Bomb scares disrupt World Cup draw preparations

• Man arrested for airport bomb hoax
• Alarm also raised at convention centre

A police explosives unit team prepare to inspect a suspect package outside the Cape Town International Conference Centre. Photograph: Victor Caivano/AP

Preparations for today's World Cup finals draw in Cape Town have been disrupted by two separate bomb scares, with South African police making two arrests.

Explosives experts and sniffer dogs checked a bag at an entrance to Cape Town's International Convention Centre a few hours before delegates and an array of celebrities were due to arrive for the draw, that will decide where the 32 qualifying teams will play and who their first-round opponents will be.

A police spokesman, Vishnu Naidoo, said the entrance was closed for more than an hour, blocking entry to hundreds of journalists and other visitors, after a man who said he was a foreign reporter dropped a bag he claimed contained a bomb and ran away. He was caught and arrested, Naidoo said.

He added that another person was arrested early in the morning after making two hoax calls warning of a bomb at the city's international airport.

The person was traced to a city suburb and arrested. Naidoo, who did not say whether the person was male or female, promised more details on both arrests later.

"Unfortunately we have a situation where we have mischief-makers who are trying to disrupt proceedings," Naidoo said. "It was a hoax ... but we have to react to everything."

The draw, to be presented by the Oscar-winning South African actress Charlize Theron, is expected to be watched by a television audience of about 350 million people.

South Africa's police minister, Nathi Mthethwa, said yesterday the country was prepared for every security threat ahead of the World Cup, including chemical and nuclear scares.

While South Africa is not seen as a major target for terrorism, it has one of the world's highest rates of violent crime