ITV’s Mark Pougatch could barely contain his excitement. “Let’s be honest, opening ceremonies aren’t very memorable,” he offered, clearly intent on whipping up viewers into a frenzy of anticipation before events in the Estadio Azteca got under way. A few minutes later, he was at it again. “Nothing is happening,” he shrugged, when the opening ceremony didn’t kick off bang on time. “This is why they don’t live long in the memory.”
No one was going to accuse him of overselling Mexico’s big night, but then perhaps he was underwhelmed by the lineup. With the global star power reserved for the final’s half-time show – which features Madonna, Coldplay and BTS – the Mexican ceremony stuck fast to relatively local talent. It kicked off with Maná, the most successful Latin American rock band of all time, who – to judge by the 1992 hit they performed, Oye Mi Amor – have sold 45m records by sounding not unlike The Police. They were pretty good, as was Venezuela’s Danny Ocean and the Mexican singer-songwriter Belinda, both of whom broke out one of the 18 (eighteen!) official World Cup songs: Ocean’s Partidazo was a nippy bit of reggaeton, Belinda’s Por Ella a sweet collaboration with veteran cumbia band Los Ángeles Azules, the latter a disconcerting sight for British viewers on account of the fact that their bass player looked as if he was being impersonated by Paul Whitehouse.
