The 2022 FIFA World Cup officially kicked off on Sunday with the opening ceremony at Al Bayt Stadium.
Sunday's show was headlined by Lebanese singer Myriam Fares, who performed the official FIFA fan festival anthem, "Tukoh Taka", along with Nicki Minaj and Maluma in front of 60,000 fans.
Bollywood star Nora Fatehi sang another World Cup single, "Light The Sky, while Jung Kook of K-Pop super group BTS also performed.
One of the non-musical performers was American actor Morgan Freeman.
The 85-year-old narrated the event live and delivered a speech about the "emotions that connect us all now".
The opening ceremony began 90 minutes before the tournament's first game, between hosts Qatar and Ecuador.
Most of the fans in attendance were Qatari locals but one corner of the stadium was filled by a noisy group of Ecuador supporters.
Among the famous faces in the crowd was former England captain David Beckham, who was been working as an ambassador for Qatar 2022.
Smaller than Connecticut, what Qatar lacks in size and might, it makes up for in money from oil and natural gas. Which came in handy when Qatari organizers were trying to convince FIFA members of their vision for the first World Cup in the Middle East, columnist Nancy Armour wrote.
Its government has been accused of a laundry list of human rights abuses, including the exploitation and deaths of migrant construction workers and oppression of women and the LGBTQ+ community.
Its choice as World Cup host was, former FIFA president Sepp Blatter said last week, “a mistake.”
Current FIFA president Gianni Infantino held an “airing of grievances” Saturday, "taking aim in a deluded, hypocritical and factually ignorant screed at all those who have criticized soccer’s governing body for putting the World Cup in Qatar," Armour wrote.
The tournament begins with a first-of-its-kind opening ceremony reminiscent of the Olympics and features American actor Morgan Freeman.
Creative director Marco Balich, a veteran of multiple Olympic opening and closing ceremonies, told The Associated Press that he has been working for a year on a 30-minute show.
“The supreme committee wanted to create a real show, which FIFA is not accustomed to,” Balich said in a phone interview from Doha, referring to Qatar’s local organizing committee.
The extravagant ceremony was one of the reasons why in August the World Cup start was moved up a day in a late switch — to give the show a more prominent viewing slot.
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