Next year's soccer World Cup will be held in 10 stadiums around South Africa for a month from June 11.
Following are brief descriptions of each venue:
Three stadiums are concentrated in Gauteng, the economic heartland of South Africa -- two in Johannesburg and one in Pretoria -- resulting in an unusual concentration of World Cup matches in one area.
JOHANNESBURG
The economic and business capital of South Africa in its richest region. It became a city in the late 19th century during a gold rush to mine the rich Witwatersrand reef. Known by inhabitants as Jozi or Joburg, it was also a centre of political agitation against apartheid before majority rule in 1994, especially in the township of Soweto. Two stadiums, Soccer City and Ellis Park, will host 15 matches including the opening game and final.
Soccer City - this is headquarters for the World Cup organising committee and is close to Soweto. Now being upgraded, the stadium is built to resemble a calabash or drinking vessel and will be the biggest venue in Africa with a capacity of nearly 95,000.
Ellis Park - A famous rugby stadium built in 1928 and reconstructed in 1982, it has been upgraded. Used for finals of the 1995 rugby World Cup. Now home ground of prominent South African premier league club Orlando Pirates. Capacity 61,000.
PRETORIA
South Africa's administrative capital, where presidents are sworn in at the hilltop Union Buildings. Former headquarters of the apartheid state, where Nelson Mandela's inauguration in 1994 carried great symbolic significance. Despite being the capital, this is a small, quiet city, overshadowed by nearby Johannesburg. The approach from the south is dominated by the hulking Voortrekker Monument, a symbol of Afrikaner rule, which commemorates the 1838 defeat of 12,000 Zulus by a small Boer force.
The Loftus Versfeld stadium has a capacity of 55,000. Six matches will be played here.
CAPE TOWN
The so-called "Mother City" is South Africa's most visited and is regarded by many as its most beautiful. It is a vibrant, multicultural city on the Atlantic Ocean, one of three coastal venues. Cape Town is backed by iconic Table Mountain and is where South Africa's parliament sits. The notorious Robben Island prison, where Mandela spent two decades, is offshore and is now a place of pilgrimage for tourists. The country's best-known wine-growing region and the popular coastal "Garden Route" are nearby.
The new Green Point stadium is being built on a former suburban golf course. Political disputes with the opposition-led city government have held up construction and it will be the last venue to be finished. Organisers say completion is expected by February 2010. Capacity 68,000. Eight matches will be played here, including a semi-final.
DURBAN
Another coastal venue, on the tropical Indian Ocean, Durban is Africa's busiest port and is home to the biggest Indian community in the country, many of them descendants of indentured labourers brought by the British to work the sugar cane fields. Durban is gateway to KwaZulu-Natal, home of South Africa's biggest ethnic group which includes new President Jacob Zuma. The city centre boasts a "golden mile" of beaches, promenades, hotels and restaurants. The stadium has a capacity of 70,000 with two parallel archways 100 metres above the roof which carry a cable car giving views of the Indian Ocean. Seven matches, including a semi-final, to be played here.
BLOEMFONTEIN
South Africa's judicial capital, seat of the country's highest court and capital of Free State -- a staunchly Afrikaans province. Bloemfontein, which means "Fountain of Flowers" in Dutch, is in the very centre of the country. The Free State Stadium is one of the smaller venues, being upgraded to a capacity of 48,000. Six matches scheduled.
PORT ELIZABETH
Third coastal venue and gateway to hundreds of kilometres of unspoiled beaches along the Sunshine and Wild Coasts of Eastern Cape province. This region is the heartland of the Xhosa ethnic group to which both Mandela and second black president Thabo Mbeki belong, as well as many other important anti-apartheid heroes. The city's first international football stadium is being built on the edge of North End Lake. Capacity 48,000. Will host eight matches including the third-place playoff.
NELSPRUIT
Capital of the northeastern Mpumalanga region that borders Mozambique, containing South Africa's most famous game park, the Kruger, and spectacular scenery of mountains and waterfalls. The town is in the hot, dry eastern zone of the province. Mpumalanga's first international standard stadium, with 18 roof supports designed to resemble giraffes, is being built in Nelspruit with a capacity of 46,000. Four matches to be played here.
POLOKWANE
In the centre of Limpopo province bordering Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Botswana. The area was home of the fabled Rain Queen. The town became famous as the venue for a congress of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) in late 2007 at which Zuma was elected leader of the party, deposing Mbeki and eventually leading to his election as South Africa's president in April. A new stadium has been built with a capacity of 45,000 and will host four matches.
RUSTENBURG
Centre of the world's biggest platinum mining area in the foothills of the Magaliesburg mountains, northwest of Johannesburg. The city is close to two tourist attractions, the Pilanesberg game park and Sun City, South Africa's equivalent to Disneyland and an unabashed temple to kitsch. The Royal Bafokeng Stadium, named after the people of the area -- the country's richest tribe because of the platinum mines -- has a capacity of 42,000. Six matches to be played here.
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