Asian Cup kicks off with short ceremony

DOHA - The 15th Asian Cup kicked off Friday with a brief, colourful opening ceremony in the Khalifa Stadium in Doha Friday.

Flag bearers representing the 16 participating nations performed a dance routine that was accompanied by a spectacular light show that had the capacity crowd in the 40,000 seater-stadium cheering.

The obligatory firework display that saw fireworks going off throughout Doha and briefly turned the capital into a haze of smoke smelling like gun powder, was another highlight of the ceremony.

In a change from previous competitions, the national anthem of the host nation, who later Friday will play the opening match against Uzbekistan, was not performed by an individual singer or band, but by the entire crowd.

Organisers described the ceremony as illustrating “both Qatar’s pride at hosting the AFC Asian Cup Tournament, and the country’s readiness to welcome one and all to this spectacular football occasion”.