FIFA World Cup 2014 - Opening Ceremony, Facts and Schedule

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Let the fever begin, football fever, that is. With the English Barclay's Premier League and the UEFA Champions League having ended their season, football fans here will have something to look forward to in the football department. The World Cup will keep fans entertained for the next month. Unfortunately, the games will be played at rather odd times for us here as we are 11 hours ahead of Brazil, give or take an hour difference the country being so big, some match venues vary in time.

FIFA World Cup 2014 Opening Ceremony will start at 3:15 p.m. June 12 (local time) at the Arena Corinthians in Sao Paulo, Brazil. It will be at 2:15am June 13, Malaysia time. The 25-minute ceremony will feature 600 artists including acrobatic gymnasts, trampolinists, marshal arts-style capoeira performers and stilt walkers.

Yes, Jennifer Lopez will be among the performers, having overturned her decision earlier on to pull out of performing the official World Cup song at the ceremony. She will perform We Are One (Ole Ola) alongside rapper Pitbull and Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte.

Live telecast available on RTM and Astro. Options for live-streaming is limited here in Malaysia but if you are in the United States, you can actually live stream all 64 matches via ESPN. However, The Star offers these Twitter options:

You’re welcome to follow Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) or Wayne Rooney (@WayneRooney), but those guys aren’t as interesting as you think they might be. Far better to follow are guys like Rio Ferdinand (@RioFerdy5), Joey Barton (@Joey7Barton) or Michael Owen (@TheMichaelOwen), who may not be in the World Cup, but are not afraid to speak their mind about anything (which makes for some entertaining tweets indeed).

Of course, you can also follow @MyStarTwo, @StarOnline, StarSport_My and @mStarOnline for updates.

Get a glimpse of what to expect at the Opening..

The Opening Ceremony will serve as the prelude to the opening match of the tournament between Brazil and Croatia, which kicks off at 5pm local time.

The opening ceremony is a tribute to Brazil and its treasures: nature, people, football.

Match schedules and other information on World Cup 2014 can be found here on the official FIFA website. The month-long World Cup will end with the finals on July 13.


By the way, did you know that..

- This Will Be The First World Cup Ever With Goal-Line Technology. Finally!
- Brazil Is The 5th Country To Host A World Cup For The 2nd Time
- Brazil Will Use Drones and US Robots During The World Cup
- 2014 World Cup Is The Most Expensive World Cup Ever
- A Paraplegic Teenager Will Take The First 2014 World Cup Kick
- Official 2014 World Cup Song Is Called ’We Are One’
- France Demanded 2 Types Of Soaps In Each Hotel Room
- Germany Built Their Own World Cup Hotel And Training Camp - in Bahia
- Brazil Is ‘The Most Expensive Team’ In The 2014 World Cup
- Lionel Messi Is ‘The Most Expensive Player’ In The 2014 World Cup
- 2014 World Cup Champion Will Win 35 Million US Dollars
- FIFA Will Ban Players From Showing Messages Under Football Shirts

You can read more about the above facts and other Facts of World Cup 2014 here.


A Google Doodle for FIFA World Cup 2014..

For your convenience, thought I'd borrow this full schedule of matches and where to watch them from, International Business Times:

Thursday, June 12
Group A: Brazil Vs. Croatia, 4 p.m. ET, Sao Paulo (ESPN)

Friday, June 13
Group A: Mexico Vs. Cameroon, noon, Natal (ESPN2)
Group B: Spain Vs. Netherlands, 3 p.m., Salvador (ESPN)
Group B: Chile Vs. Australia, 6 p.m., Cuiaba (ESPN2)

Saturday, June 14
Group C: Colombia Vs. Greece, noon, Belo Horizonte (ABC)
Group D: Uruguay Vs. Costa Rica, 3 p.m., Fortaleza (ABC)
Group D: England Vs. Italy, 6 p.m., Manaus (ESPN)
Group C: Ivory Coast Vs. Japan, 9 p.m., Recife (ESPN)

Sunday, June 15
Group E: Switzerland Vs. Ecuador, noon, Brasilia (ABC)
Group E: France Vs. Honduras, 3 p.m., Porto Alegre (ABC)
Group F: Argentina Vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 6 p.m., Rio de Janeiro (ESPN)

Monday, June 16
Group G: Germany Vs. Portugal, noon, Salvador (ESPN)
Group F: Iran Vs. Nigeria, 3 p.m., Curitiba (ESPN)
Group G: USA VS. Ghana, 6 p.m., Natal (ESPN)

Tuesday, June 17
Group H: Belgium Vs. Algeria, noon, Belo Horizonte (ESPN)
Group A: Brazil Vs. Mexico, 3 p.m., Fortaleza (ESPN)
Group H: Russia Vs. South Korea, 6 p.m., Cuiaba (ESPN)

