Now it’s official. We have Cup. The opening ceremony held in Qatar, the first country in the Middle East to host the World Cup, swept its history of human rights violations under the rug, preaching values such as inclusion and diversity in a grandiose ceremony, with the right to narration (in person) of the American actor Morgan Freeman.
The ceremony lasted about 30 minutes at the Al Bayt stadium, with capacity for 60,000 people, and which will host nine World Cup matches, including the first, Qatar-Ecuador, and one of the semi-finals.
Freeman interacted with youtuber Ghanim al-Muftah, an activist who was born with the rare caudal regression syndrome, a malformation that affects the development of the lower part of the body.
From a technical point of view, it was superior to the recent openings of the 2018 World Cup, in Russia, which lasted about 15 minutes, and the 2014 World Cup, in Brazil, which even had a choreographer called in at the last minute.
Even before Freeman stepped on stage, he had already shot a video with whale sharks, deserts, Qatari women and other figures from the country’s culture. Alongside the Hollywood actor, the other host of the party was the mascot La’eeb, who flew over the ceremony, which also featured Arab dances typical of Bedouin tribes and drums mixed with LED sticks.
The Qatari party appealed to the affectionate memory of fans, with mascots for all the World Cups — even the Fuleco was resurrected — and a medley with the main hits, including “Waka Waka”, Shakira’s hit in 2010, and “The Cup of Life”, with Ricky Martin, theme of the 1998 Worlds.
Shakira was even invited to the ceremony, but, like other music stars, declined the invitation – joining Dua Lipa and Rod Stewart.
T-shirts measuring 2 meters in height from all teams paraded on the field, highlighting the two teams that would open the World Cup, Qatar and Ecuador.
Before the end, there was time for the K-pop star Jung Kook, member of the South Korean group BTS, to present one of the songs of the Mundial, “Dreamers”, alongside the Qatari singer Fahad Al-Kubaisi. The hit brings verses like “respecting love is the only way”, “the doors will always be open”, “we are the dreamers, we will make it happen because we can see it”.
However, “Light the Sky”, another official song for the Mundial, with four women of Arab origin in charge, was left out of the opening.
The focus on diversity was also present in Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani’s speech. “We welcome everyone to the 2022 World Cup with open arms,” he said.
He also said that the party is a space for “dialogue and civilization”. “People, even if they are from different cultures, nationalities and orientations, will come together here in Qatar. What a beauty to bring all these differences together.”
During the run-up to the World Cup, Qatar was flooded with criticism for its treatment of women, laws that criminalize the LGBTQIA+ community and restricted labor rights.
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