A guide to the World Cup stadiums

Durban Stadium has an arch to rival that of Wembley that towers over 100m above the turf complete with a cable car and viewing gallery.

The semi-final matches will be played at these two grounds, probably to the accompaniment of thousands of vuvuzelas.

The Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium is perhaps the most eye-catching of the new builds thanks to its unique roof structure.

The ground is the first football dedicated stadium in the city and its first test was hosting the Orlando Pirates against the Kaizer Chiefs, South Africa's biggest domestic fixture.

This stadium, along with the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit and the Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane which are also newly built, has a capacity of 45,000.

The Peter Mokaba Stadium was built to replace the old one and its design is based on the local Baobab Tree with the roof supported by giant concrete trunks' in the four corners.

Ellis Park, probably South Africa's most famous ground after they won the Rugby Union World Cup there in 1995, is also a host stadium.

The ground was improved before it played host to the Confederations Cup Final in 2009 and the capacity was boosted to almost 62,000. Ellis Park is the second Johannesburg stadium and alongside Soccer City it will ensure the city dominates the World Cup.

The Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in near Rustenburg is another stadium that has been upgraded to give it facilities that match its impressive name. Bizarrely Rustenburg has no football team so the ground plays host to different teams from around the country. The stadium has been upgraded to hold almost 45,000.

The Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein is certain to be one of the focal points of the competition purely due to the passion of the local support.

Although football has long been behind rugby in popularity, the emergence of the local team the Celtic has gone some way to changing this.

Bloemfontein is famed for its fanatical sports fans and the stadiums capacity boost to 45,000 will only help.

Loftus Versfield Stadium in Pretoria is one of South Africa's oldest, hosting sporting events since the start of the 20th century. Upgraded frequently over time, the ground now holds 50,000 and will offer a great atmosphere as well as a bit of sporting heritage.

Concerns about the readiness of the World Cup stadia appear to be unfounded, the safety and security is still an issue especially after the recent injuries at a friendly match between North Korea and Nigeria but once inside the grounds the atmosphere and environment should rival if not better any previous World Cup.