Johannesburg - At least 15 heads of states from the African continent are among the dignitaries confirmed to be attending this afternoon's World Cup final match at Soccer City between the Netherlands and Spain.
Among the VIP list released by FIFA are Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, Botswana President Ian Khama, President of Burkina Faso Blaise Compaore, President Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi, King Mswati III of Swaziland and Ghanaian President John Atta Mills.
Former President Thabo Mbeki, former Deputy Presidents FW De Clerk and Phumzile Mlambo Nguka and Archbishop Desmond Tutu are among those appearing on the South African guest list. The final is set to kick-off at 20:30 and will be preceded by a closing ceremony at 18:30.
Netherlands Prime Minister, Jan Peter Balkenende and Queen Sofia of Spain are both expected to cheer on their respective countries.
It is still not clear if former President Nelson Mandela will be in attendance.
Meanwhile, FIFA has said if any proof is needed that Africa's first World Cup is proving to be a resounding success, people need to look no further than the record TV viewing figures recorded since the start of the tournament.
It said the semi-final match between Germany and Spain produced a record-breaking in-home audience of more than 31 million viewers in Germany, according to information released by a German broadcaster. This is the first time in Germany's television history that an in home audience of more than 30 million has been achieved by a single broadcaster.
Host nation, South Africa has also notched up record viewing levels during the competition. The clash between SA and Uruguay attracted an average of 10.15 million viewers, eclipsing previous viewing records including the 1995 Rugby World Cup final and the FIFA Confederations Cup semi-final which both gained audiences 40 percent lower than all the South African games at this year's World Cup.
