MEXICO CITY, MEXICO / EuroWire / – The FIFA World Cup 2026 opened Thursday at Estadio Azteca with a ceremony built around music, dance and Mexican cultural themes. The program preceded Mexico’s Group A match against South Africa, the first game of the expanded 48-team tournament. Shakira and Burna Boy led the show with “Dai Dai,” the official song for the competition. The ceremony gave the tournament a cultural launch before the opening whistle.
The ceremony drew on pre-Hispanic imagery, folkloric movement and contemporary stadium staging. Dancers filled the field around large visual props, while lights and pyrotechnics framed the performance area. The program also used national colors, flags and crowd participation to connect the event with the host country. Organizers scheduled the show 90 minutes before kick-off. The format allowed time for musical acts, ceremonial protocol and team entry before play began.
Artists appearing in Mexico City included Alejandro Fernández, Belinda, Danny Ocean, J Balvin, Lila Downs, Los Ángeles Azules, Maná and Tyla. Their sets linked pop, cumbia, regional Mexican sounds and stadium-scale production. The lineup mixed international names with Latin American performers. It also gave Mexican artists a central place in the first ceremony of the tournament. The music program supported a wider visual show centered on dance and cultural identity.
Ceremony starts record-size tournament
The 2026 edition is the first World Cup with 48 teams. It also has three host countries: Mexico, the United States and Canada. Estadio Azteca also staged tournament openers in 1970 and 1986. The Mexico City venue returned after renovation work ahead of the event. Its role gave the opening night a link to two earlier World Cups hosted by Mexico. The stadium served as the setting for both the ceremony and first match.
Mexico beat South Africa 2-0 after the ceremony, giving the co-host its first points in Group A. Julián Quiñones scored in the ninth minute, and Raúl Jiménez added a header in the 67th. The match produced three red cards. South Africa finished with nine players, while Mexico ended stoppage time with 10. Fans at the venue stayed through the transition from stage program to competitive play.
North American ceremonies continue
The opening program continues Friday with ceremonies in Toronto and Los Angeles before the first matches in Canada and the United States. The Toronto event comes before Canada plays Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Los Angeles ceremony comes before the United States faces Paraguay. Both shows follow the same 90-minute pre-match window used in Mexico City. They extend the ceremonial launch across all three host nations in a two-day sequence. That format reflects the first World Cup held across three countries.
Balich Wonder Studio produced the events across the three host cities. The ceremonies combine live music, protocol and host-city culture before the early group-stage matches. For the Mexico City launch, the focus stayed on artistic performances. It also centered on the start of the tournament at a historic football venue. The show placed the opening ceremony, performers and World Cup stage at the center of the global sports calendar.