A stadium horn, vuvuzela is a blowing horn up to about 65 cm (2 ft) in length. In South Africa, it is commonly blown by fans at football matches. With the use of a simple brass instrument technique of blowing, the instrument is played through compressed lips to create a buzz, and emits a loud monotone. In Brazil and other Latin American countries, football fans use a similar instrument. Vuvuzelas have been controversial due to they have been linked with permanent noise and the cause of hearing loss. When vuvuzela is used, audience cannot hear evacuation announcements so it is cited as a possible safety risk. For drowning the sound and atmosphere of football games, Vuvuzelas have also been blamed. The sound of vuvuzelas have been described as “annoying” and “satanic” and compared with “a stampede of noisy elephants”, an elephant passing wind, “a deafening swarm of locusts”, “a goat on the way to slaughter”, and “a giant hive full of very angry bees” by commentators. Vuvuzela is very dangerous due to its sound level is 127 decibels and this high sound pressure levels is harmful for unprotected ears. According to the HEAR, “The World Foundation extended exposure to the vuvuzela can lead to permanent hearing loss.”
During the ongoing world cup matches, ever popular “vuvuzela” trumpet has been a dominant feature at the stadium but before and during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, vuvuzela has produced much controversy. In the western part of Pretoria, GNA Sports deemed it important to conduct a survey on the issue. The Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of the 2010 World Cup is pondering over whether to ban the use of the controversial trumpet within the stadium or not with only a few days into the tournament. On Sunday evening, vuvuzela has become the single item for discussion in the media and LOC made that controversial statement. The vuvuzela has easily become part and parcel of the beautiful game in South Africa since the 1990. The vuvuzela has become a feature at every South Africa game and has widely spread across the continent since its introduction in 1990. continue reading…
