American singer Katy Perry and Brazilian singer Anitta headlined the World Cup opening ceremony in the United States on Friday, ahead of the match between the U.S. national team and Paraguay in Group D of the soccer tournament.
The event also featured hip-hop performances by rapper Future and Lisa.
The match, which will be played at Los Angeles Stadium in Inglewood, is expected to be attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, representing the U.S. government, and Paraguayan President Santiago Peña.
Actor Tom Cruise was also spotted in the stands, accompanied by former soccer player David Beckham.
A marching band—with percussionists dressed in red, blue, and white—opened the show, alongside a massive replica of the FIFA World Cup trophy, in front of a stadium that still had many empty seats, which gradually filled up as the opening ceremony progressed.
In a nod to West Coast culture, the Korean singer Lisa appeared dressed in white on a surfboard.
Shortly after, Anitta joined her on stage right behind her, in a venue that, oddly enough, looked half-empty.
Perry took the stage just minutes before the start of the match between the U.S. and Paraguay, accompanied by a Norwegian boy named Luka, with whom she sang the song “WONDER.”
The pop star was wearing a voluminous silver dress, and her performance—with the stadium already half-full—generated great excitement among the audience.
Katy Perry and the World Cup opening ceremony in the U.S.
The visual concept paid tribute to Los Angeles’s most famous landmarks, recreating the famous Route 66 and the iconic Hollywood sign.
Finally, all the artists gathered on the main stage alongside a giant replica of the World Cup, bringing the first half of the show to a spectacular close.
The bulk of the competition will take place in the United States, which will host the vast majority of the World Cup matches. Of the 104 matches that make up this new format, 78 will be played on U.S. soil.
The games will be spread across eleven cities: Boston, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Miami on the East Coast; Kansas City, Dallas, and Houston in the central region; while the West Coast will round out the schedule with games scheduled in San Francisco, Seattle, and Los Angeles.
The tournament will crown the new world champion on July 19 in the grand final, which will be played at the New York/New Jersey Stadium.
Beyond the battle for the title, this World Cup is taking place amid geopolitical tensions between the United States and the Iranian government, which has led to the Iranian national team’s participation on U.S. soil being conducted under unprecedented security measures and rigorous international scrutiny.
The Iranian team is scheduled to play its group-stage matches on the West Coast (Los Angeles and Seattle), which adds further tension to the conflict in the Middle East, according to Agencia EFE.
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