World Cup kicks off in Canada with Alanis Morissette and Michael Bublé performing in opening ceremony

Canada's infinitesimal successful the 2026 World Cup spotlight has arrived with a joyous opening ceremonial featuring home-grown euphony stars Alanis Morissette and Michael Bublé.

Canadian fans arrived successful a oversea of reddish up of the archetypal lucifer against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and they broke retired into an impromptu rendition of the nationalist anthem O Canada arsenic they entered Toronto Stadium.

It comes a time aft the planetary tourney began successful Mexico City connected Thursday with different opening ceremonial that featured Shakira and Nigerian creator Burna Boy.

Meanwhile, the archetypal US crippled successful Los Angeles, held aboriginal connected Friday, volition diagnostic performances from chart-topping creator Katy Perry and Atlanta rapper Future.

The 2026 tourney is being hosted successful each 3 countries and is acceptable to beryllium the largest ever, with 48 nations competing.

"We've precise excited. This is simply a agelong clip coming," said Peter Giacobbe, a Toronto autochthonal who is attending Canada games successful some Toronto and Vancouver, the country's 2nd big city, on with his person Robert McIntosh.

"We woke up this greeting realising that this is making Canadian past together," McIntosh said.

Fans of the nationalist Bosnian squad were arsenic excited. Hundreds arrived to the stadium successful a abstracted march pursuing the Canadian fans. Some told the BBC they travelled from their location state to ticker their squad play successful the World Cup for the archetypal clip since 2014.

Others, similar Bosnian-Canadian Layla Mesic, were person to home. Mesic was astatine the stadium with her Canadian mother, who donned a Team Canada jersey portion Mesic proudly sported Bosnia's yellowish and blue.

"To adjacent suffice to the World Cup, it's a large constituent of pridefulness of us," Mesic said. "Today I'm 100% Bosnian."

She added that, to her, this is simply a once-in-a-life-time experience. "It mightiness person outgo an limb and a leg, but I'm here."

Morissette performed the nationalist anthem to a cheering crowd. Bublé, who performed with a choir, led the fans successful the stands successful a rousing rendition of Bring It connected Home to Me, by Mississippi psyche vocalist Sam Cooke.

Along with Bublé and Morissette, performers for Canada's opening ceremonial included Canadian vocalist Alessia Cara, Palestinian singer-songwriter Elyanna, and Toronto natives Jessie Reyes and Nora Fatehi.

William Prince, an indigenous creator from Manitoba, besides performed.

Organisers said the database of performers was inspired by Canada's communities and "rich diversity".

Ahead of the match, the announcer successful the Toronto Stadium asked the assemblage to "join america successful a circular of applause for peace".

Later successful the day, the lucifer betwixt the US and Paraguay successful Los Angeles volition beryllium opened by performers including Katy Perry, Future, Brazilian singer-songwriter Anitta and Blackpink alumna and histrion LISA.

Grammy-winning South African vocalist Tyla volition besides perform.

While big-name celebrities are expected to beryllium successful attendance, neither US president Donald Trump nor Canadian premier curate Mark Carney volition beryllium astatine either of their countries' opening matches.

Instead, US authorities caput Marco Rubio volition beryllium successful LA.

Carney, meanwhile, successful France for a moving travel up of adjacent week's G7 summit. He is expected to conscionable with French president Emmanuel Macron connected Friday.

Mexico's president Claudia Sheinbaum besides skipped her country's archetypal crippled connected Thursday, saying she did truthful successful protestation implicit the tournament's precocious summons prices.

Fifa is besides readying a star-studded amusement for the closing ceremonial connected 19 July, wherever it volition big its first-ever halftime amusement successful its adjacent 100-year history, modelled aft akin spectacles astatine the Super Bowl.

Headliners see Coldplay's Chris Martin, Madonna and Shakira.

The last crippled volition beryllium played astatine MetLife Stadium successful New Jersey.