Qatar 2022 World Cup: the opening ceremony, the times, the artists who will participate and how to see it

Ninety minutes before the ball begins to move, that element which gathers tens of thousands of fans Qatar and which will collect millions in front of screens in every corner of the planet, the world he will have his housewarming party at the Al Bayt Stadium in Jor, a city of 31,000 inhabitants located 50 kilometers north of Doha. Sixty thousand people attend a ceremony which was preceded by some counterpoints and which reserves some surprises.

There is little certainty about what will be seen from 11.30am (5.30pm local time), broadcast on Public Television starting at 10am, in this colosseum whose structure reproduces the shape of the tents used by the nomadic peoples of Qatar (called bayt al sha’ar). It is known that there will be a fireworks display when the sun goes down, a special appearance by La’eeb, the contest mascot, as well as musical performances. Presences and absences have been the subject of debate these days.

Among those who will lend their voice to the event will be the South Korean jungkookone of the seven members of the K-pop band bts, as confirmed by the group via their Twitter account. It would be joined by the Americans the black Eyed Peashis compatriot little child is English Robbie Williams (She has already participated in Russia 2018), which has found itself at the crossroads of those who criticize artists who have agreed to participate in shows in a country particularly questioned for its human rights violations.

“It would be hypocritical of me not to go. I do not tolerate any human rights abuse anywhere. But if we don’t tolerate them anywhere, then I’d have to go on the shortest tour the world has ever known: I couldn’t even perform in my own kitchen,” Williams said before an interview for the magazine. Friday from the Italian newspaper The Republic which will be released next month.

Equally or more impactful than the list of partygoers that generated that of those who declined to speak. Some, without giving explanations, like the Colombian Shakira, subscribed to this kind of events (she attended the closing shows in Germany 2006, South Africa 2010 and Brazil 2014). Others, like Dua Lipa Y Rod Stewartwith criticism of the authorities of the host country of the contest.

“I will be rooting for England from afar and look forward to visiting Qatar when they have delivered on all the human rights promises they made when they won the right to host the World Cup,” he said. “They offered me a lot of money, over a million dollars, to play there, but I declined. It wouldn’t be right to go,” she revealed.

The questions, which have not been the exclusive heritage of artists, come from a long time ago. The FIFA president answered them this Saturday, appealing to the history books, Gianni Infantino. “For what we Europeans have done in the last 3,000 years, we should apologize for the next 3,000 before giving up.” moral lessons for others. These moral lessons are simply hypocrisy”, he shot during a press conference in which Bryan Swanson, director of communications of the parent company of ecumenical football, said he was gay. He did it in a country where “homosexuality between men” and “sexual licentiousness” are considered crimes and punishable by a prison sentence of no less than one year.

Infantino will be one of the occupants of the main box at Al Bayt Stadium this Sunday. Next to him will be the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. Instead, the Ecuadorian president will be missing William Lasso, who exempted himself from traveling for the opening match due to the serious security situation that a part of his country is going through due to the actions of criminal organizations (the state of emergency and curfew are in force in the provinces of Guayas, Esmeraldas and Santo Sunday). Instead of him there will be the vice president Alfredo Borrero.

Infantino, Tamin, Borrero and those who occupy the VIP sectors of the club will be able to toast with whatever they want during the party. But if the rest of the spectators want to refresh their throats with a fizzy drink, they will have to settle for a soft drink, given that on Thursday FIFA, at the request of the Qatari government, banned the sale of beer in stadiums, despite the fact that the authorities of the emirate (where the law severely restricts alcohol consumption) accepted this condition when they applied to host the event. Budweiserwho has a €72m contract in place with the football’s governing body, acknowledged the decision was “outside his control”.

In any case, a loophole has been left open for lovers of spirits: the beer will be sold in FIFA fans party, the main gathering space for fans, opened on Saturday with a musical performance by Lebanese Myriam Fares and Colombian Maluma. The venue, located in Al Bidda Park, a 188-hectare green lung overlooking Doha Bay, has a capacity of 40,000 people. There will be performances there for 29 days, with the confirmed presence of local and international artists such as Diplo, Kizz Daniel, Nora Fatehi, Trinidad Cardona and Calvin Harris, among others. All this while 32 selected compete for the World Cup trophy.