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Vuvuzelas to thunder through S'pore by this weekend
By Dylan Loh | Posted: 28 June 2010 2028 hrs
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SINGAPORE : World Cup fans can make even more noise this weekend, but not without some controversy.
The vuvuzela is coming to town! Is it an instrument of joy or torture for the ears? People are divided.
While it is the football fan's weapon of choice, footballers themselves have complained that the annoying noise it makes leaves an ugly stain on the beautiful game.
One thing is for sure, you can't deny the buzz that it has given to the World Cup, giving every fan a reason to blow their own horn, and making every place they are at sound - as a football commentator famously said - like an angry hornets' nest.
A fan said: "Its noise really lifts up the atmosphere and makes everyone happy."
Another disagreed, saying: "It's annoying and it'll interrupt the player when they're playing the game."
"It's quite sellable during the World Cup season, but after that it'll be just another toy lying around at home," a third added.
"I always know when my husband's watching soccer because this is what I hear first," a fourth commented.
Johal Singh, who is importing the vuvuzelas to Singapore, said: "When we were in South Africa, we actually saw everyone carrying the vuvuzelas, every person at the World Cup was carrying it. So, we had the idea of bringing it in."
The selling price here will be about S$50 per piece - five times more than what it is going for in South Africa. Only goondus will buy!
Doctors, however, are sounding caution on blowing these horns, which produce a noise level of some 120 decibels - the same as a loud rock concert.
Ear, nose and throat surgeon from Mount Elizabeth Medical Centre, Dr Andrew Loy, said: "In a place where there are many people blowing the vuvuzelas at the same time, the sound intensity can actually be amplified quite a bit.
"So it may not actually affect the person using the vuvuzela because he is blowing the sound away from him, but he may accidentally direct the sound at someone who is close by and potentially cause damage to that person's ears."
Whether it is music to the ears or otherwise, the vuvuzelas will be available at sports shops soon - in time for fans to have a blowout for the final stage of the tournament.
- CNA/al
