Secretly Canadian record label.-Albums:*2009: After Robots -Press:...

, Freshlyground

Freshlyground

Freshlyground is a South African Afro-fusion band that formed in Cape Town in 2002. The band members variously hail from South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe...

, John Legend

John Legend

John Roger Stephens , better known by his stage name John Legend, is an American singer, musician, and actor. He is the recipient of nine Grammy Awards, and in 2007, he received the special Starlight award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.Prior to the release of his debut album, Stephens' career...

, Juanes

Juanes

Juan Esteban Aristizábal Vásquez , better known as Juanes is a Colombian musician who was a member of heavy metal band Ekhymosis and is now a solo artist. In 2000, his solo debut album Fíjate Bien won three Latin Grammy Awards.Juanes has sold more than 13 million albums...

, K'Naan

K'naan

K'naan , born Keinan Abdi Warsame in 1978, is a Somali Canadian poet, rapper, singer, songwriter and instrumentalist.-Biography:Born in Somalia, K'naan spent his childhood in Mogadishu and lived there during the Somali Civil War, which began in 1991. His aunt, Magool, was one of Somalia's most...

, Lira

Lira (singer)

Lira was born Lerato Molapo in the Daveyton township in Johannesburg’s East Rand. Her name translates to “love” in Sesotho and she speaks five languages...

, Hugh Masekela

Hugh Masekela

Hugh Ramopolo Masekela is a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer.-Early life:Masekela was born in Kwa-Guqa Township, Witbank, South Africa. He began singing and playing piano as a child...

, Shakira

Shakira

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll , known professionally as Shakira , is a Colombian singer who emerged in the music scene of Colombia and Latin America in the early 1990s...

, The Parlotones

The Parlotones

The Parlotones is a rock band based in Johannesburg, South Africa. They have achieved multiplatinum-selling status in their home country. They experiment with their sound and various structures in their songs, incorporating the typical doo-wop or traditional folk structures. The Parlotones are...

, Tinariwen

Tinariwen

Tinariwen is a band of Tuareg-Berber musicians from the Sahara Desert region of northern Mali. The band was formed around 1979 in refugee camps in Libya but returned to Mali after a cease-fire in the 1990s...

, Vieux Farka Touré

Vieux Farka Touré

Boureima "Vieux" Farka Touré is a Malian singer and guitarist. He is the son of Grammy-winning Malian musician Ali Farka Touré.-Biography:Touré was born in Niafunké, Mali in 1981 to Ali Farka Touré...

, and Vusi Mahlasela

Vusi Mahlasela

Vusi Sidney Mahlasela Ka Zwane is a Sotho South African singer-songwriter.His music is generally described as "African folk". His work was an inspiration to many in the anti-apartheid movement. His themes include the struggle for freedom, and forgiveness and reconciliation with enemies...

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External links