Vuvuzela South Africa

Some say it sounds a bit like and elephant or a swarm of angry bees, but to get those notes – yes you can get a whole range of notes from a Vuvuzela to come out strongly and clearly require lung capacity and flexible lips.

Do you know the expression “to blow a raspberry”? Well that’s just what you do with your vibrating lips pressed up against the mouthpiece of the plastic trumpets that are seen (and heard) at every football (soccer) game in South Africa.

According to southafrica. info: “ There’s uncertainty on the origin of the word “vuvuzela”. Some say it comes from the isiZulu for – wait for it – “making noise”. Others say it’s from township slang related to the word “shower”, because it “showers people with music” – or, more prosaically, looks a little like a shower head.

The announcement, on 15 May 2004, that South Africa would host the 2010 Fifa World Cup gave the vuvuzela a huge boost, to say the least – some 20 000 were sold on the day by enterprising street vendors.

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Vuvuzela Orchestra @ Mandela Challenge 2007 from Pedro Espi-Sanchis on Vimeo.

In 2007 During the Mandela Challenge, sixty fans were trained to play seven songs on the tuned Vuvuzelas at Ellis Park Stadium. They were joined by a thousand fans singing and two thousands playing rhythm patterns on the standard vuvuzelas.

USA football fan,  with his great World Cup Blog writes a cool post In defence of the Vuvuzela and says whereas he was first very aware of it, he  has become used to it.

“But most likely it was because I’d just gotten used to the sound after a week of watching (and listening to) the Confederations Cup. It was annoying to begin with, mostly because I wasn’t used to it. But five matchdays in, I’m 100% vuvuzela adjusted.”

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Blowing the Vuvuzela on Durban Beachfront

A Vuvuzela is a plastic trumpet like object, about a meter long that South Africa soccer fans blow at football games. The sound has been describes a “swarm of angry bees” a” terrible noise” but we agree with the millions of African football fans who are gearing up for the FIFA 2010 Soccer World Cup, that the Vuvu (for short) produces A beautiful noise for The beautiful Game!

Yes, the recent Confederation Cup produced a bit of a firestorms over our  Vuvuzela’s with some of the European RTV stations calling for a ban on the Vuvus.

Committed soccer blogger Road to 2010 World Cup Final has a neutral point of view – “They’re just a part of the game in South Africa. But ban them, you say … hmm … You know what? Let me think on that one …

Popularity: 19% [?]