World Cup 2026 Kicks Off in Mexico with Vibrant Opening Ceremony

The World Cup finally got started on Thursday in Mexico, and after weeks of dealing with the chaos off the field it was nice to remember for a while what this is all supposed to be about – the beautiful game. Anyway, from Shakira, to KPop Demon Hunters, a game with more storylines than a bad soap opera, and Julian Quinones scoring the first goal of the tournament, here’s what happened while you were sleeping.

Opening ceremony

Given all that has gone before, this is exactly what everyone needed. An event of colour, culture and Shakira riding to the rescue after several years of average World Cup songs. The global superstar, along with co-creator Burna Boy, performed this year’s anthem, “Dai Dai”, in front of a packed Azteca Stadium, and the only problem is the title, which means “Let’s go” in Italian; so it was probably written before the Europeans opted to stay at home. With some performers wearing indigenous costumes and others in all gold, there was plenty of glitter in a ceremony that also included opera star Andrea Bocelli and KPop Demon Hunters singer Ejae.

South Africa’s Grammy-winning singer Tyla, meanwhile, is on double duty this week. She performed her nation’s anthem before the game – which was as good as it got for Bafana Bafana – and then hightailed it to Los Angeles for the American version before the hosts kick off their campaign against Paraguay. That’s on Saturday 9am Hong Kong time for those who are interested.