Vuvuzela

by Wiebke (Wiwi)
(Bremen, Germany)

The football (it’s football, not soccer!) world championship tournament 2010 took place in South Africa. One thing that still is in my mind when I’m thinking about this time are these nasty horns called “Vuvuzela.” It is a traditional African instrument, but too many people used them during the matches and the resulting sound was very loud and annoying.

Due to this, the TV stations in Germany added an audio filter after broadcasting the first games to reduce the noise of the Vuvuzelas. But unfortunately, the fan-songs were completely drowned out, and this is one thing I really like at football matches.

The Vuvuzela was banned in all football stadiums in Germany soon afterwards and also on public events because they can cause noise-induced hearing loss. But regardless, some people could manage to bring Vuvuzelas to the camping area of one music festival I visited. They woke up everyone in the tents at half past five by blowing the Vuvuzela, even if everyone were using earplugs...