Pretoria - With Tuesday marking 100 days to the kick-off to the 2010 FIFA World Cup, excitement is building across South Africa.
The day has been earmarked as a day in which South Africans, locally and abroad, are called upon to demonstrate their support, enthusiasm for the tournament, and to display their passion for the country.
From flying the flag and donning the Bafana Bafana kit, to feasting on South African food, music and dance, the next 100 days will be a celebration of what the country has already achieved in preparing for the tournament, and a chance to get South Africans into the spirit of the World Cup.
The organisers of the FIFA World Cup have lined up a series of programmes aimed at bringing the reality home.
Organisations and institutions have been invited to host events at midday on Tuesday, enabling staff, clients and partners to participate in the day's celebrations.
Durban will host the official launch and the extravagant celebration will include a special gala banquet to be addressed by Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and FIFA President Sepp Blatter.
LOC chairperson, Irvin Khoza, will also speak at the event which he will use to reiterate South Africa's readiness for the World Cup.
Bafana Bafana will then face Namibia in a friendly international as part of the celebrations at Moses Mabhida Stadium on Wednesday night.
Various promotions will also take place within the city and distribution of promotional materials.
In Johannesburg, the municipality is inviting everyone to get down to Maude Street in Sandton for a street party.
The event, which will be held between 11am and 3pm, will include entertainment where locals will be taught the dazzling Diski dance.
The Diski Striker vehicle from the James Hall Museum of Transport will be presenting its vuvuzela frenzy with vuvuzelas and soccer balls as prizes.
Music, games, quizzes and live artists such as Freshly Ground, Karen Zoid and others are part of the programme.
SA Tourism will be taking part with its "Fly the Flag" initiative at the Sandton Convention Centre while the City of Johannesburg will be promoting its popular "You Make Joburg Great" campaign.
The South African National Defence Force will join in the celebrations by presenting two fly-pasts at the Sandton Convention Centre and at the main event in Durban.
A one hour live community radio phone-in programme, where the public will participate, will be broadcasted on 66 stations reaching approximately seven million listeners, will also mark the day's celebrations.
The organisers have suggested chats about what makes us good hosts and good football supporters and discussing ways in which football can bring South Africans closer as a nation, are among the activities that have been suggested as in-house team-building exercises.
