World Cup 2026 opening ceremony: A fever dream mashup that put Eurovision to shame

All of this is a necessary distraction when you have a world cup in which geopolitics play a bigger part than ever before and the controversy started way before the first ball of the tournament was kicked. Issues such as inflated ticket prices, Visa issues for officials and fans, including the refusal of entry for a Somali referee, Donald Trump being presented with a FIFA Peace Prize at the draw before starting a war which means the Iranian team have to be bussed over the border into the US on a day trip basis for their matches meant that this year’s opening ceremony at the legendary Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, had to pull out all the stops.

So military marches are out (no-one wants to be reminded of the wars), as are climate crisis no-nos such as balloons and clouds of confetti, and in are plushy animals or indeterminate species and a parade of singers and dancers, from gold-suited wedding bands to ageing rockers in red leather (in 45C? It wasn’t just Ally McCoist who was sweating), gold lame and crotch grabbing rappers.

It started well, kicking off with dancers showcasing Aztec culture in a display of diversity, heritage and pride, and who doesn’t love feathers and a canine head-dress but when a squad of minions hidden inside a platform on the centre spot hoisted a giant replica world cup through a hole in the platform reality was abandoned and a fever dream ensued in which the only thing to do is sit back on the sofa, enjoy it and occasionally wonder why.

Maná, a Mexican rock band, were followed by Danny Ocean, Los Ángeles Azules, J Balvin, Colombian superstar Shakira and Nigerian singer Burna Boy, Salma Hayek and an underused Andrea Bocelli sang an anthem fittingly entitled ‘This is more than just a game.’

But the best bit of the opening ceremony came in between the madness when back in the ITV studio the pundits supplied interesting background for the football geeks and highlights from previous tournaments, with the opportunity to see some of the greats from Pele to Maradona scoring memorable goals.

Mexico did the opening ceremony madness proud, which is what you would expect from the country that did for the wave what Cadbury’s Flake did for the ice-cream cone, but it was a relief when the last cloud from the pyrotechnics faded away above the historic stadium and the first of 104 matches across three countries, in what is the biggest world cup, with 40 more games than the last one finally kicked off.