The rich and varied culture of the Indian sub-continent, mixed with a mesmerising fireworks and laser show, was exhibited in all its glory at the World Cup opening ceremony here on Thursday evening. And world renowned musicians Bryan Adams, Sonu Nigam, Runa Laila, and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy regaled the packed Bangabandhu National Stadium as Bangladesh prime minister Sheikh Hasina declared the 10th edition of the tournament open.
The ceremony, which lasted about two-and-a-half hours, comprised songs sung by local artistes, with captains of all 14 competing teams making their grand entry into the arena in illuminated rickshaws in alphabetical order of the countries’ names.
If the rickshaws were innovatively decorated, it were the numbers sung in four different languages — English, Hindi, Bengali, and Sinhalese — that drew maximum cheers from the crowd. While De ghumake, the official World Cup song sung by Shankar- Ehsaan-Loy of India, drew loud applause, legendary Bangladeshi singer Runa Laila’s all-time hit Dama dam mast kalandar was not far behind.
There was a dash of colour as mostly Bangladeshi dances were performed by children and youngsters on the vast white circular carpet laid out in the field on which Bangladesh played their first ever Test match in 2000, against India.
It was not mandatory for all 14 competing teams to be present at the ceremony, but the five teams — India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, England, and Ireland — that will play their matches in Bangladesh in the next few days were present in full strength. The programme began with local songs before Sheikh Hasina arrived and soon Bangladesh’s national anthem was sung. After an audio-video clip, highlighting some of the memorable moments from previous World Cup tournaments, played on the giant screens, young local singers Mila, Kona, Elita, Balam, Hridoy Khan, Arnob, Ibrar and Topu took over.
Then all the captains, accompanied by a young boy or a girl sitting with them in the rickshaws — the most popular and the cheapest mode of transport in Bangladesh – made their entry. As one of the co-hosts, Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan came in last, but he expectedly received the biggest cheer.
Speeches by Bangladesh Cricket Board president Mostafa Kamal and sports minister Ahad Ali Sarkar, International Cricket Council (ICC) president Sharad Pawar, and Sheikh Hasina followed. Pawar termed Thursday as a historic day. “Today is a historic day when the people of Bangladesh join India and Sri Lanka together to host the ICC cricket World Cup, and make this tournament the most memorable yet,” he said.
“Tonight we welcome the captains of the world’s top 14 teams to the opening ceremony of the 10th ICC cricket World Cup. One of these captains before us tonight will stand in the magnificent Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on April 2 and receive the World Cup trophy. On behalf of the ICC, I wish you all the best of luck.”
Sheikh Hasina wholeheartedly welcomed all the guests. “It is my great pleasure to be present at this colourful opening ceremony of the ICC cricket World Cup 2011... We feel greatly privileged to co-host the cricket extravaganza in our beautiful country. I welcome the ICC officials, guests and spectators in this majestic ceremony,” she said.
“I would like to extend my thanks to the ICC for selecting Bangladesh to host the opening ceremony and eight matches. My thanks go to the organisers and patrons for their immense labour to hold the ICC cricket World Cup successfully.
I congratulate my cricket-loving countrymen for their great enthusiasm and cooperation to make this event a grand success,” she said. “Good luck to the players and I hope that fraternity among the nations will further be strengthened through this World Cup.”
The prime minister declared the World Cup open by placing her hand on a palm-scanner after her speech. This was followed by an aerial and audio-visual cricket act on a nearby building, and cultural programmes. Expectedly, the Bangladesh cultural programme got more time than co-hosts India and Sri Lanka. Another innovative bit was when a person aimed a bow towards the sky and released the arrow, it turned into sparkling fireworks.
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