The 2018 FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup kicked off – ceremonially speaking – with a glittering opening ceremony at Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium on Tuesday, 27 November.
A visually breath-taking evening was graced by Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit, along with music maestro AR Rahman – each enthralling a packed house with their respective performances.
Organised and sponsored in its entirety by the Government of Odisha, the 14th edition of hockey’s most prestigious competition begins on-field with the first round of grou-stage matches on Wednesday, 28 November.
Hosts India face South Africa in their Pool C opener at 7 pm IST, although Belgium and Canada will hit the turf first at 5 pm IST.
Here’s the best of a captivating evening, in pictures.
Bhubaneswar’s Kalinga Stadium was at its illuminated best for the opening ceremony of HWC 2018.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/HeartBeatsForHockey)
In a touching gesture, members of the 1975 WC-winning team – India’s only HWC triumph – were first to grace the stage.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/HeartBeatsForHockey)
Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik greeted captains of all 16 participating nations shortly after declaring HWC 2018 open.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/HeartBeatsForHockey)
The 16 captains were presented with a ‘Heartbeat’ by Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan, to mark the culmination of a campaign called ‘Heart Beats For Hockey’.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/HeartBeatsForHockey)
With customary wit, SRK wowed audiences and captains alike, also delivering his iconic ‘Sattar Minute’ dialogue from Chak De! India.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/HeartBeatsForHockey)
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SRK was followed on to the stage by Madhuri Dixit, and the ‘90s superstar mesmerised the crowd as the lead in a spectacular title production called ‘The Earth Song’.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/HeartBeatsForHockey)
The theme for the ceremony was ‘Oneness of Humankind’ – but the tricolour draped the Kalinga for large parts of the evening.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/HeartBeatsForHockey)
The closing act was a captivating performance by AR Rahman and his crew, featuring some of the greatest hits by the musical maestro.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/HeartBeatsForHockey)
A capacity Kalinga Stadium sang alongside Rahman and team as they performed iconic songs ‘Maa Tujhe Salaam’ and ‘Jai Ho’.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/HeartBeatsForHockey)
The ceremony ended the way it began – with no dearth of the most stunning visuals on a picturesque night in Bhubaneswar.(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/HeartBeatsForHockey)
