Oscar winner Charlize Theron will be among the star-studded cast at World Cup draw

CAPE TOWN, South Africa - Four years after supermodel Heidi Klum hosted the World Cup draw ceremony, South African Oscar winner Charlize Theron will be the one to outshine FIFA officials at this year's event.

Beyond the glamour factor at Friday's ceremony (noon ET), FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke will also be welcoming Nobel Peace laureates Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Frederik W. de Klerk at the International Convention Center.

Nelson Mandela, who at 91 is frail and makes few public appearances, will address the celebrities and football officials by video message.

The draw itself will set up the eight groups of four teams and will be led for the second time in succession by Valcke.

Over the years, the show has gained in stature as the World Cup has become one of the biggest global media events. Three-thousand guests will attend the 90-minute show on top of about 250 million across the globe in front of their television sets.

From Greece to Japan, from Ghana to New Zealand, soccer fans have been waiting to find out for weeks who they will face in the opening round of the June 11-July 11 World Cup.

Valcke will have to swirl the balls in the pot and come up with combinations of groups that will look like outrageous fortune to some and cruel fate to others. He is convinced everything will be smooth.

"When I came in on Sunday, all was already ready to be used," Valcke said of the giant stage where he was rehearsing on Tuesday. "We could have done the draw on Sunday night."

One spot is sure. Host South Africa will kick off the tournament at the Soccer City Stadium on June 11, and play its other first round matches at Pretoria and Bloemfontein.

Immediately after the draw, FIFA also expects a global rush on tickets since fans will be able to pinpoint when and where their favourites will play.

"It is the kickoff for all people who are waiting and looking, knowing where they should fly and in what cities they should stay," Valcke said.

For the World Cup in 2006, the German city of Leipzig had all the old world charm of a historic city and had Klum steal the show in a sleek, shimmering azure gala dress.

This time, Cape Town has the landmark Table Mountain hulking over the proceedings and with Theron, it has all the class of South Africa's most famous actress.

And with South Africa, the dramatic embrace of race after the Apartheid era is never far away.

De Klerk won the Nobel Peace Prize in conjunction with Mandela in 1993 for steering the country toward reconciliation, and Tutu won it as far back as 1984 for his efforts.

Hosting the World Cup is widely seen as a coming of age for a country that has made giant strides since Mandela became the first president of the desegregated nation in 1994.

Underscoring the historic feat, Makhaya Ntini, the first black player in South Africa's national cricket team, will be assisting the draw, as will Matthew Booth, the only white player on the Bafana Bafana national football team during the Confederations Cup.

And the World Cup draw is the biggest test left before the opening kickoff after South Africa staged a successful Confederations Cup in June.

"We cannot wait for Friday to arrive," Cape Town mayor Dan Plato said. "It will be a wonderful show."

South African President Jacob Zuma will start off the 1½ hour show and guests further include former greats Michel Platini, the current UEFA president, and Franz Beckenbauer, who won the World Cup for West Germany both as a player and a coach.

Also attending will be David Beckham, who scored in three consecutive World Cups and still hopes to make it on the England squad by June.