2022 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony

2022 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony
Date	20 November 2022 (2022-11-20)
Time	17:30 AST (UTC+3)
Place	Al Bayt Stadium, Al Khor, Qatar

FIFA World Cup opening ceremonies
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The 2022 FIFA World Cup opening ceremony took place on Sunday, 20 November 2022 at the Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, prior to the opening match of the tournament between hosts Qatar and Ecuador. It included appearances by Morgan Freeman and Ghanim Al-Muftah, and a performance by South Korean singer Jungkook of BTS.

The ceremony

The ceremony has many symbolic indications that express welcome, generosity and hospitality in Arab culture, as well as contemporary musical, cultural and visual performances that were used for the first time in the tournament, under a “Tent” decoration that represents the Earth, in a message to invite the world to meet and unite. The ceremony, which lasted for about 30 minutes, was dominated by Gulf and Arab heritage. The opening shot included a quote from the Holy Quran, It is verse 13 of Surat Al-Hujurat, (O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah -God- is the most righteous of you), calling for acceptance of difference and diversity among human beings, within a framework of peace and love, It was delivered by the young Qatari Ghanem Al-Muftah, accompanied with the American artist Morgan Freeman.

The ceremony included 7 panels that merged the Qatari and international cultures, showing the country's culture and values, the importance of respecting the other, and the need to change the misconception about the Arab world. The first panel was called "The Calling" Panel, and it shows the sound of "El-Hoon", which is associated with receiving guests. This was followed by "To Get to Know" Panel, in which the artist Morgan Freeman participated with the young Ghanem Al-Muftah, to represent rapprochement through dialogue. Then the "Rhythm of Nations" Panel, which collects the most famous cheers of encouragement for the 32 participating teams, combined with Qatari music. This was followed by the "Football Nostalgia" panel, which collects former official talismans in honour of the previous host countries of the World Cup. And then the “Dreamers” panel, along with the previous songs “Welcome”, “Haya Haya” and “Qandil Al-Sama” performed by Qatari artist Fahad Al Kubaisi and member of the Korean band BTS, Jungkook. Then the "Roots of the Dream" panel, which showed an archival historical film, shown for the first time, showing the former Emir, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, playing football with a group of his friends. Finally, the panel "Here and Now", which began with a speech by the Emir of the State of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and ended with the appearance of the official logo of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 at a height of 15 meters, and ended with a distinctive fireworks display.

Dignitaries in attendance

A number of foreign politicians attended the opening ceremony, including 15 world leaders.

• President of Algeria – Abdelmadjid Tebboune
• Crown Prince of Bahrain – Salman bin Hamad al Khalifa
• President of Djibouti – Ismail Omar Guelleh
• Vice President of Ecuador – Alfredo Borrero
• President of Egypt – Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
• President of FIFA – Gianni Infantino and all members of the FIFA Council
• Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia – Mohammed bin Salman
• Vice President of India – Jagdeep Dhankhar
• Minister of Sports of Iran – Hamid Sajjadi
• President of the International Olympic Committee – Thomas Bach
• King of Jordan –Abdullah II and Hussein, Crown Prince of Jordan
• Former President of Kosovo – Atifete Jahjaga
• Crown Prince of Kuwait – Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah
• Prime Minister of Lebanon – Najib Mikati
• President of Palestine – Mahmoud Abbas
• President of Liberia – George Weah
• Minister of Sports of Oman – Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham Al Said
• Emir of Qatar – Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, Former Emir of Qatar – Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and members of the Qatari Royal Family
• Secretary-General of the United Nations – António Guterres
• First Minister of Wales – Mark Drakeford
• Director General of WHO – Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
• Assistant to the President of Russia – Igor Levitin
• President of Rwanda – Paul Kagame
• President of Senegal – Macky Sall
• King and Queen of the Zulu tribe of South Africa – Misuzulu kaZwelithini and Ntokozo Mayisela-Zulu
• President of Turkey – Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
• Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates – Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum
• Vice President of Venezuela – Delcy Rodriguez

Controversies

Refusal of broadcast

In light of the allegations of human rights abuses and corruption scandal surrounding the world cup, the BBC refused to broadcast the opening ceremony.

Artists who chose not to participate

Colombian singer Shakira was initially scheduled to perform, but confirmed her withdrawal four days before. English singer Dua Lipa was also initially reported to be part of the ceremony; however, she denied her involvement "in any negotiation to perform", calling out Qatar on its human rights violations and also for being against LGBT movements.

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