The opening ceremony of the World Cup in Qatar, a party this Sunday (20) that will serve as a visiting card for the public interested in the competition in the country, was full of unknowns very close to its occurrence.
Neither Fifa, which owns the World Cup, nor the local organizing committee had released the event’s schedule by Friday night.
The location of the ceremony is known (the Al Bayt stadium, in the city of Al Khor, with a capacity for 60,000 people) and the time is known (6 pm in Qatar, 12 am in Brazil), but there is no definition of the artists participating in it. .
Some sites published that the presence of the American rapper Lil Baby, the Canadian actress and singer Nora Fatehi and the South Korean Jungkook, member of the K-pop band BTS, are confirmed.
The latter two would perform to the sound of “Light The Sky”, one of the theme songs for this year’s World Cup.
The rest is speculation, with a host of possible guests.
The Nigerian Patoranking, the Englishman Robbie Williams (who participated in the show at the 2018 Russia Cup), the American Jason Derulo, the Lebanese Myriam Fares, the Colombians J Balvin, Maluma and Shakira, the Trinidad-Tobanese Nicki Minaj and in the American band Black Eyed Peas.
The presence of the trio Maluma, Minaj and Fares can be considered probable, since they interpret the official song of the World Cup, “Tukoh Taka”, released only this Friday (18).
Certainty are the absences of pop stars Dua Lipa and Rod Stewart, both English.
They cited Qatar’s disregard for human rights issues as a reason to disregard participation in any event organized by the country.
On TV at noon
With or without the schedule announced, Brazilians will be able to follow the opening ceremony live on television.
Globo (open TV), SporTV (paid channel) and Globoplay (streaming service) will broadcast the event from noon.
The opening game of the World Cup, Qatar x Ecuador, starts at 1 pm.
As a seasoned news journalist, I bring a wealth of experience to the field. I’ve worked with world-renowned news organizations, honing my skills as a writer and reporter. Currently, I write for the sports section at News Bulletin 247, where I bring a unique perspective to every story.
