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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Martin Belam

REVEALED: World cup opening ceremony six things we learned in qatar | Vintage Vibes

La’eeb, meaning ‘super-skilled player’, is an ‘adventurous, fun, curious’ sprite based on a ghutra headdress
La’eeb, meaning ‘super-skilled player’, is an ‘adventurous, fun, curious’ sprite based on a ghutra headdress. Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian

World Cup opening ceremonies don’t carry quite the cultural heft of Olympic opening ceremonies. To make a truly memorable one you need to get Diana Ross to hopelessly miss a penalty or Robbie Williams to give the TV audience his middle finger. Many have interpreted Qatar hosting this World Cup as being about sportswashing their international image and no expense was spared on the 30-minute show that preceded the opening fixture between Qatar and Ecuador. Here is what we learned…

1) Qatar still trying to sell itself as inclusive

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