As early risers made their way to work on Wednesday they were greeted by chants of “Obama” from the terrace of Giles restaurant in Craighall Park, Johannesburg.
Several puzzled domestic workers and labourers glanced up at the small throng of pre-breakfast champagne-wavers in an attempt to join the dots. A few passers-by shouted back a greeting in solidarity with the revellers, who had been up watching the United States election on TV through the night.
Earlier, a middle-aged woman who would only give her name as “Tami”, walked up to one of the organisers of the Africans for Obama all-night election watch and said: “Hi, I am American.”
“The whole world is American today,” answered Roland Pearson.
Pearson was part of a group of US citizens living in Johannesburg who met at 10pm on election day and watched and waited in relative luxury, being waited on by restaurant staff. Another group of American citizens living in South Africa also met at 10pm and, by the time CNN called the election in Barack Obama’s favour they had been there the whole night.
“We are witnessing history,” Pearson told revellers in the early hours of Wednesday morning, getting set for a toast.
A nervous looking Tami refused to toast the victory before it had been confirmed.
“You never toast until it is really over,” she said.
As the clock ticked towards 7am, and Obama’s acceptance speech, restaurant staff, who had waited on the group the whole night started packing up. But not before serving a rousing breakfast of scrambled eggs, croissants, and sausages. Bottles of sparkling wine were handed round the room.