What you need to know about the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in Qatar, which takes place from November 20 through December 18:
When Is The Opening Ceremony Supposed To Take Place?
- The World Cup’s opening ceremony will take place on Sunday, before the first Group A match between hosts Qatar and Ecuador.
- The event is scheduled to begin at 1400 GMT.
- The opening ceremony was meant to take place before Qatar’s first game on Monday, creating the unusual situation of two games preceding it. The opening game in Qatar was then pushed forward by one day.
- Ecuador’s president, Guillermo Lasso, said that he will not attend his country’s crucial opening game due to internal unrest.
Where Will The Opening Ceremony Take Place?
- The opening ceremony will take place in the 60,000-person Al Bayt Stadium, approximately 40 kilometers (25 miles) north of Doha.
- The Al Bayt Stadium is the most isolated, but it is also the largest, with a retractable top. It was called and designed after the tents used by Gulf nomads.
Who Will Perform At The Start Of The Ceremony?
- FIFA has not yet revealed a comprehensive list of artists for the opening ceremony.
- Jungkook of South Korean boy band BTS has revealed that he will perform a song named “Dreamers” at the event.
- According to the Telegraph, The Black Eyed Peas, Robbie Williams, and Nora Fatehi have all been touted as prospective performers for the opening ceremony.
- In an excerpt from an interview with Italy’s Il Venerd di Repubblica that would be published the following month, Williams argued that declining to perform in Qatar would be “hypocritical” of him.
- According to rumors, British singer Dua Lipa was set to perform. According to many Spanish media reports, Shakira was not going to perform.
- According to the New York Times, musician Rod Stewart turned down an engagement in Qatar for “about $1 million.”
Who Performed At The 2018 Opening Ceremony?
- Williams, a British pop singer, and Aida Garifullina, a Russian soprano, sang at the opening ceremony of Russia’s 2018 World Cup in Moscow.
- Both FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered addresses at the opening ceremony.
