Famed for its printing cards of saints, wars and fairy tales, the town was about to receive a new legend to add to the list.

CNN: January 6, 2013 -- Updated 2119 GMT (0519 HKT)

Theron will be joined in Cape Town by England football star David Beckham and Ethiopian athletics legend Haile Gebrselassie.

BBC: Stars lined up for World Cup draw

Barcelona, as legend goes, was created by Hercules, who populated the seaside town with the crew of one of his ships.

FORBES: Overview

And no special dispensation for any of it simply because Paterno was a coaching legend who ran not only a football program, but a university and a town.

NPR: Column: No Rescuing Paterno's Reputation

According to legend, travelling performers of "bugaku, " the ritual dance and music of the imperial palace, visited Hachimantai Town in northern Japan in the early eighth century, during the reconstruction of Dainichido, the shrine pavilion.

UNESCO: Culture