SPORTS> Off the Pitch
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SPORTS> Off the Pitch
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Low-key event to kick off World Cup
(AP)
Updated: 2006-06-07 14:41 The opening ceremony of the World Cup will have its dramatic moments,just not on the scale of the Olympics, and that's fine with its director.
"We'll still try to make a party, but a nice afternoon party," said Christian Stueckl, who is in charge of the 30-minute spectacle prior to Friday's first game between host Germany and Costa Rica. With native Bavarian music, "flying women" who will be lifted to the top of Munich's World Cup stadium and hip hop songs, Stueckl has tried to make the most of his half hour, but the concern about the condition of the field for the game that will follow limited his creativity. No stages will be erected; no heavy props will be used that could damage the grass. It still will include 120 drums and 170 World Cup champions, including Pele and Diego Maradona _ the first time soccer's quadrennial championship has welcomed back its previous winners and incorporated them into the tournament's official start. Compared with the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics, which includes the parade of athletes, often uses pyrotechnics and can last 3-4 hours, Friday's World Cup ceremony will be relatively modest. "Don't make the mistake of comparing the opening ceremony with the Olympics," said Wolfgang Niersbach, managing vice president of the German organizing committee. "(The Olympic ceremony) is its own event, without a match afterward. And don't forget we don't have the possibility to work with a light element, fireworks or something else. "It should be a short welcome to the world."
Niersbach said it's not possible to bring all 32 competing teams for a parade of nations for the opening ceremony, the heart of similar Olympic events. The ceremony won't lack for glamour, with Grammy-winning singer Toni Braxton combining with pop opera quartet Il Divo to sing their previously recorded official tournament song, "The Time of Our Lives." The ceremony will include only one speech, by German President Horst Koehler. Both German World Cup organizing president Franz Beckenbauer and FIFA president Sepp Blatter will take a seat for this event. "The people want to see football, so we should not have too many official speeches," Blatter said. "If Franz Beckenbauer were to speak, there would be a standing ovation. Then he would give it to me and I wouldn't have anything to say. Most would boo and whistle. So I should be quiet." The ceremony takes such a secondary role to the opening game that it will start 1 hour, 40 minutes before the kickoff of the match and be finished an hour before game time. World Cup officials have asked that spectators be in their seats by 4 p.m. local time for the ceremony that will begin at 4:20. The game starts at 6 p.m. (1600 GMT). For Stueckl, the head of Munich's Volkstheater who is used to managing a cast of 2,000 for the annual Passion play, the World Cup ceremony is a change of pace. He's only had 10 rehearsals with his crew and has struggled trying to coordinate enough practice time with restrictions on stadium use and weather. Considering his experiences, he's not jealous of Olympic opening ceremony directors. "I'm used to directing Shakespeare," he said. "This the first time I've had to make a show. Thirty minutes is enough. Maybe next time I'll go for a bigger show." |
