Soweto, South Africa. South Africa began the World Cup party Thursday with revellers flocking to a star-studded concert and fan festivals on the eve of Africa's first staging of the biggest show on earth, AFP reported.
"This is the real kick-off," FIFA president Sepp Blatter told tens of thousands packed into Soweto's historic Orlando stadium to watch artists including Shakira and the Black Eyed Peas.
"Football is not only a game. Football is connecting people."
South African President Jacob Zuma told the crowds that Africa was showing that it was capable of handling events of any size.
"Africa is hosting this tournament. South Africa is the stage," said Zuma, 68. "South Africa is rocking. South Africa is cool."
But in Cape Town, a police officer suffered a broken leg and two women broke their ankles during in a crush at the entrance to a World Cup party that police said drew 25,000 people with 15,000 others also in the city centre.
"Excess people wanted to get in and started pushing," said police spokesman Frederick van Wyk. "People at the back kept moving forward and a crush ensued."
The Soweto concert began with a performance from veteran South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela in a township synonymous with the fight against whites-only rule and the country's first black president Nelson Mandela.
"I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming. It's so beautiful -- wake me up!" said Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu, dressed in a yellow South African football shirt and matching bobble hat.
At the other end of the country, people crammed into a Cape Town fan park at the same spot from which Mandela first addressed his nation 20 years ago after walking free from prison.
During the apartheid years, South Africa was subjected to an international sporting and cultural boycott.
But now the one-time global pariah has the honour of hosting some 300,000 foreign fans, the world's finest footballers and some of the biggest stars in world music.