Michael Buble launched Canada’s World Cup in Toronto in an electrifying atmosphere on Friday before Alanis Morissette delivered a moving rendition of O Canada before thousands of fans.
There had been a party atmosphere in the air as thousands of Canada fans gathered in the streets of downtown Toronto and marched to the stadium earlier in the day, with the excitement ramping up ahead of the big kickoff.
As fans piled in for the first of six games in the city, an artist ceremony led by William Prince kickstarted proceedings on the field. Singer Jessie Reyez also performed in front of a giant model of the World Cup trophy.
The 50-year-old Buble then finally appeared moments before the game against Bosnia and Herzegovina started. Flags for every team were brought onto the field before Buble, stood in the center circle, sang his 2022 song ‘Bring It On Home To Me’.
The World Cup stage was so enticing, in fact, that the notoriously camera-shy singer Morissette even made an appearance, taking to the field to sing the Canadian national anthem, O Canada.
Violinist Aleksandar Gajic, meanwhile, performed the anthem of Canada’s opponents.
Michael Buble performs moments before Canada started their World Cup campaign
The 50-year-old took to the field minutes to headline his country’s World Cup party
The ceremony started with William Prince headlining an artist ceremony at the stadium
Jessie Reyez also took to the field, performing around a giant World Cup trophy
Canada are World Cup hosts for the first time, seeking their first ever win in the tournament
Thousands of Canada fans marched to the stadium from downtown Toronto on Friday
Canada fans were in the party mood ahead of the team’s opening game of the competition
The Canadian team, hosts of the tournament for the first time, begin their World Cup in Toronto against Bosnia and Herzegovina looking for their first ever win in the competition.
It was Shakira who, 24 hours earlier, lifted the curtain on the tournament with a star-studded performance at Mexico’s iconic Estadio Azteca in Mexico City.
It set the tone for a successful start by another one of the co-hosts, who cruised to a 2-0 victory against South Africa in a game that saw three players sent off.
There was also trouble outside the stadium, with protestors fighting with riot police outside the venue.
The Daily Mail witnessed the carnage unfold, as protesters – some reportedly made up of the families of those missing in the Mexican drug war – attempted to breach the stadium and were forcibly pushed back by police. A man had a heart attack outside the venue in an unrelated incident.
Just 10 minutes before the start of the Mexico-South Africa tournament opener, hundreds of demonstrators approached the grounds from the north-east side, attempting to enter the stadium’s inner ring.
They threw flares and rocks at officers and smashed a lorry parked nearby. Riot police were quickly deployed and pushed the demonstrators back up the road, firing tear gas and throwing rocks back in the process.
There was no sign of the same trouble marring events in Canada on Friday afternoon as Buble’s glitzy performance got underway, following in the footsteps of pop icon Shakira.
The excitement was ramping up before the first game against Bosnia and Herzegovina
Shakira wowed fans with her performance at the opening ceremony in Mexico Thursday
Protesters attempt to breach the Mexico City Stadium but are stopped by a line of riot police
A demonstrator waves a stick in front of riot police during violent scenes outside the stadium
Remarkably, Fox – the host broadcaster in the United States – skipped the majority of Buble’s performance – only showing a couple of short clips to American soccer fans.
They made the same move for Shakira’s show in Mexico, too.
Later on Friday, the tournament finally begins on American soil when the USA team meet Paraguay in Los Angeles.
That opening ceremony is headlined by Katy Perry – who is dating former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau – while hip-hop star Future will also feature.
Canada’s team, meanwhile, will play Qatar in the second game next Thursday in Vancouver.
They’ll round off the group stage against Switzerland on June 24.
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