For the First Time Ever, the World Cup Opening Ceremony Is Split into Three
For the first time ever, the 2026 World Cup includes three different opening ceremonies, since it is being held in three different countries. The tournament’s opening ceremony is taking place with the first match in Mexico, but there will also be two more, in the United States and Canada.
The ceremony is being held at Estadio Azteca in Mexico, which is making history as the first stadium to host matches in three different World Cups, after also staging games in the 1970 and 1986 tournaments. Shakira, J Balvin and many others are also set to perform.
The opening ceremony will include, among other things, a World Cup made of Papel Picado, a type of pressed paper designed to imitate the trophy. As noted, there will also be additional ceremonies before the United States' first match, at 10:00 p.m. on Friday, and before Canada's, each intended to symbolize a different country.
The American opening ceremony will be led by Katy Perry, while the Canadian ceremony will feature local performers including Alanis Morissette and Michael Bublé. Each ceremony will last about 90 minutes.
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