World Cup 2010: South Africa pumps up the volume on the road to joy

Fans watching Bafana Bafana on the big screens in Thokoza Park got the World Cup off to a vibrant and vociferous start
Fans Celebrate Start Of World Cup
A South Africa fan celebrates the host nation's draw in the opening match in Johannesburg. Photograph: Duif du Toit/Gallo Images/Getty Images

Thokoza means "be happy" in Zulu. There could not be a more aptly named place anywhere when Thokoza Park in Soweto erupted as Siphiwe Tshabalala scored the opening goal of the World Cup yesterday.

As beer went flying, fireworks streaked across the sky, strangers hugged one another and thousands of vuvuzelas were blown in unison. Hundreds of teenage boys yelled: "Can you feel it? This is it!" at top volume in one another's faces.

The belief that has started to course through the country in the past month, and the feverish anticipation that has been expertly brought to the boil by organisers, erupted in a joyous outpouring. "The atmosphere, the vibe is incredible. It is going to be a great month. People don't sleep nowadays. All you hear is vuvuzelas," said Dumisani, who had come to the park with his wife Zanele and three children.

Even the families at the back of the park who could barely see the big screen at the far end began dancing and singing at an even greater volume.

The park felt like a victory over the corporate template that Fifa inevitably places over any country that hosts its showpiece event. While in the official fan park just a mile or so away, a Coca‑Cola tent sold bottles of the soft drink for 15 rand apiece, in Thokoza Park crates of Heineken were sunk, smoke drifted across the sky from braais and hundreds of families enjoyed picnics.

Many had converged there after there were issues with the screen at the official Fifa Fan Fest at Elkah Stadium. Though they were solved by the time of the match, and thousands stayed to watch there amid a boisterous atmosphere, there were several times more at Thokoza Park.

As night fell the atmosphere got even more raucous and the volume even louder. Some things were not so different from the build-up to today's big match for England fans who have stayed at home. Outside the 707 Bottle Shop boots were loaded up with beer and sound systems.

All day the atmosphere across Johannesburg had been a mixture of tension and ebullience and, as kick‑off neared, frantic streets began to clear.

The loud honk of the vuvuzela had begun to drift across the city from the early hours but the build‑up was interrupted by the news that Nelson Mandela's great-granddaughter Zenani had been killed in a car crash on the way home from the celebratory music concert at Orlando Stadium.

Standing in front of a statue in the park erected to mark the former president's 90th birthday, and not far from his former house in Vilakazi Street, several in the crowd commented that their happiness that the opening day had finally arrived had been tempered by sadness at their iconic former president's personal grief.

There was also an air of tension across the city as people battled through the gridlock to reach Soccer City and official fan parks in Sandton and Soweto, as well as other events such as the one laid on by a mobile phone company here. Journeys that normally take half an hour were taking eight times as long but it did not seem to puncture the mood.

One radio host declared: "The sense of excitement of being in a traffic jam makes it worth being in a traffic jam." It was hardly appreciated by those becalmed in traffic.

The mood also fluctuated between intense emotion, such as when the national anthem rang out across the vast expanses of Soweto, and tension, as the Mexicans pressed forward.

The biggest cheers and vuvuzela celebrations of the first half came when a Mexican goal was ruled out for offside. But as Bafana Bafana came into the match, the volume rose.

"The atmosphere is electric, even for Soweto," said Lendi, who like most of the crowd was clad in a brand new Bafana Bafana shirt, from nearby Pimville. "I didn't want to sit and watch the first match on my couch, I wanted to share it with everyone."

Some fans complained they had not been able to afford tickets and would rather be at Soccer City but most would not have chosen to be anywhere else. Mexico's equaliser silenced the crowd – for a matter of seconds, before a defiant din resumed even louder than before.

As we crawled our way out, with fans riding on the bonnet, dancing in front of the car and still blowing vuvuzelas, the question left ringing in the ears along with the earth shaking sound was how the city could possibly top this when they play Uruguay in what could be a make-or-break tie.

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