Excitement builds in Ivory Coast ahead of Africa Cup opener

ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast (AP) — Excitement was building in Ivory Coast ahead of the country’s second staging of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament.

The 24-team biennial competition was set to begin Saturday evening with the home nation hosting Guinea-Bissau at the 60,000-capacity Alassane Ouattara Stadium. It's the first meeting between the West African countries at the tournament.

But the party had started much earlier in Abidjan, the country’s biggest city and commercial capital. People were driving around tooting their horns in cars displaying orange, white and green flags.

Many people were already wearing the distinctive orange jersey of the national team, which is affectionately known as “Les Elephants.”