Wednesday, June 18
Group B: Australia Vs. Netherlands, noon, Porto Alegre (ESPN)
Group B: Spain VS. Chile, 3 p.m., Rio de Janeiro (ESPN)
Group A: Cameroon Vs. Croatia, 6 p.m., Manaus (ESPN)

Thursday, June 19
Group C: Colombia VS. Ivory Coast, noon, Brasilia (ESPN)
Group D: Uruguay VS. England, 3 p.m., Sao Paulo (ESPN)
Group C: Japan VS. Greece, 6 p.m., Natal (ESPN)

Friday, June 20
Group D: Italy Vs. Costa Rica, noon, Recife (ESPN)
Group E: Switzerland VS. France, 3 p.m., Salvador (ESPN)
Group E: Honduras VS. Ecuador, 6 p.m., Curitiba (ESPN)

Saturday, June 21
Group F: Argentina Vs. Iran, noon, Belo Horizonte (ESPN)
Group G: Germany Vs. Ghana, 3 p.m., Fortaleza (ESPN)
Group F: Nigeria VS. Bosnia-Herzegovina, 6 p.m., Cuiaba (ESPN)

Sunday, June 22
Group H: Belgium Vs. Russia, noon, Rio de Janeiro (ABC)
Group H: South Korea Vs. Algeria, 3 p.m., Porto Alegre (ABC)
Group G: USA VS. Portugal, 6 p.m., Manaus (ESPN)

Monday, June 23
Group B: Netherlands VS. Chile, noon, Sao Paulo (ESPN2)
Group B: Australia VS. Spain, noon, Curitiba (ESPN)
Group A: Croatia Vs. Mexico, 4 p.m., Recife (ESPN)
Group A: Cameroon Vs. Brazil, 4 p.m., Brasilia (ESPN2)

Tuesday, June 24
Group D: Italy VS. Uruguay, noon, Natal (ESPN)
Group D: Costa Rica Vs. England, noon, Belo Horizonte (ESPN2)
Group C: Japan Vs. Colombia, 4 p.m., Cuiaba (ESPN)
Group C: Greece Vs. Ivory Coast, 4 p.m., Fortaleza (ESPN2)

Wednesday, June 25
Group F: Nigeria VS. Argentina, noon, Porto Alegre (ESPN)
Group F: Bosnia-Herzegovina, noon, Salvador (ESPN2)
Group E: Ecuador Vs. France, 4 p.m., Rio de Janeiro (ESPN2)
Group E: Honduras VS. Switzerland, 4 p.m., Manaus (ESPN)

Thursday, June 26
Group G: USA VS. Germany, noon, Recife (ESPN)
Group G: Portugal Vs. Ghana, noon, Brasilia (ESPN2)
Group H: South Korea Vs. Belgium, 4 p.m., Sao Paulo (ESPN)
Group H: Algeria Vs. Russia, 4 p.m., Porto Alegre (ESPN2)

Round of 16
==============
Saturday, June 28
Match 49: 1A Vs. 2B, noon, Belo Horizonte (ABC)
Match 50: 1C Vs. 2D, 4 p.m., Rio de Janeiro (ABC)

Sunday, June 29
Match 51: 1B Vs. 2A, noon, Fortaleza (ESPN)
Match 52: 1D Vs. 2C, 4 p.m., Recife (ESPN)

Monday, June 30
Match 53: 1E Vs. 2F, noon, Brasilia (ESPN)
Match 54: 1G VS. 2H, 4 p.m., Porto Alegre (ESPN)

Tuesday, July 1
Match 55: 1F Vs. 2E, noon, Sao Paulo (ESPN)
Match 56: 1H Vs. 2G, 4 p.m., Salvador (ESPN)

Quarterfinals
=============
Friday, July 4
Match 58: match 53 winner Vs. match 54 winner, noon, Rio de Janeiro (ESPN2)
Match 57: match 49 winner VS. match 50 winner, 4 p.m., Fortaleza (ESPN)

Saturday, July 5
Match 60: match 55 winner Vs. match 56 winner, noon, Brasilia (ABC)
Match 59: match 51 winner Vs. match 52 winner, 4 p.m., Salvador (ESPN)

Semifinals
==========
Match 61: match 57 winner VS. match 58 winner, 4 p.m., Belo Horizonte (ESPN)
Match 62: match 59 winner Vs. match 60 winner, 4 p.m., Sao Paulo (ESPN)

Third-Placed Game
=================
Match 63: loser of match 61 Vs. loser of match 62, 4 p.m., Brasilia (ESPN)

Final
=====
Match 64: winner of match 61 Vs. winner of match 62, 4 p.m., Rio de Janeiro (ABC)


Ole Ola!