FIFA WWC Opening Ceremony
We united and inspired women and girls around the World
Some tournaments open with fireworks. This one opened with a hongi.
FIFA wanted the biggest, most empowering Women’s World Cup ever held to open the same way it meant to be remembered – as a celebration of solidarity, sisterhood and the cultures of its twin hosts.
Ten minutes to set the tone for a tournament played across Australia and New Zealand, watched by the world.
We built the Ceremony from the ground up with the people whose stories it was telling.
Cultural consultants, artists and performers from New Zealand’s Māori community and Australia’s First Nations peoples shaped the movement, the music, the meaning – every symbol earned its place. More than 200 young women from both nations made up the cast.
At its centre: two female leaders, one from each community, sharing a hongi – the traditional Māori greeting where two people exchange breath.
It became the emotional anchor of the whole show, unity made physical before a ball was kicked.
Each of the 32 competing nations was represented through its own unity dance. New Zealand’s BENEE and Australia’s Mallrat stood side by side to perform “Do It Again,” the tournament’s song.
And before kickoff, women from each host nation carried the match ball to the centre of the pitch together – the opening statement, made by the people it was for.
More than 80% of the cast, performers and crew were women.
800,000 people filled the stadium. The Ceremony reached more than 100 countries. Over 240 cast members took part, alongside more than 45 Māori and First Nations people in production. Every prop came from New Zealand and Australian companies – and every prop has a second life ahead of it, upcycled, recycled or used again.
Two nations. One breath. A tournament that started the way it meant to go on.