Vuvuzela

The vuvuzela is a long, loud (LOUD!) horn from South Africa, originally inspired by kudu/antelope horns and fashioned from tin — now more often made of colorful plastic — that had an intense global moment in 2010 when the FIFA football/soccer World Cup took place Durban, South Africa. Football fans in South Africa have long blown their vuvuzelas throughout matches, filling the arena with their horns’ incredibly loud buzz. Global fans watching the matches on TV and over the internet were not used to the vuvuzela’s tone or volume and argued just as loudly for FIFA to ban them.

It is plastic horn, brightly coloured, and seen in abundance at sporting events in South Africa. The first vuvuzelas seen at sporting events in the early 90s were made from a sheet of metal. A standard vuvuzela is 65cm long but some can be up to a metre long.

The typical pitch of a vuvuzela is said to be B flat below middle C. On its own, it has been compared unflatteringly to an elephant passing wind. When there is a football terrace full of the instruments, the sound has been likened to a swarm of angry wasps.Annoying possibly,