Opening Ceremony 2006 FIFA World Cup (Munich/München, Germany)

SBS Australia

Allianz Arena

Thu | 08/06/06 | 19:40 GMT+10

Official opening ceremony for the FIFA World Cup at the Allianz Arena

Brazil legend Pele and Germany's top model Claudia Schiffer top the bill at Friday's opening ceremony of the 2006 FIFA World Cup at the Allianz Arena, organisers announced after unveiling the official running order.
FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter announced a first in World Cup history: all surviving members of World Cup-winning teams are to be invited onto the pitch at the opening ceremony., "We have had 170 acceptances to date,". Blatter proudly revealed. This figure includes Argentina's Diego Armando Maradona, England's Sir Bobby Charlton and Giuseppe Bergomi from the Italian World Cup winning side of '82.

Organising Committee vice-president Wolfgang Niersbach explained that the opening ceremony would be "a short welcome to the whole world." Popular German show host Thomas Gottschalk will compère and act as stadium announcer for the opening event, which is to be broadcast worldwide. "He will definitely find the right things to say when he's running this show," Niersbach remarked. According to opening ceremony director Christian Stückl, 1,400 dancers, mime artists and musicians will take part in the 30 minute spectacle.

The event will start with a traditional Bavarian "Schuhplattler" dance followed an international dance spectacular with artists from all over the world, including 80 hip hop and break dancers from Berlin. The rhythm section will be provided by 120 drummers from all four corners of the planet, before Herbert Grönemeyer sings the official FIFA hymn "Celebrate the Day". The official World Cup song “The Time of our Lives” will be performed by Il Divo and Toni Braxton.

Finally, the tournament will be officially opened with a speech from German Federal President Horst Köhler who will be accompanied by Organising Committeee President Franz Beckenbauer and FIFA President Blatter. At 6 pm, referee Horacio Elizondo from Argentina will blow his whistle to start the first game of the 2006 FIFA World Cup between Germany and Costa Rica in front of a sell-out crowd at the Allianz Arena.

Further details and running order of the opening ceremony:

Stadium opens: 2 pm

Opening ceremony starts: 4:23 pm

• Traditional drummers and Bavarian dancers march into the stadium. The Tölz boys choir will join in with a short serenade.
• The Bavarian theme will be continued with a group of break dancers. They will dance to hip hop music mixed with the sound of a huge number of drummers.
• Singer Herbert Grönemeyer performs the official 2006 FIFA hymn
• This will be followed by football legend Pelé bringing the World Cup into the stadium. He will be accompanied by top model Claudia Schiffer.
• The finale of the ceremony will see 1,500 artists, players and dancers on the pitch greeting guests from across the world.

Official opening: 4:47 pm by Federal President Horst Köhler

Opening ceremony ends: 4.53 pm

Match kick-off: 6 pm