A glittering start to the spectacle that the cup shall be
A cursory, uninformed glance at Sao Paulo’s New Corinthians Stadium a few minutes prior to the opening ceremony would have conveyed the impression of an apocalyptic alien landing on earth. There stood in the midst of a kaleidoscope of colours, a giant sphere of flashing lights and images. An ignorant person might have even been forgiven for thinking it to be a pod containing other worldly creatures ready to disembark on their new planet.
Once the festivities got underway, however, it all came together. As promised by the artistic designer of the show, Daphne Cornez, the ceremony depicted the three main aspects of Brazilian life: nature, people and football. The depiction of nature was done beautifully. Various aspects of the country’s flora were depicted as was its Amazonian rainforest. The Amazon was shown to be the real lifeline it is by the display of its various purposes to the Brazilian public over generations. At one point during this section, the focal point was a boy in a traditional boat navigating his way through the waters of the river.
In the next section, focus was placed on the diversity of people and cultures within the country. The dancing and the music certainly picked up. The director made a sincere effort to display various cultures and subcultures existing within Brazil. Various aspects of Brazilian culture were shown by the dancers. The samba, of course, as well as the carnival was acted out in well rehearsed dance moves. One of Brazil’s famous martial arts, capoeira, was also demonstrated. Capoeira is a martial art form indigenous to this area. It was developed by African slaves while still under imperial powers needed to devise a way to protect themselves and their rights.
In the final section, Brazil’s favourite national pastime,football, is showcased. Boys dressed as referees entered the stadium with whistles and directed imaginary play. There were kids dressed as footballs in an organized chaos all around the LED ball. Children dressed in kits of the 32 participating countries concluded the routine.
The giant LED ball, made up of more than 90,000 light clusters and producing a luminance of 7,000 nits, all throughout, continued to be the focal point of the show. After the display of the three characteristics of Brazilian life, the ball ‘blossomed’ into a ro with its petals open. Out emerged the world’s most popular popstars, Pitbull, Jennifer Lopez and Clauedia Leitte. An energetic performance of the World Cup Theme song, ‘We are the one’ followed by the thre people stationed inside.
And with that the FIFA World Cup 2014 was open.
(In association with Aniket Mishra, Editor-in-Chief, MSR SportsNews)
FIFA Opening Ceremony :
The FIFA World cup 2014 is approaching to give you a powerful dose of entertainment for a complete month beginning from the 12th of June 2014 and extending till the 13th of July 2014.
The hustle to get that all important entry ticket to the stadiums is on! If you are a football fan than you must know that the venue decided for next year’s World Cup is the Mecca of Soccer, Brazil. The FIFA World Cup 2014 opening ceremony will be held in the Itaquera stadium in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The opening ceremony of the FIFA World cup 2014 will be held on the first day of the tournament, Thursday 12th June 2014. The curtain raising ceremony will boast of a magical display of fireworks, performances by renowned entertainers across the world coupled with a sensational musical theme. It is expected to last for not more than an hour, a little more than the 2010 World Cup opening ceremony that lasted for 40 minutes. Itaquera stadium is also called the Itaquera Arena or Corinthians stadium, because it is the home of the Corinthians, a popular Brazilian football team.
The much-awaited international Football World Cup will commence with the scintillating opening ceremony on 12 June 2014 from 15:15 (local time) in Sao Paulo at the New Corinthians Stadium. Since Brazil is going to host the world’s biggest competition ever; the opening ceremony is expected to be as promising as this global soccer tournament itself.
Over 600 participants are rehearsing strenuously for putting up a great show and to enthrall the watching world at the opening ceremony. So once the performers and dancers have paid tribute to the pride of Brazil through their performances, the opening ceremony will be marked by Claudia Leitte, Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull, and the Brazilian Olodum Band performing the official anthem of the 2014 World Cup, ”We Are One.” Also, Mohammed Assaf, the winner of ”Palestine idol” and who has a big name from the music industry of middle-east is invited by the president of the tournament to give a performance.
Stilt walkers, acrobatic gymnasts, capoeira performers, and trampolinist will all participate in the ceremony to kick off the celebrations.
How to reach Itaquera stadium :
Itaquera stadium is located in the Pacaembu neighbourhood of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The nearest airports are Sao Paulo Congonhas airport and Sao Paulo Guarulhos airport. The airports are connected to the city by monorail. In the city there are train and metro lines with stations within 800 meters of the stadium. There is also a bus terminal within 800 meters of the Itaquera stadium.
Tickets Information :
The most critical aspect for any soccer fan is the availability of tickets. FIFA knows that every football fan dreams to watch their favorite teams perform live in front of their eyes, hence the craze to get a ticket doubles. The tickets can be bought from the official FIFA website i.e. www.fifa.com and from any of the venues in the 12 host cities of Brazil. To make the allotment of tickets transparent, FIFA officials have divided the whole process into three phases. The first phase which has already ended began from 20 August to 10 October. After the completion of the application process, FIFA organized a lottery from 11 October to 4 November to select fortunate buyers. Right from the next day, 5 November till 28 November, tickets will be allocated on a first-come first-served basis.
Once the final draw has been made and the 32 qualified teams know who will be their opponents, the second sales phase of FIFA World Cup 2014 will kick start. The second application period will begin from 8 December and end on 30 January 2014. The lottery for the same will be held between the 31 January and 25 February. The process will then again organize a first-come first-served basis program from 26 February to 1 April. In both the phases, FIFA will intimate the successful or unsuccessful ticket buyers. The ultimate phase known as Last Minute Sales Phase of the ticket distribution will commence from 15 April till the last day of the tournament i.e. 13 July. The allocation will be done on a first-come first-served basis only. The price of tickets is different depending on the category you choose. The cost ranges from as low as $ 297 to $ 2,998. For all the three phases, you need to keep sufficient funds in your credit card or bank account.
Furthermore, you can log-in on the official FIFA website and participate in various contests and quizzes held from time to time.
2014 Football World Cup Group A Schedule and Results