South Africa is preparing for the start of the biggest football tournament on earth, the World Cup, which gets under way on Friday in Johannesburg.

南非正在为世界上最大的足球比赛——世界杯开幕式做好准备，本届世界杯将于当地时间本周五在约翰尼斯堡开幕。

World Cup 2010: South Africa set for historic event
It is the 19th staging of the showpiece event and will be the first time it has taken place in the continent of Africa.

Johannesburg's 94,000-capacity Soccer City hosts the opening ceremony, with South Africa face Mexico at 1500 BST.

Plans for ex-president Nelson Mandela to attend were thrown into doubt by his great-granddaughter's death on Friday.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation said Zenani Mandela, 13, died in a car crash when travelling home from the pre-World Cup concert in Johannesburg.

She was one of the anti-apartheid（种族隔离） icon's nine great-grandchildren.

"The family has asked for privacy as they mourn this tragedy," the Foundation said in a statement.

Mandela, 91, was due to be present at Soccer City, but not for the entire opening game as his family are worried about the state of his health.

The World Cup kicks off with a 40-minute opening ceremony at Soccer City starting at 1300 BST.

American R'n'B star R Kelly is one of 1,581 performers ahead of the game between the hosts and Mexico at 1500 BST.

The global TV audience for the tournament（比赛，锦标赛） will be made up of viewers in more than 215 countries and will run into hundreds of millions.

South Africa president Jacob Zuma and Archbishop Desmond Tutu are also expected to be at Soccer City, the newly refurbished（翻新，刷新） stadium designed to look like a calabash（葫芦，炮弹果） , an African cooking pot.

"South Africa has come alive, and will never be the same after this World Cup," said Zuma, who hailed Mandela's role in securing the right to host the finals back in May 2004.

"Nelson Mandela worked hard so that we could win the right to host this tournament. We dedicate the World Cup to him.

"There are a few moments that define a nation's history. We stand on the threshold（极限，门槛） of one as we draw closer and closer to Friday, 11 June, when the World Cup officially begins."

The festivities began in earnest on Thursday, with Shakira among the artists at a vast pre-tournament concert in Soweto.