Nora Fatehi presides over the opening ceremony
Bollywood actor and dancer Nora Fatehi was the highlight of the event, performing the official World Cup song. Secret secret. Canada is hosting the FIFA World Cup for the first time and began its campaign against Bosnia and Herzegovina, who qualified for the tournament by defeating European giants Italy.
Other performers appear on stage
The opening ceremony also featured appearances by Vegedream and Sanjoy, who took center stage at the grand Toronto Stadium. Other acts included Canadian artists Jessie Reyez and Alessia Cara, as well as Palestinian singer Elyanna.
Empty seats and fan reactions
Some fans took to social media to criticize FIFA for staging another opening ceremony, calling it less exciting than expected. Observers also noticed empty seats in Toronto. Meanwhile, Mexico City’s Azteca Stadium was reportedly packed, although the Group C match between South Korea and the Czech Republic at Estadio Akron in Guadalajara saw no noticeable gaps in the stands.
FIFA responds to participation claims
Reports indicate that a day before the tournament, around 180,000 tickets remained on FIFA’s official resale platforms, with around 15,000 group stage tickets still available through FIFA’s website.
FIFA denied that the stadium in Guadalajara was empty, clarifying in a post on X (formerly Twitter): “Official attendance figures reflect scanned tickets and spectators present inside the stadium footprint, rather than visual estimates of seats at any given time. Some ticketed fans could be seen standing in stands instead of assigned seats.”
