A big applause for the "surprise" of the Qatar 2022 opening ceremony, the American actor Morgan Freeman in the center of the Al Bayt stadium, for the opening of the World Cup created by the Italian Marco Balich.
Freeman spoke briefly with a very young, disabled actor, with the audience listening in silence and hundreds of small lights lit in the stands.
Then began the songs and choreography that Balich wanted to represent the uninterrupted "line" that unites all human beings and - in the case of Qatar - its past and its traditions, with the present.
The flag-wavers of the Italian Federation then entered the scene, with the flags of all 32 participating teams.
Each is evoked by a song or a chorus of the characters on stage and groups of fans of the team called into question cheer in the stands.
Morgan Freeman
All the mascots of past editions of the World Cup, including the "Ciao" of Italia 90, are in the center of the Al Beyt field, where the opening match of Qatar 2022 will begin in an hour.
In the ceremony created by Marco Balich, at the end of the remembrance of the past, the enormous mascot with the Arab keffiyeh and tunic takes off to the applause of the stadium.
The mascots of the past editions of the World Cup
"
Let's welcome the World Cup
. Many of us have worked hard to set up a successful tournament, we have made all our efforts for the good of humanity. Finally, the day we've all been waiting for has arrived":
so the emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in the speech that officially opened the 2022 World
Cup. "We will follow the great spectacle of football - he added - it is nice that peoples put aside what divides them and put together what unites them That these are days that can inspire goodness is hope. Welcome and good luck to all."
South Korean singer Jungkook and Qatari Fahad Al Kubaisi sang together the Qatar 2022 anthem, "La'eeb", a word for "the player"
Then a short speech by Morgan Freeman
.
Immediately after the emir's welcome, the fireworks that lit up the night in the desert.
Thus, after exactly 30 minutes, as expected, the opening ceremony ended.
Teams on the field for warm-ups, very tense faces of the Qatari players, and groups of field workers watering the lawn of the Al Bayt stadium, which stands in the desert, about fifty kilometers from Doha
With the inaugural ceremony the curtain rises on the most controversial World Cup in history.
The 2022 World Cup, symbolized by an Arab tunic with a keffiyeh that was lifted into the air after seeing the mascots of all past World Cup editions parade by, including Italia 90's "Ciao", does not start with a cartel match
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