The opening ceremony of the World Cup will take place on November 20, ahead of the opening Group A match between host Qatar and Ecuador.

Here’s what you need to know about the opening ceremony that will take place ahead of the November 20-December 18 World Cup in Qatar:

WHAT TIME IS THE OPENING OF THE WORLD CUP 2022?

The opening ceremony of the World Cup will take place on November 20, ahead of the opening Group A match between host Qatar and Ecuador.

The opening ceremony is scheduled to begin at 7:30 pm IST.

What time will the opening ceremony start?

The opening ceremony is scheduled to begin at 14:00 GMT (19:30 IST).

The original plan was for the opening ceremony to be held before Qatar’s first game on November 21, which would have created the unusual situation of two games being held before it. The opening match was then brought forward by a day.

Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso said he will not attend his nation’s high-profile opening match against Qatar, citing domestic unrest.

WHERE IS THE OPENING CEREMONY FOR FIFA WORLD CUP 2022?

The opening ceremony will be held at the 60,000-capacity Al Bayt Stadium located 40km north of Doha.

With a seating capacity of 60,000, located in Qatar’s northeastern coastal city of Al Khor, the Al Bayt stadium will host the opening fixture of this edition’s World Cup between Qatar and Ecuador.

The stadium was inaugurated on 30th November 2021 during the FIFA Arab Cup. According to the Qatar World Cup website, the architects have drawn inspiration from tents that were used by ancient nomads in the middle east.

WHO ALL ARE PERFORMING AT FIFA WORLD CUP 2022?

FIFA are yet to announce a complete list of performers for the 2022 World Cup opening ceremony.

South Korea’s BTS said Jungkook, one of seven members of the boy band, will perform at the ceremony.

According to The Telegraph, other names reported to be involved in the opening ceremony include pop star Shakira, who sang the 2010 World Cup’s official song, the Black Eyed Peas, Robbie Williams and Nora Fatehi.

British singer Dua Lipa denied a report that she was set to perform at the ceremony. Some Spanish media reports said Shakira would also not perform.

Singer Rod Stewart told The Times he had turned down an offer of “over $1 million” to perform in Qatar.

WHO PERFORMED AT THE 2018 WORLD CUP OPENING CEREMONY?

The 2018 World Cup in Russia kicked off with a ceremony in Moscow headlined by British pop star Williams and Russian soprano Aida Garifullina.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and FIFA President Gianni Infantino gave speeches at the opening ceremony.

WHERE OR HOW CAN I WATCH THE WORLD CUP OPENING CEREMONY?

The opening ceremony of the FIFA World up 2022 will be available in the following channels across the World:

• ⦿ India: Sports18, Sports18 HD and Jio Cinema
• ⦿ UK: BBC One
• ⦿ USA: FOX, Telemundo, fuboTV
• ⦿ Canada: CTV, TSN, RDS
• ⦿ Australia: SBS