The opening ceremony of the football World Cup in Qatar comes with camels, sheikhs, armed horsemen and a lot of pomp – but also with fictitious slogans. Because the motto of inclusion and a united world through football is unfortunately not possible in Qatar.
This World Cup should be a spectacle, according to the plans of FIFA and the country of Qatar. So the opening ceremony must also be served in a big way. What the World Cup then conjures up before the first game between the hosts and Ecuador is a wild glitter show in the middle of the desert, which is supposed to celebrate football as the savior of the world – but mainly because of the exaggerated behavior and because of the human rights violations comes across as quite hypocritical in Qatar.
Al-Bayt Stadium glitters in the distance as the sun sets in kitschy red. Otherwise there isn’t much. Or rather: nothing. The state-of-the-art arena, built for the World Cup, is a log in the desert. A mega park in the middle of nowhere. All around, a kilometer-long traffic jam forms, which is only consistently interrupted once: a police caravan pushes everything out of the way because Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and his followers rush by in luxury cars.
At the desert block itself, with the wind whipping, the exaggerated show begins. And how: Lined up for the Emir and his guests of honour, including Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and FIFA boss Gianni Infantino, and of course cleverly placed right next to the entrance for the media, a group of camels and riders are waiting in the traditional way Arabian camel rider dress. It is the Emir’s mounted bodyguard. More desert is really not possible. Excrement collects under the hooves, the animals look bored.
But that’s not all: shortly behind is an armed cavalry squadron. The men, dressed completely in white with turbans and riding boots, each have a machine gun strapped to their backs and are sitting on finely and colorfully embroidered carpets instead of saddles. Some riders have problems keeping their animal on track, which looks rather unhappy at this point.
Next, inside the stadium, an oversized torch with igniting flames soars toward the evening sky. Wrong event, but the 10-meter-high display looks like an Olympic flame. Those who expect fan chants will be disappointed at first. You can’t hear any desert animals or anything like that either. Only the immense roar of the air conditioning, which blows cold air into the stadium and warm air outside, disturbs the night’s sleep.
Shortly thereafter, however, the first frenetic applause rages in the circle: the emir takes a seat on his cushion-covered seat and waves imperiously and friendly to the audience. Then Bin Salman comes out of the catacombs with the same procedure. However, the mood among journalists is not good because the Internet for working only very rarely works. The media center had already collapsed.
It will then be dark for the actual opening ceremony. And of course pompous. First the count down, cheers break out through the stadium. Then the ceiling in carpet design is treated non-stop by a laser show, deafening music (mainly Western, of course Shakira should not be missing with “Waka Waka”) begins. Dance interludes and songs in different languages ??set the motto of the show: football unites. So far so good. “Allez Les Bleus” can be heard there and: “Super Deutschland Olé Olé”. A giant World Cup mascot is levitated across the pitch on poles. Oh well. But that’s the way it is with opening ceremonies.
Then comes the moment that probably more than half of Asia has been waiting for. Pop singer Jung Kook from the South Korean sensation band BTS performs in a black and glittering Michael Jackson outfit. When the Qatari singer Fahad Al-Kubaisi joins them, the stadium is finally happy again.
Next up is Morgan Freeman. The actor speaks of the “beautiful game” of football that stretches across the planet. “We all gather here in one big tribe,” he says in his world-renowned storyteller voice. Scenes of children playing soccer in the desert are recorded. The Emir laughs and claps, Gianni Infantino beams.
The Emir’s speech in Arabic is not translated, but in his closing words he bids the world get in English. Thunderous applause. Oversized jerseys appear, again under the motto: football unites. The fact that this is unfortunately not possible for everyone in Qatar does not have to be explained again here. Respect and inclusion, that’s what this show is supposed to be about.
Unfortunately, the desert state is not responsible for this. Even if there have been improvements on paper in terms of human rights and working conditions for workers from India, Nepal or Pakistan in recent years, the reality is often different. You, dear reader, can read about this in many articles on our website. These issues make the inclusion party seem like cheap hypocrisy – even if it’s well-intentioned.
The Ecuador fans, who came in large numbers, used a short show break to make a lot of noise behind the goal for their completely filled blocks. Otherwise you can see a lot of white in the stands (traditional robes of the men), but also some black spots (burqas of the women). Some rows have also remained completely empty.
A huge World Cup is drawn into the middle of the field, followed by the obligatory fire show. At the very end, of course, Infantino is also allowed to speak – in Arabic, Spanish and English. “Let the show begin,” he says. So it continues after the opening show with kitschy and unfortunately also hollow statements, which suits the tournament. Then it’s kick-off. Finally.
