East Rutherford, USA.- The World Cup final between Argentina and Spain kicked off this Sunday at the MetLife in New York/New Jersey with a closing ceremony in which stars such as Tom Cruise and Robbie Williams warmed up the atmosphere before the most important match of the tournament.
Before the opening whistle and the anthems, Tom Cruise gave a speech in which he praised football for “how it brings people together” because it “makes strangers become fans.”
World champions Mario Kempes and Andrés Iniesta (for Argentina and Spain, respectively) presented the trophy.
Singer Jennifer Hudson, one of the few artists to have won the four major American entertainment awards (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony), performed a special version of the United States national anthem before the start of the match, which also lit up the stadium.
Meanwhile, Robbie Williams, Laura Pausini and Nicole Scherzinger warmed up with the song ‘Desire’. The American singer Post Malone, born in the state of New York, was another of the protagonists. Content creator IShowSpeed also participated, kicking things off with the song ‘Champions’.
American tenor Christopher Macchio performed ‘America the Beautiful’ on a huge canvas spread across the lawn with New York landmarks such as the Brookyn Bridge, the Empire State Building and the Statue of Liberty.
The ceremony also included a parade on the grass with the flags of the teams that participated in the World Cup, the presentation of the World Cup trophy and the official departure of Argentina and Spain to the field of play.
There was also choreography, a light show and pyrotechnics that made the stadium roar before the opening whistle.
The event also included the presentation of the lineups of both finalists.
At half-time, a half-hour musical show is planned in the style of the American Super Bowl, with performances by Shakira, Madonna, BTS and Justin Bieber.
Chris Martin, leader of Coldplay, appeared briefly before the game to introduce it: “For the first time we will have a halftime show, we will all sing together, as a collective.”
The closing ceremony was produced by Balich Wonder Studio, an Italian company specialized in large events, which also organized the opening ceremony.
