World Cup opening ceremony: Start time, how to watch, who's performing

11/17/2022

Host nation Qatar will get the World Cup underway on Sunday against Ecuador, but beforehand they will look to put on a show at the opening ceremony… so, when exactly is the ceremony? How can you watch it? And who will be performing?

The World Cup gets underway on Sunday as host nation Qatar take on Ecuador
Qatar will look to put on a show at the opening ceremony shortly beforehand
The ceremony was initially set to take place before Qatar’s first game on Monday
But Qatar vs Ecuador was made the opening fixture after a plea by the hosts
Follow all the build-up to the World Cup in Qatar with Sportsmail’s live blog
Click here for the latest World Cup 2022 news, fixtures, live action and results

The 2022 World Cup gets underway this weekend as host nation Qatar square off against Ecuador in the curtain-raiser.

In what is the first-ever winter edition of the tournament, there has been mass scrutiny ever since Qatar were awarded the 2022 World Cup back in 2010, particularly due to allegations of corruption, human rights concerns and the treatment of both women and the LGBTQ+ community.

Qatar have stressed the World Cup will be open and accepting of all, though there have already been a number of incidents suggesting otherwise, with a journalist from Danish broadcaster TV2 being threatened by Qatari officials while live on air.

The first-ever winter edition of the World Cup gets underway on Sunday as hosts Qatar play Ecuador

Qatar has also been accused of paying hundreds of ‘fake fans’ to sing and dance in a series of choreographed videos, while an American journalist claimed he was told by security to delete a photo he’d taken of a slogan on a wall in the World Cup media centre, as it was ‘not allowed’.

The hosts will therefore be desperate to put on a show in Sunday’s opening ceremony, with millions expected to watch on – despite the first game being between two of the lower ranked teams in the competition.

And with the opening ceremony approaching fast, Sportsmail provides all the details below.

The opening ceremony will take place on Sunday, November 20, ahead of the opening Group A clash between host nation Qatar and Ecuador.

The ceremony is scheduled to begin at 2pm UK time, which is two hours before the 4pm kick-off for Qatar vs Ecuador.

It will be held at the 60,000-capacity Al Bayt Stadium – where the first match will of course take place – which is located 40km north of Doha.

One of the larger stadiums, the Al Bayt will stage the opening ceremony and matches right through to the semi-finals of the competition

Because temperatures in Qatar can top 30C even in November, it has a retractable roof to keep out the heat

The ceremony was initially scheduled to take place before Qatar’s first game on November 21, with Senegal vs Holland the original opening match of the tournament.

That would have meant two games – being Senegal vs Holland and England vs Iran – would have taken place before the opening ceremony.

The decision to change the opening fixture, which was made only in August, came after pleas from the hosts, allowing Felix Sanchez’s men to take part in the curtain-raiser.

How to watch the Opening Ceremony?

All 64 matches will be available to watch on free-to-air television in the UK, with the matches split between ITV and BBC. Welsh channel S4C will also be broadcasting the Wales games live.

The clash between Qatar and Ecuador will be shown on BBC, with the opening ceremony therefore following suit.

Viewers can stream the action on both BBC iPlayer and via the BBC Sport website.

Sportsmail will also be covering both the ceremony and Qatar vs Ecuador live, so you can keep up-to-date with us.

Who will be performing?

FIFA have not yet formally announced who is performing at the World Cup opening ceremony, but a number of reports pointing to specific artists have emerged.

One performer we are sure of is Jung Kook of South Korea, who is one of seven members of the boy band BTS. His performance was confirmed on the band’s official Twitter account.

UK pop sensation Robbie Williams headlined the 2018 World Cup opening ceremony in Russia

The Telegraph also report that Nora Fatehi, best known for her work in the Indian film industry, is expected to sign Light The Sky, the 2022 World Cup’s official song.

The Black Eyed Peas are also rumoured to be involved, while Robbie Williams – who played a role four years ago in Russia – has also been linked.

Dua Lipa has distanced herself from reports she would be involved, however, while Rod Steward turned it down. Shakira had been linked but reportedly won’t now be involved.

Full fixture and TV schedule

*All times in GMT

Sunday November 20

Group A: Qatar v Ecuador (Al Bayt Stadium) at 4pm on BBC

Monday November 21

Group B: England vs Iran (Khalifa International Stadium) at 1pm on BBC
Group A: Senegal vs Netherlands (Al Thumama Stadium) at 4pm on ITV
Group B: USA vs Wales (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium) at 7pm on ITV and S4C

Tuesday November 22

Group C: Argentina vs Saudi Arabia (Lusail Iconic Stadium) at 10am on ITV
Group D: Denmark vs Tunisia (Education City Stadium) at 1pm on ITV
Group C: Mexico vs Poland (Stadium 974) at 4pm on BBC
Group D: France vs Australia (Al Janoub Stadium) at 7pm on BBC

Wednesday November 23

Group F: Morocco vs Croatia (Al Bayt Stadium) at 10am on ITV
Group E: Germany vs Japan (Khalifa International Stadium) at 1pm on ITV
Group E: Spain vs Costa Rica (Al Thumama Stadium) at 4pm on ITV
Group F: Belgium vs Canada (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium) at 7pm on BBC

