It has taken a year of preparations - 3,600 hours of manpower and 5,000 hours of production - to put together the draw show, which will feature 80 artists including Angelique Kidjo and Johnny Clegg.
The main purpose of the event is to determine how the 32 competing teams at next year's World Cup will be grouped.
South Africa has joined England, Italy, Brazil, Spain, Holland, Germany and Argentina as the top seeds for the draw.
Surprisingly, France, the 1998 World Cup winner and 2006 finalist, were not listed as one of the top seeds. France secured its place at the tournament with a controversial play-off win over Republic of Ireland.
Also joining France in missing out on top billing are fellow play-off winner Portugal.
FIFA said the decision was made on October's world rankings " a break from previous formulas when the governing body used a combination of rankings with performances in previous final tournaments.
Had they used the old formula, France would have been one of the top seeds and Holland would have missed out.
FIFA general secretary Jerome Valcke Thursday said the total prize money for next year's tournament would be US$420 million.
Meanwhile, tens of thousands of revellers were due to converge in Cape Town Friday afternoon to kickstart the festivitivies. They will watch the event on giant screens at a street festival in the city.
A heavy security blanket, including temporary flight restrictions, is in place still Sunday. National police commissioner Bheki Cele said 1,000 police officers were already patrolling the city centre and they would show "zero tolerance" towards any criminals.
Cape Town - Pana 04/12/2009
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