PAID to be travelling all over Africa to film the promotion of the 2010 FIFA World Cup and staying in five star hotels along the way — it's a tough job but somebody's got to do it!

This enviable task has fallen to Danny Thompson from Tavistock, who this week flies off to Gabon to join a film crew for the next travelling stage of the World Cup promotion tour of Africa.

Danny, aged 20, whose parents Beverley and Simon live in Glanville Road, Tavistock, works as a sound man and editor for the Peace One Day production company.

The business has been employed by World Cup sponsors Coca-Cola to record the promotion tour of the World Cup trophy to more than 50 countries in Africa.

He works with Jeremy Gilley, the director and founder of Peace One Day, and cameraman John Templeton.

Danny, a former Tavistock College student, studied for a BTech in music and sound engineering at Deep Blue Sound in Plymouth.

Since then he has worked for television and film post production houses in London as a runner.

He applied for work with a new company recently, and was unsuccessful in the job he was applying for — but they must have liked what they saw, as they called him back and offered him a position as sound man for the World Cup promotion tour.

Danny, who used to play at scrum-half for Tavistock Rugby Club, said: 'I realise I have been so lucky to have been given the chance. I've been to the President of Togo's house and the President of the Ivory Coast.

'Everywhere we go the security people are worried about the cup and they get quite tense if a president picks it up with one hand and starts waving it about!'

Indeed there is so much security that Danny hasn't even managed to touch the famous trophy himself!

He told the Times: 'Life out in Africa is very different to this country and as a crew we don't have a great deal of time in each country to enjoy looking around.

'Although we stay in five star hotels we haven't got much time to see much of the country.

'In Nigeria for example, we were there for four days, visiting the cities Lagos and Abuja, and apart from working we only had time to see the local market place.'

In Cameroon Danny met that country's former players Roger Milla and goalkeeper Peter Rufai — who both starred for the 'Super Eagles' in the World Cup.

Danny has now already worked in Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia in North Africa.

He would have gone to Libya but Colonel Gadaffi was out of the country and he would have wanted to be there, so the visit was postponed.

He has also recorded in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo, Nigeria and Cameroon.

The tour will eventually end in Cape Town, South Africa, this December, in the country where the competition will be held next summer.

The footage the crew are working on can be seen on the official World Cup website.

After Africa, the World Cup trophy will be going to other parts of the world to promote the 2010 competition and Danny is hoping that the company he works for is given the contract so he has the chance to go with them. Well, somebody's got to do it!