In the World Cup divided between three countries, the first opening ceremony, in Mexico City, was as quick as a halftime show.
At the third party of its kind at the Azteca Stadium, Latin artists took turns faster than groups of June party gangs.
The first musical attraction was with the veteran pop rock group Maná, almost as old as the 1986 World Cup (the second in Mexico, after the 1970 World Cup).
Then, Venezuelan singer Danny Ocean, known as “Me Rehúso” entered; the artist Belinda Peregrín in partnership with the group Los Ángeles Azules; rapper J. Balvin and reggaeton singer Ryan Castro.
Everything before the main attraction of the party: Colombian Shakira, who sang the official song of the tournament, “Dai Dai”, alongside Nigerian singer Burna Boy.
The song is an attempt to try to repeat the success of “Waka Waka”, one of the most remembered songs in the history of the World Cup, and which survives to this day — probably the opposite of what will happen with “Waka Waka” 2.0.
There was also a quick appearance of Labubus dolls — instead of the tournament’s official mascots, which did not appear during the musical moment. Officially, there are three mascots: the United States is represented by the eagle named Clutch, while Canada has the Maple moose. For Mexico, the jaguar Zayu was chosen.
With Shakira preceding the Mexico x South Africa opening, the party was a kind of déjà-vu from 2010. In the African Cup, the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
After about 15 minutes of no action, the ceremony had a sort of second part, with all the flags of the 48 teams being carried to the center of the Azteca pitch—with applause for the Mexican team and a small boo for the North American team.
Then, another musical attraction before the teams took the field: tenor Andrea Bocelli sang “DNA” alongside South Korean singer Ejae.
This Friday (12), the World Cup will have two more opening ceremonies. The first will be in Canada, with attractions such as Alanis Morissette and Michael Bublé, in Toronto, preceding the match between the home team and Bosnia-Herzegovina, at 4pm.
At night, before USA x Paraguay (10pm), in Los Angeles, the party will feature Katy Perry, Anitta and rapper Future.
Of the 104 matches scheduled for the World Cup, 13 will be played on Mexican soil, another 13 in Canada and the remaining 78 in the USA, including the final — with a halftime show.
