JOHANNESBURG: Africa’s first football World Cup began in an explosion of color and emotion at an opening ceremony in Johannesburg’s Soccer City Friday, blighted by the absence of a grief-stricken Nelson Mandela.
Mandela was missing after his great granddaughter was killed in a car crash on the way back from an eve of tournament concert but his words were interspersed in an opening song, imploring fans to "overcome all adversity".
Organizers had hoped that South Africa’s first black president Mandela would wow the crowds with an appearance but he was instead mourning the death of his 13-year-old granddaughter Zenani Mandela in a crash that police said was caused by a drunk driver.
Mandela is 91 and has been in frail health.
"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," said a statement from his foundation.
"Madiba will be there with you in spirit today," it added.
The death is the latest tragedy to hit the Nobel laureate, one of whose sons died of AIDS while another was killed in a car crash during Mandela’s 27 years in jail as a prisoner of the whites-only apartheid regime.
"The nation shares your loss and mourns with you, especially on the day on which our dreams and hopes come alive in the opening of the first FIFA World Cup on African soil," said South African President Jacob Zuma.
In a letter to Mandela, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said he had been stunned "to hear the unspeakably tragic news."
Mandela’s lobbying was seen as the crucial factor when the world football federation awarded South Africa the right to host the tournament.
"It was his dream to unite a nation through sport that has been brought to life again today," said a front-page editorial in The Star.
The main headline of the mass-selling Daily Sun read simply: "Do It For Him!" on top of a picture of Mandela clutching the famous gold trophy.
