Mexico Hosts Colourful Opening Ceremony as Largest FIFA World Cup Kicks Off
The biggest FIFA World Cup in history officially got underway on Thursday with a spectacular opening ceremony at the iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, marking the start of the expanded 48-team global football tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
More than 80,000 fans packed the famous stadium ahead of the opening match between Mexico and South Africa, despite ongoing protests and social tensions in parts of the Mexican capital.
The historic venue, which underwent extensive renovations ahead of the tournament, became the first stadium in history to host three FIFA World Cup opening matches, having previously staged the opening games of the 1970 and 1986 tournaments.
The ceremony featured a vibrant blend of music, culture and entertainment under the backdrop of a giant World Cup trophy replica.
Mexican pop-rock band Maná opened the show with a live performance before Venezuelan singer Danny Ocean and Mexican artist Belinda took to the stage.
Colombian music star J Balvin also entertained the crowd with an energetic performance.
One of the highlights of the evening came when four-time Grammy Award winner Shakira joined Nigerian Afrobeats star Burna Boy to perform the tournament’s official song, Dai Dai.
For Mexico, the opening fixture marked its eighth World Cup opening match. The host nation entered the tournament on the back of an eight-match unbeaten run and has not suffered defeat since a friendly loss to Paraguay last November.
The Mexican team is being guided by veteran coach Javier Aguirre, who is serving his third stint in charge of the national side.
South Africa, meanwhile, returned to football’s biggest stage for the first time since hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The Bafana Bafana had previously featured at the 1998 and 2002 editions before their latest appearance.
The opening ceremony was one of three planned across the host nations and was produced by the Italian creative director who also worked on this year’s Winter Olympics.
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum was not in attendance, having earlier indicated that she would boycott World Cup matches in solidarity with what she described as ordinary Mexicans.
The tournament is expected to be the largest ever staged, bringing together 48 national teams and millions of football fans from around the world over the coming weeks.
Mexico Hosts Colourful Opening Ceremony as Largest FIFA World Cup Kicks Off