What started with uncertainty and much criticism to the point where there have been calls for a boycott of the Qatar World Cup due to alleged Fifa corruption and payoffs for the worlds biggest event to be held in the gulf state, produced a spectacular opening ceremony Sunday night befitting an Arabian King.
La’eeb, The official mascot of the World Cup 2022
It starts with La’eeb, the official mascot floating around in a virtual space projected onto the football pitch using LED detachable panels covering the surface. The countdown begins with this latest of a long line of world cup mascots. His design inspiration seems to come from a GUTRA, a cloth headdress worn in Qatar. According to Fifa marketing, his name means a super skilled player in Arabic and represents the motto of the tournament “Now is all”.
Morgan Freeman hosts the World Cup 2022 in Qatar
Morgan Freeman’s voice can then be heard in the 60 thousand capacity stadium, performing eloquently the opening spiel of the presentation as he talks about setting differences aside and getting people together as one for the most important sporting event in the world. This clearly is the host nation’s answer to the backlash it has been facing from the scandal that rocked football’s governing body FIFA.
It was a pleasant surprise to see the man himself appear on the pitch as he continues his opening remarks. Listening to him does give one a sense of comfort as you would from the countless voice overs he’s done in movies and commercials. Maybe perhaps that was the strategy behind the opening salvo of this tournament streamed and televised all over the world to billions of people.
Much ado about Dua Lipa’s publicized apparent rejection of performing at Qatar for the ceremonies in response to alleged poor labor practices which resulted in some deaths of foreign laborers and human rights issues the Qatari government is accused of.
Jung Kook of BTS performs new single “Dreamers”
This was remedied by the organizers by having one of the more popular members of the world wide phenomenon and super boy band BTS, Jung Kook headline the opener, debuting his new single “Dreamers” with Qatari singer Fahad Al Quabasi.
Dancers perform with previous World Cup mascots in Qatar
The 2022 world cup nation showcased its heritage and culture with stunning visuals and mesmerizing dance numbers. There was a creative display of flags of all 32 countries, using giant jerseys and dancers waving them at the brand spanking Al Bayt Stadium in the city of Al Khor.
Finally, a giant La’eeb floated on the pitch, this time for real using stilts being floated around on the pristine pitch with an amazing fireworks display to cap it off. If the spirit of this World Cup is as courageous, uplifting, playful, fun, youthful, mischievous as its mascot. This World Cup, might well turn out to be the best one yet purely from a tournament standpoint and the ripple geo-political effect it may have in finally having one of the biggest sporting events in the world finally represented by the Arab world. Whether cultural and political discord with the west sully the outcome, billions of people who love the beautiful game may well latch on to the possibilities of what Morgan Freeman speaks about in the opening which is respecting our differences and uniting as one for this global affair we call football.
Photos courtesy: Fifa World Cup Qatar 2022
