The vuvuzela is a musical, errr, sound-producing instrument that is the trademark of South African football (also known as soccer) fans.

This instrument became much talked about in the past week because the quadrennial FIFA world cup, the biggest football event in the world - indeed the biggest sporting event in the world, is hosted this year by South Africa. This means you will likely hear vuvuzelas in every match.

How bad is the sound it makes? For us TV viewers it sounds almost exactly like a bee, and you hear it all throughout the match. When I first heard of the instrument, I thought the fans would only play it when, for instance, a goal was made. But that doesn’t seem to be the case. The buzzing sound is more-or-less constant throughout the game. As a TV viewer, in full control of the volume, it didn’t really get to me. It’s the sort of sound you get used to, like crickets at night. But I imagine it would be rather different if you were in the actual stadium. And in that case, earplugs are normally advised.

Prior to the world cup, there were even calls - particularly coming from some European broadcasters - to ban the vuvuzela. However, the South Africans felt strongly for the instrument as an integral part of experiencing football in their country. It is, after all, the very first World Cup held in the African continent. FIFA president Sepp Blatter sided with the home crowd stating that “we should not try to europeanise an African World Cup.”