The World Cup got underway this afternoon in a short and sweet opening ceremony, with Robbie Williams dominating the centre of the park with a short medley of his hits.
Where previous ceremonies have featured lengthy performance art projects about the environment, the football family and children being the future, this Russian effort was snappy: long on energy, and short on too much tree-hugging. 
Williams was excellent, there were representatives from the competing countries, and a giant fire bird made out of crepe paper. There was, naturally, juggling, and the obligatory giant footballs.
There were no speeches during the ceremony segment, although President Putin did give a welcome before the match itself.
TunisianMonitorOnline (Source: the Telegraph)
