The Bangbandhu Stadium, bang in the middle of Dhaka and now the home of the national football team, was crammed full four hours before the rock singer Bryan Adams began clearing his throat.
Outside there were thousands in the streets looking on and pining to be part of the official opening party of the World Cup. Perhaps they might catch a glimpse of the 14 captains, all of whom had gathered earlier in Bangladesh's capital for a group press conference, which lasted 10 minutes. Daniel Vettori, as articulate as any international cricketer on the circuit, was not required to utter a word.
The captains were not borne to the ceremony in rickshaws, of which there are supposed to be a quarter of a million in the city. But they were paraded around the locals' favourite stadium in the vehicle that is still synonymous with Dhaka.
The imperfections of the format of this World Cup are plain and well-publicised, but there was no denying the fervour of the locals at an enchanting opening ceremony. Since all the qualifying matches to be played in Dhaka and Chittagong involve Bangladesh that fervour is unlikely to be dampened in the next month (weather permitting).
For Dhaka this is all supposed to mirror the experience of Colombo in 1996. Then the Sri Lankans were the junior hosts and in some ways they experienced more heartache than is likely in Bangladesh in the next few weeks. Several fixtures never took place in Colombo in 1996 because of the security concerns. No matter; there was ample compensation as Sri Lanka went on to win that tournament.
Bangladesh may not have that kind of cream at the top of their cricketing churn, but the vast numbers captivated by the game here suggest that they will get there. They could still win a World Cup before England.
Certainly they knew how to celebrate the start of this one. Darkness descended upon Dhaka; Bangladesh's national anthem was gracefully sung and then we were invited to "unleash the spirit of cricket across the world", which was not an invitation to bet on the precise duration of the opening ceremony. Cue fireworks (rather more effective and expensive than the ones acquired by the England and Wales Cricket Board at Lord's in 1999) and a 21st-century musical amalgam accompanied by a cast of flag-waving thousands, expertly choreographed.
Enter Stumpy, the mascot – an elephant – drawn along by a bicycle rickshaw.
Ho, hum. Then came the captains on their rickshaws. Ben-Hur it was not but it was quite a spectacle and the roar that greeted Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan shook the stands. For those who believe in omens, Graeme Smith's rickshaw almost conked out and had to receive repairs before his circuit was completed. Which either means that South Africa are bound to struggle in this tournament – or they will win it for the first time.
Five speeches failed to stifle the fervour. There followed illuminated kites flickering across the night sky and an ingenious display from abseilers on a nearby high-rise building. By now we could hear only the crowd. Indeed one of the advantages of a tournament that is played mostly under floodlights may be that we will not be able to spot the emptiness of any stadium throughout the second half of the match.
There was more vigorous, impeccably arranged, multicoloured dancing, the like of which would do Samit Patel no harm at all. Finally we were introduced to Adams. He hails from Canada, who have had a lively few days in Bangladesh. The most lowly of the underdogs almost embarrassed England in a practice match. Now one of their finest sons held the stage – in 20th-century style – for 11 minutes just before the close of a ceremony, which finished almost on schedule, another good omen.
So all was peace and much spectacular light in Dhaka. Nervously we wait to see whether there will be more of the unpredictable intrusions that have bedevilled recent tournaments. Everything is set. On Friday England play their final pre-tournament fixture, a friendly against Pakistan, if there is such a thing, at Fatullah, a suburb of Dhaka. A modest crowd is anticipated. On Saturday the competition is launched in Mirpur when Bangladesh take on India and is a sell-out. The country will be at a standstill until that game is over.
Comments in chronological order (Total 6 comments)
17 February 2011 4:11PM
Although it wouldn't surprise me if there were bets of this nature made...
17 February 2011 4:56PM
Is that Bush in the rickshaw? Was he the chief guest?
Smith's rickshaw conking out might have less to do with omens and more to do with his weight. But if they can lug Stumpy around in a rickshaw, i guess...
17 February 2011 5:32PM
but surely Victor, the art of being Bryan Adams is NOT to clear the throat.......
17 February 2011 6:28PM
I was annoyed when the rickshaws came. Whoever had that daft idea must have his citizenship revoked.
I got irritated by the time the politicians started speaking. Pretty stupid how you can't have a tournament in the subcontinent without having politicians give ridiculous speeches which mean nothing anyway. Nice to see Sharad Pawar finally choosing cricket over Indian agriculture. I'm sure his heart is bleeding for every farmer who has committed suicide. Or for every grain eaten by mice due to his inefficiency. Why can't we throw him in Tihar so that he can join his comrade in looting the country, A Raja?
Anyway, I thought the ceremony was boring, really. Nothing in it to show the tradition, only a few dances and songs here and there. Imagine the material at hand- the tradition and the colour-and coming up with a snorefest like that.
Best moment(s) were when Dhoni and Shakib were greeted by huge cheers. The game should be very interesting.
18 February 2011 12:22AM
Or Ireland. Or the Netherlands... maybe a European Cup is a competition they might have a chance in... or not!
18 February 2011 6:53PM
bangla, bangla, banglacats....ho!