Shakira Thrilled to be Performing at World Cup 2010 Final
Shakira entertained fans at the World Cup kick off this year, and she will also be singing tonight at the final, performing the official tournament anthem ‘Waka Waka’ aka ‘This Time for Africa’.Shakira, from Columbia has a history of singing at World Cups; she also performed at the 2006 final in Germany.
Shakira has described her time in South Africa as “inspiring, so stimulating, one of the happiest months of my life in recent years”. She says that over the last month she has become a huge football fan and also a huge fan of the people of South Africa describing them as “the highlight of this World Cup”. She went on to say that they’re “Amazing, they’re so joyful, expressive and affectionate”.
Over the last month Shakira has been to three games, the first one after her first performance, Mexico – South Africa, then Argentina Nigeria and also Spain Paraguay. She will of course be at the final today as well. It isn’t surprising to hear that she has been supporting the Latin American teams, describing their work at this years tournament as “amazing”.
However, she says that Spain is her favourite, saying that supporting them is her “moral duty, I'm Hispanic and I have to support the Spanish team.” Of course she has full faith in their ability to win the tournament saying that she thinks, “You have to believe the octopus. So whatever Paul says, I'll go with him.”
She will be perfomring tonight with the South African group Freshlyground. They combine a mixture of traditional music with more modern popular music to create their unique sound. African music is quite far away from Shakira’s normal style which is probalby why she said that its great to “count on their talent for the Waka Waka song.”
It seems that Shakira has had a great time at this year’s World Cup, enjoying the atmosphere, the local culture and of course the football. She thinks that the local culture has also had a huge effect on the tournament, “You've seen that spirit of integration, respect and tolerance on the field and in the stadium too. You see how the soccer players hug themselves after a match, how the fans are completely in harmony with the football fans of the opposite team. I think that happens because this World Cup is being held here in South Africa. That influences everyone's state of mind in so many ways.”
Be sure not to miss her performance tonight as she sets the tone for what should be an exciting finale to a great tournament.
