A Hollywood star at the opening ceremony of the World Cup, the first color data of a party still full of secrets

The Italian entrepreneur Marco Balich has been hired by FIFA and the Qatar 2022 Organizing Committee to take care of the opening ceremony of the twenty-second edition of the World Cup, the first in an Arab country.

“This ceremony will last 30 minutes and is a message to the world”anticipated Balich in dialogue with HANDLE on the eve of the start of Qatar 2022, scheduled from Sunday 20 to 18 December

Balich, responsible for 16 ceremonies of the Olympic Games, assured that the opening of Qatar 2022 will offer a show with intensity, symbols, messages and various surprises that he also avoided anticipating.

“It’s the first real ceremony, not a show with a singer covering the space before the match. Qatar wanted it this way, a real ceremony with a protocol and a message for the world. There is the identity of Qatar, linked tradition but open to the world,” explained Balich

“The request of the Supreme Committee was to tell in this half hour the Qatar of the future, a small nation that does not give up its culture but wants all the people who arrive to feel at ease”, added the Italian.

“Qatar wants to be a safe, hospitable place, a platform between Asia and the Western world,” explained Balich, who decided that the country was represented at the ceremony by a woman.

Balich also said that the big “surprise” will be a famous artist who will be “the political ambassador of Qatar”, as it will represent a symbol of contact with the Western world.

This was reported by the international press who traveled to Qatar to follow the World Cup the “surprise ambassador” will be American actor Morgan Freemanchosen in response to criticisms of human rights, sustainability and the way the works for the tournament were handled.

Similarly, to compensate for the absence of the “blue” in the tournament, Balich has hired the members of the Italian flag wavers (FISB) who will show the world the flags of the 32 participating teams

During the ceremony, Balich will be assisted by his compatriot Anghela Aló as creative director and by Qatari Ahmed Al Baker as co-artistic director.

Timetable and broadcast of the ceremony

The opening ceremony of the World Cup will take place this Sunday, still with some mystery due to scarce official information and after a series of controversial rejection by international artists.

The traditional event that precedes the opening game will start at 11 in Argentina, two hours before the World Cup ball rolls for the first time in the Middle East, and will be broadcast on public TV and Directv Sports. The gates of the Al Bayt stadium in the city of Al Khor, located 35 kilometers north of Doha, will open four hours before the start of the match.

The first to go down was the British Dua Lipa, who expressed herself on her social networks to deny her presence in Qatar. “I hope to visit Qatar when she has fulfilled all the human rights promises she made when she won the right to host the World Cup,” the singer said.

Later, historian Rod Stewart revealed that he received a million-dollar offer but turned it down because it didn’t seem “fair” to show up in Qatar. Finally, the Colombian Shakira, present in Germany 2006, South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014, has made it known through her entourage that she will not be part of the party either.

Therefore, the only confirmed artist, so far, is Jungkook, one of the member of the South Korean band BTS.

With the victims of these famous artists, speculation began about the possible presence of the Black Eyed Peas, Robbie Williams and the Colombian Maluma. The popular Latin American artist was in attendance at the opening of the FIFA Fan Festival at Al Bidda Park in Doha on Saturday.

Maluma launched the song “Tukoh Taka” together with Lebanese singer Myriam Fares, which will be the anthem of the FIFA Fan Festival. This stage will have a varied agenda of artists that will begin on December 19th and end on December 12th.

Diplo, Kizz Daniel, Nora Fatehi, Julian Marley, Trinidad Cardona and Calvin Harris will be some of the musicians who will perform during the Fan Festival.