FIFA World Cup 2014 Opening Ceremony: Where to Watch Live, Preview and Performers

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The 20th edition of the FIFA World Cup will begin with the opening ceremony before the start of the first game between the host nation Brazil and Croatia. The event will take place on Thursday, 12 June at Arena Corinthians, Sao Paulo.

Where to Watch Live

The opening ceremony will start at 7:15pm BST. Live coverage will be available on ITV1. BBC will provide live text updates of the opening ceremony.

Overview

The World Cup is finally back after four years as Spain won the previous edition, which was held in South Africa. Every major sporting event will start with an opening ceremony and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil will be the biggest event after the 2012 Olympics in London.

The attraction of the opening ceremony on Thursday will be the Living LED (light-emitting diode) ball. More than 600 dancers, trampolinists, gymnasts and stilt walkers will perform alongside the Living LED ball.

This year's World Cup anthem, "We Are One (Ole Ola)", is sung by American rapper Pitbull, pop star Jennifer Lopez and Brazilian pop sensation Claudia Leitte. All three would be present during the ceremony before the kick-off of the first game of the summer tournament.

The main challenge for the performers was to make sure the artists will not damage the pitch in order to avoid any impact on the game between Brazil and Croatia. Every part of the set and prop have been tested by the pitch specialist and each prop being placed on the ground is checked to see if moisture could have an impact on the pitch.

The ceremony will be conducted during daylight, meaning no fireworks or a lot of lighting will be used.

"The ceremony is taking place during the day, which means we won't be using a lot of lighting or fireworks," Joana Havelange, the executive director of operational planning and support said.

"There will be no pointed, sharp objects on the pitch or anything that's very heavy. As a result, the show will focus heavily on the dancers, the sets, the dance routines, fantasy sequences and the soundtrack, which is really lovely and took two and a half months to write."