Curtain lowered on Confederations Cup - colourful ceremony

Africa News

Jun 28, 2009, 17:43 GMT

Johannesburg - A bevy of South African singers, dancers and musicians brought down the curtain Sunday on a successful FIFA Confederations Cup - a trial run for next year's World Cup. Scores of drummers, choral singers and dancers entertained supporters with a colourful closing ceremony in Johannesburg's Ellis Park stadium before the final between the United States and Brazil. As with the opening ceremony on June 14, the venue, which has a capacity of 53,500, was only half-full for the spectacle as supporters trickled in. FIFA said the match was nearly sold out. Singers bearing giant balloons in the colours of the eight teams were joined in song by a clutch of well-known South African singers. South African President Jacob Zuma was in the crowd as the sun set on the eight-nation warm-up for the World Cup between the champions of eight FIFA confederations. Held every four years in the World Cup host nation a year before the big event, the tournament went off smoothly, with the only major upsets occurring on the field. In some of the more surprising spectacles, Egypt got three goals past Brazil in a game it lost 4-3, the Pharaohs also beat world champions Italy 1-0, while the United States defeated Spain 2-0 to win its place in the final. Despite lingering concerns over the country's high crime levels, South Africa came through the test without any major security incident while losing some points on transport.

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Curtain lowered on Confederations Cup - colourful ceremony

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