Opening ceremonies mix star power with universal tale of sports dreams
The opening ceremony for the Women’s World Cup on Saturday will be short — just nine minutes — but endearingly sweet, if the star-spangled performance does justice to the script.
The ceremony focuses on a little girl attending her first soccer practice, a universal theme enlivened by the star power of singers Sarah McLachlan and the Calgarybased duo Tegan and Sara.
McLachlan, a soccer mom herself, will sing In Your Shoes, a song she was inspired to compose to honour Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani activist for female education, who is the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
“I think the game of soccer is an amazing sport for women and particularly for young girls being part of something bigger than themselves,” McLachlan told reporters on the concourse overlooking Commonwealth Stadium on Friday.
Asked about her song, McLachlan said: “It’s definitely about inspiring young girls to pursue their dreams and, they might get knocked down, but they’re going to get back up again and do it, no matter what.”
McLachlan could be singing to a sellout of 52,000 spectators on Saturday before Canada plays China in the opening game of the 24-team tournament.
“I think this is the perfect place to host an event like this because Edmonton fans, be they music fans, sports fans, they are voracious, they are loud and they are really, really passionate,” McLachlan said. “So I think it is absolutely the perfect place to do it.”
Although the ceremony will take the audience through several stages of a child’s journey, it certainly won’t drag. “(It) will be the fastest nine minutes in soccer history,” said Patrick Roberge, the ceremony’s producer.
The whole show will unfold at the north end of Commonwealth Stadium. It starts promptly at 3:40 p.m. The game kicks off at 4 p.m.
Whatever you do, Roberge urged, don’t miss the ending. You might want to bring a handkerchief for that flourish.