The Qatar 2022 World Cup logo is seen at the opening ceremony.

           The opening ceremony was held at the Gulf Stadium in Qatar. The course’s architecture is inspired by the tents used by nomadic peoples in the Bay area. The theme of the opening ceremony was human unity, with the hope that football could bring humanity together under one tent to meet a common challenge — “Now is All,” as the slogan of this World Cup goes, “This moment is all.”

           Marco Balic, creative director of the opening ceremony, who has worked on the opening and closing ceremonies of several Olympic Games, said that the opening ceremony of the World Cup is aimed at creating an “unprecedented World Cup opening ceremony on par with the Olympic Games”.

          At 5:30 PM, the former champion of France soccer star Desailly entered the scene holding the World Cup, kicking off the opening ceremony. The 60,000-capacity Bay Arena roared with excitement as the World Cup came to Asia for only the second time and the Middle East for the first time.

         At around 40 minutes, La ‘eeb (Raib), the mascot of the World Cup, appeared on a big screen and danced to the countdown. The shape of La ‘eeb is derived from the Arabic headscarf, which means “skilled player”. It is agile and light, like a free running football player on the field.

         The opening ceremony of the 2022 Qatar World Cup was held at the Gulf Stadium on Nov 20, local time. Fireworks explode over the Bay Stadium.

         Fireworks went into the air and a giant World Cup logo appeared in the middle of the field. The Qatar World Cup logo is based on the prototype design of the “World Cup”, which also resembles the number “eight”, symbolizing the eight stadiums of the tournament. The 2022 World Cup in Qatar has officially kicked off.