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More than 60,000 fan were in attendance today at Sao Paulo’s Corinthians Arena for the FIFA World Cup 2014 Opening Ceremony. The show was both colorful and extravagant, a tribute to Brazil’s vibrant culture. FIFA artistic director Daphne Cornez described the event via FIFA.com:
“The opening ceremony is a tribute to Brazil and its treasures: nature, people, football. The sense of excitement here is amazing and everyone is very motivated. It doesn’t matter whether they’re feeling tired or hot sometimes or if they have to go through routines again and again: they just keep on smiling. It’s amazing.”
The show featured a much-anticipated peformance by Jennifer Lopez, Pitbull, and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte. The trio performed their hit “We Are One,” the popular official World Cup song. Jennifer Lopez described her excitement about the show via Fox News Latino:
“I grew up in a house that loved ‘futbol’, so I am thrilled to be performing at the World Cup Opening Ceremonies with Pitbull and Claudia Leitte. This is an amazing celebration of global unity, competition and the sport.”
While there was much speculation this past week about Lopez cancelling her appearance due to scheduling conflicts, these rumor were put to rest as the three superstars dazzled the crowd with their performance. They put on a unified front, dressed in green, yellow, and blue: the colors of the Brazilian flag.
The Opening Ceremony is followed by the kickoff of the first match between Brazil and Croatia. The first ball of the tournament will be kicked by a paraplegic using a high-tech Iron Man-like suit designed by Brazilian scientist Miguel Nicolelis. The Opening Ceremony was just a preview to the exciting events to come in this year’s 20th World Cup.
