26 October 2009

World Cup 2010: The Vuvuzela

Vuvuzelas got some international attention during this year's FIFA Confederations Cup in South Africa. The distinctive sound reminds a bit of elephants blowing their trunk or could also be described as a "buzzing of a giant swarm of baritone bees". Check the video below and find your own words. It is at least a very distinctive sound.
FIFA originally planed to ban the Vuvuzela during the 2010 World Cup™. Why? Well, first of all they were concerned that businesses could place advertisements on vuvuzelas and there were also concerns that the plastic trumpet could be used as a weapon by football fans. By that time no one was talking about the sound as a reason for banning the vuvuzelas. As the vuvuzelas are pretty essential for South African football fans and therefore are part of the unique South African football experience package, FIFA decided not to ban the instrument already back in 2008.



Vuvuzelas were originally made from kudu horn. Back in the old days it was used to call villagers to a meeting. The horn only found its way into football stadiums in the late 70s, early 80s. It is acutally not clear where the name "vuvuzela" actually comes from. Some say it comes from the Zulu word for "making noise", others say it comes from a township slang word for "shower" (because the sound is "showering" people with music).

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