ESPN's coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup will use specially recorded music by Soweto Gospel Choir recorded and filmed in South Africa, with music and live concert footage from U2's concert at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. last October.
This collaboration will appear in every programme throughout ESPN's presentation of the World Cup including soccer highlights, match and studio coverage.
An initial series of four spots, set to the music of U2, will run April through June, and underscore the historic importance of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The first of the four, Robben Island, began airing April 7 across ESPN's networks.
* Robben Island communicates the historic nature and importance of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, through the prism of soccer. This spot was filmed on location at Robben Island off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. It is the site where eventual South African President Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for decades, alongside other political prisoners, during the country's apartheid era. (Features 'Where the Streets Have No Name' with Soweto Gospel Choir).
* UNITED conveys the passion for the FIFA World Cup that unites disparate cultures - set to 'Magnificent'.
* The Power of 10 celebrates the honor and burden that comes with wearing the most sacred jersey number in soccer - set to 'Out of Control'.
* Passion captures the excitement that the FIFA World Cup invokes - highlighting the documented 'baby boom' that occurred nine months after Germany hosted the 2006 event - set to 'Desire'.
More on this as we get it.