More than just a tournament, the Africa Cup of Nations brings a nation together as Ivory Coast gears up to welcome Africa's finest footballers. Courtesy: Reuters
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00:00 Days before the start of this year's Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast,
00:05 residents of the cultural capital, Abidjan, are eagerly preparing to host the 34th edition of the continent's largest soccer championship.
00:13 It's a great event for our country. We've been waiting for it for a long time and now it's here.
00:20 We're going to live it with a lot of joy so that the African Cup of Nations is good for the Ivory Coast team and so that the Cup really stays here.
00:29 As entrepreneurs organize to enhance this year's event, the city has been spruced up.
00:35 In Abidjan's upscale gulf district, a musical fountain and a water screen called Abidjan Laguna Show have been set up on the lagoon.
00:44 Karim Ouattara is the project's organizer.
00:47 It's a networking and meeting place that will also enable all the visitors to the Ivory Coast to arrive to discover not only the culture of the Ivory Coast,
01:01 but also African culture, Ivorian cooking, African cooking and the friendliness and hospitality of the Ivory Coast.
01:09 Local entrepreneur Arthur Bella Ngesen has designed a special jersey printed with the tournament slogan.
01:17 Ivory Coast is a welcoming land. It's in our culture, it's in our anthem that people come.
01:22 The shirt itself tells you "Aquabat". That means to feel at home. But we want the Cup to stay with us.
01:28 The Africa Cup of Nations kicks off on Saturday as host Ivory Coast take on Guinea-Bissau in Abidjan.
01:36 The rest of the tournament will take place in five different cities across the coast of West African nation and run through to February 11th.