Mexico City dazzles as 2026 World Cup kicks off in style

Fireworks, a sweeping airy amusement and performances by Shakira, Burna Boy and J Balvin opened the 2026 World Cup earlier much than 80,000 fans astatine a revamped Azteca Stadium successful Mexico City.

On Thursday, co-hosts Mexico kicked disconnected the expanded 48-team shot tourney by playing South Africa astatine the steep factual arena, officially renamed Mexico City Stadium but inactive wide known arsenic Azteca.

The ground, which staged World Cup openers successful 1970 and 1986, has present go the archetypal venue to big the tournament’s curtain-raiser 3 times, arsenic Mexico shares hosting duties with the United States and Canada.

Inside, fans waved flags, sang and filmed the star-studded prematch amusement connected their phones arsenic the planetary spotlight returned to 1 of football’s astir storied venues.

Outside, demonstrations broke retired adjacent cardinal transport routes and instrumentality zones, with protesters denouncing the outgo of staging the World Cup, choky information cordons astir working-class neighbourhoods and what they accidental is disruption to communities surviving successful the stadium’s shadow.

Police and information forces ringed surrounding streets and funnelled supporters done checkpoints, arsenic Mexico City began a period of shot nether aggravated scrutiny.