Upbeat rhythms from across the continent and multi-coloured dancing brought the crowds to their feet despite downpours in a lively 2013 Africa Cup of Nations opening ceremony Saturday.
Four groups danced to the midddle of the pitch at the 93,000-capacity Soccer City stadium, meeting and embracing around giant puppets.
They then knocked down large walls inscribed with the stereotypes that often drag Africa down.
The message was clear: AIDS, poverty and illiteracy cannot withstand solidarity.
Hundreds of dancers gyrated in the rain, dressed in colours from around the continent.
They bounced around on coloured gym balls, then lifted them to form a technicolour pixelated carpet of green, red, blue, black, yellow and white — the colours of the South African flag.
Despite all 90,000 tickets being sold for the opening double-header, featuring South Africa, Cape Verde Islands, Angola and Morocco, spectators filled few seats in the biggest stadium in Africa when the ceremony began.
Unseasonally torrential South African summer downpours may have kept fans away, while others were stuck in huge traffic jams near the Soweto venue.
Neither rain nor lack of numbers held back those inside the venue of the 2010 World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands as they erupted in cheers.
Then, more cheers and honks from vuvuzelas (plastic horns) when the gym balls changed colour and morphed into one heart beating to the music.
Many star African performers appeared in the show, including Grammy award winner Oumou Sangare of Mali, Kenyan artist-activist Eric Wainana and South African divas Lira and Judith Sephuma.
Handlers rolled on giant drums with drum-beaters on stilts in tune. Once tilted, the drums became trampolines and acrobats did somersaults in unison.
“It’s so beautiful,” said 27-year-old Ethiopian Genet Tirunen, who liked the dancing best. Her three toddlers watched the ceremony wide-eyed.
Former president and global peace icon Nelson Mandela featured in an hommage on the big screen.
South Africa’s paralympics champion Oscar Pistorius was another to appear.
“Honoured to be carrying the SA flag on to the field,” he posted earlier on micro-blogging site Twitter.
Upbeat rhythms at Africa Cup of Nations opening