Thursday November 24

Group G: Switzerland vs Cameroon (Al Janoub Stadium) at 10am on ITV
Group H: Uruguay vs South Korea (Education City Stadium) at 1pm on BBC
Group H: Portugal vs Ghana (Stadium 974) at 4pm on ITV
Group G: Brazil vs Serbia (Lusail Iconic Stadium), at 7pm on BBC

Friday November 25

Group B: Wales vs Iran (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium) at 10am on BBC and S4C
Group A: Qatar vs Senegal (Al Thumama Stadium) at 1pm on BBC
Group A: Netherlands vs Ecuador (Khalifa International Stadium) at 4pm on ITV
Group B: England vs USA (Al Bayt Stadium) at 7pm on ITV

Saturday November 26

Group C: Tunisia vs Australia (Al Janoub Stadium) at 10am on BBC
Group C: Poland vs Saudi Arabia (Education City Stadium) at 1pm on ITV
Group D: France vs Denmark (Stadium 974) at 4pm on ITV
Group C: Argentina vs Mexico (Lusail Iconic Stadium) at 7pm on ITV

Sunday November 27

Group E: Japan vs Costa Rica (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium) at 10am on ITV
Group F: Belgium vs Morocco (Al Thumama Stadium) at 1pm on BBC
Group F: Croatia vs Canada (Khalifa International Stadium) at 4pm on BBC
Group E: Spain vs Germany (Al Bayt Stadium) at 7pm on BBC

Monday November 28

Group G: Cameroon vs Serbia (Al Janoub Stadium) at 10am on ITV
Group G: South Korea vs Ghana (Education City Stadium) at 1pm on BBC
Group H: Brazil vs Switzerland (Stadium 974) at 4pm on ITV
Group H: Portugal vs Uruguay (Lusail Iconic Stadium) at 7pm on ITV

Tuesday November 29

Group A: Netherlands vs Qatar (Al Bayt Stadium) at 3pm on ITV
Group A: Ecuador vs Senegal (Khalifa International Stadium) at 3pm on ITV
Group B: Wales vs England (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium) at 7pm on BBC and S4C
Group B: Iran vs USA (Al Thumama Stadium) at 7pm on BBC

Wednesday November 30

Group D: Australia vs Denmark (Al Janoub Stadium) at 3pm on BBC
Group D: Tunisia vs France (Education City Stadium) at 3pm on BBC
Group C: Poland vs Argentina (Stadium 974) at 7pm on BBC
Group C: Saudi Arabia vs Mexico (Lusail Iconic Stadium) at 7pm on BBC

Thursday December 1

Group F: Croatia vs Belgium (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium) at 3pm on BBC
Group F: Canada vs Morocco (Al Thumama Stadium) at 3pm) on BBC
Group E: Costa Rica vs Germany (Al Bayt Stadium) at 7pm on ITV
Group E: Japan vs Spain (Khalifa International Stadium) at 7pm on ITV

Friday, December 2

Group G: South Korea vs Portugal (Education City Stadium) at 3pm on BBC
Group G: Ghana vs Uruguay (Al Janoub Stadium) at 3pm on BBC
Group H: Serbia vs Switzerland (Stadium 974) at 7pm on ITV
Group H: Cameroon vs Brazil (Lusail Iconic Stadium) at 7pm on ITV

*knockout matches yet to be announced

Round of 16

Saturday December 3

Group A winners vs Group B Runners-up (Khalifa International Stadium) at 3pm (game 49)
Group C winners vs Group D Runners-up (Ahmed bin Ali Stadium at 7pm (game 50)

Sunday December 4

Group D winners vs Group C Runners-up (Al Thumama Stadium) at 3pm (game 51)
Group B winners vs Group A Runners-up (Al Bayt Stadium) at 7pm (game 52)

Monday December 5

Group E winners vs Group F Runners-up (Al Janoub Stadium) at 3pm (game 53)
Group G winners vs Group H Runners-up (Stadium 974) at 7pm (game 54)

Tuesday December 6

Group F winners vs Group E Runners-up (Education City Stadium) at 3pm (game 55)
Group H winners vs Group G Runners-up (Lusail Iconic Stadium) at 7pm (game 56)

Quarter-finals

Friday December 9

Winners of game 53 vs Winners of game 54 (Education City Stadium) at 3pm (game 58)
Winners of game 49 vs Winners of game 50 (Lusail Iconic Stadium) at 7pm (game 57)

Saturday December 10

Winners of game 55 vs Winners of game 56 (Al Thumama Stadium) at 3pm (game 60)
Winners of game 51 vs Winners of game 52 (Al Bayt Stadium) at 7pm (game 59)

Semi-finals

Tuesday December 13

Winners of game 57 vs Winners of game 58 (Lusail Iconic Stadium) at 7pm

Wednesday December 14

Winners of game 59 vs Winners of game 60 (Al Bayt Stadium) at 7pm

Saturday December 17

Third place play-off (Khalifa International Stadium) at 3pm

Final

Sunday December 18

World Cup final (Lusail Iconic Stadium) at 3pm

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