The 2010 World Cup gets under way today - minus Nelson Mandela, who's mourning the death in a car accident of his great-granddaughter.
Football fans in Johannesburg share their excitement with Owen Gibson, the Guardian's sports news correspondent.
The Observer's South Africa correspondent Alex Duval Smith joins us from Cape Town, where Uruguay play France this evening. She says efforts have been made for South Africa's poorer people to enjoy the World Cup, with games shown on giant screens in the townships.
On the line from outside Johannesburg's Soccer City stadium is Steve Bloomfield, author of Africa United: How Football Explains Africa. He discusses the tournament's importance not just to South Africa, but to the continent as a whole.
Chris McGreal is the Guardian's former South Africa correspondent. He says it's an extraordinary moment for the country, which 20 years ago was facing international isolation due to its racist apartheid system. (Chris is now reporting from Washington. He says there's muted interest in the World Cup in the US. England's first match is against the United States tomorrow.)
We also hear views of the World Cup from people from around the world in London's Leicester Square.
