Johannesburg - South Africa whipped itself up into a World Cup frenzy on Wednesday as the national side paraded through Johannesburg and the holders Italy touched down, two days before the kick-off.

As the government urged fans to be on their best behaviour for the hundreds of thousands of foreign visitors, South Africans delighted in the prospect that their icon, Nelson Mandela, would be among the crowds at Friday's opener.

The front-page of The Sowetan proclaimed the event would now be the "Mandela Show" while a headline in The Star read "Deafening Noise Can't Curb Kick-off Fever", as it described final rehearsals for a World Cup concert on Thursday.

The sense of anticipation has been heightened by an unexpected upturn in the form of the Bafana Bafana national side, who go into Friday's opening match against Mexico on the back of a 12-match unbeaten run.

Before going into lockdown mode ahead of the kick-off, the team was to parade through Johannesburg's Sandton district in an open-top bus while a giant pre-tournament party was taking place across town at a mall in Soweto township.

A triumph for humanity

President Jacob Zuma is also expected to pay a final visit to the team's training camp later in the day.

Ever since it became the first African nation to win the right to stage the tournament six years ago, South Africa has had to fend off claims that its high crime rate, lack of infrastructure and rudimentary public transport system rendered it an unsuitable choice.

But UN chief Ban Ki-moon hailed the prospect of the first ever World Cup on African soil Tuesday as a "triumph for humanity" which would generate hope among the world's poorer nations.

"This is the pride of Africa, a beacon for people around the world, especially developing countries. This is the moment of dreams coming true," Ban told journalists in Johannesburg.

Sepp Blatter, president of football's world governing body FIFA, has predicted that the tournament will be a triumph but has laced his comments with warnings that not everything will be perfect.

With work at all 10 stadiums completed and major World Cup transport projects now up and running, organisers hope the month-long tournament can overhaul perceptions about the world's poorest continent.

One of the few scares in the build-up came on Sunday when around 16 people were injured during a stampede at a friendly between Nigeria and North Korea which raised generated fresh fears about safety.

In a statement, chief government spokesperson Themba Maseko urged fans "to behave in a way that does not result in injury or harm to those attending tournaments or participating in activities at public viewing areas."

Hardcore fans

"Government will not tolerate any unruly, disruptive and unsafe behaviour that impacts negatively on those attending public events," he added.

Nearly all of the teams are now in situ, with the holders Italy one of the last to fly in on Wednesday.

Dozens of police and a smattering of hardcore fans were at Johannesburg airport to greet the Azzuri whose pre-tournament results have done little to encourage hope that they can retain their title.

One of the biggest worries for organisers was whether Mandela, the country's first black leader and hero of the struggle against the whites-only apartheid regime, would be able to make it to the opening ceremony.

Now 91 and increasingly frail, his family had indicated that such an appearance would be too much for him. But they announced on Tuesday that he would in fact attend, albeit probably not for the whole match.