The curtain of ICC World Cup 2011 will be raised on Thursday (17 February 2011) at the Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka, the capital city of one of the three host countries Bangladesh. The cricket world is eagerly waiting for a glittering opening ceremony in Bangladesh.
Cricket is one of the two most popular sports in Bangladesh and the country is going to host World Cup for the first time in its history. Naturally, the excitement among the Bangladeshi cricket fans has already reached the peak and it is not surprising that tickets of the opening ceremony have already been sold out.
An Indian event management company is organizing the opening ceremony. There are a number of eye-catching events waiting to entertain the cricket world. Crowds can enter into the stadium from 02:30pm local time (08:30 GMT). The pre-show kicks off at 04:00 and will continue till 06:00 before the main show of opening ceremony begins with the welcome song titled ‘O prithibi, tumi aaj chine nao (O world, it’s time to know us).’
Singers from three host countries will perform at the grand opening ceremony. Three Bangladeshi female singers including Runa Laila, Sabina Yasmin and Mumtaz along with star Indian singer Sonu Nigam and famous music composer trio Shankar, Ehsan and Loy would perform at the ceremony before renowned Canadian rock star Bryan Adams comes on the stage to provide some international glare to the grand opening ceremony.
Moreover, reports have it in the media that bands from Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka will also perform at the event.
Another attraction is rickshaw riding of 14 captains of the participating teams. All the captains will arrive at the stadium riding on rickshaw which is a traditional vehicle of Bangladesh. There will be some other events focusing on showcasing the rich culture and heritage of Bangladesh.
Sheikh Hasina, the prime minister of Bangladesh, will announce the opening of the tournament. High officials from International Cricket Council (ICC) including its president, cricket board presidents of host countries and a number of former cricket legends are expected to be present at the opening ceremony.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) tried to bring Colombian pop star Shakira who rocked the football world with her superb performance at the opening ceremony of FIFA World Cup 2010. However, the singer wanted a staggering $2million for her appearance in the grand opening of the biggest cricket show in the world and BCB was forced to rope in Adams.
However, the biggest attraction of the opening ceremony is perhaps the glittering show of fire-crackers. According to media reports, the fire-cracker show will last for 20 minutes.
So, it is pretty much understandable that cricket fans from around the world are going to enjoy an enthralling night that they would remember for a long time, if not forever.
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