World Cup 2010 kicks off in South Africa

The 19th FIFA World Cup in South Africa got under way with a spectacular and vibrant opening ceremony at the Soccer City in Johannesburg.Thousands of fans were inside the stadium for the opening ceremony along with the opening game where the hosts South Africa face Mexico. The first time the showpiece event has taken place in the African continent. The 40-minute opening ceremony began with a five-plane military fly-past over the stadium, which was only partially full as many fans were stuck in traffic trying to reach the venue.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. Soccer City along with nine other venues will stage World Cup matches across the country.The first match is due between the host and Mexico would kick off at 7:00 PM PST. The second game between last year finalist France and Uruguay would kick off at 11:30 PM PST.