Ranking every WC opening ceremony since 1966 from awful to brilliant
Opening ceremonies of major sporting events can either go one of two ways: they can have you buzzing for the tournament to begin, or they can have you wishing the minutes away before the real action kicks off.
It has become increasingly expected of the home nation to deliver a spectacle ahead of the first game with dancers, singers and all sorts of madness involved in the showing.
We’ve taken a look back at every opening ceremony since 1966 – although footage of 1970’s effort is mysteriously missing online – and ranked the ceremonies from worst to best, with all kinds of weird and wonderful attempts from 14 different host nations.