MEXICO CITY – Mexico City opened the World Cup on Thursday at the famous Azteca stadium with a ceremony celebrating pre-Hispanic culture, as the ground rocked ahead of the tournament’s first match between Mexico and South Africa that kicks off against a backdrop of protests around the capital. Fans in Mariachi costumes, with sombreros and trumpets, formed a sea of dark green support as Shakira and Burna Boy performed the 2026 World Cup anthem and pyrotechnics filled the ground.Alejandro Garcia, 50, decked out in a sombrero and carrying a replica trophy, said he was proud that Mexico was hosting another World Cup. He was a young kid when the country last hosted the tournament in 1986.“This is our temple,” he said on the concourse around the Azteca. “It’s going to be a great World Cup, all of the protests will now be forgotten.” But outside the ground, the city of 9 million people remained deeply divided.The run-up to the tournament in Mexico, which the country is co-hosting with the U.S. and Canada, has been marked by social unrest in the capital as various groups — from teachers to families of those missing in the drug war — have marched in attempts to leverage the international spotlight to advance their cause.At least six protests were planned on Thursday, with the city a contradiction of celebration and opposition. Freshly painted murals, new trains and a revamped stadium aimed at welcoming tourists for the games contrasted with steel barricades mounted by businesses to protect themselves from rioters along the capital’s main avenue. The post Mexico opens World Cup with passion, parties appeared first on Egyptian Gazette.
