Whatever the temptation to be cynical about a R30-million sound, light and dance spectacular as a prelude to a cricket tournament, Saturday night’s 2003 World Cup opening ceremony went a long way towards dispelling notions of unnecessary extravagance.
The only cloud of the night, literally, hung over Table Mountain, but Newlands, the venue for Sunday’s opening match between South Africa and the West Indies, was awash with sound and colour. It was, simply, a terrific show, staged with an informal, almost casual precision. If the cricket over the next six weeks approaches the standard set on Saturday night, we’re in for the best World Cup of them all.
From the opening — an African sunrise, complete with waterholes, wildlife and the cutest meerkats you could hope to see — to its climax (after two or three mercifully short speeches), it all worked, setting the tone for the tournament. After weeks of speculation and posturing over Zimbabwe and Kenya ‘s role as World Cup co-hosts, the mood was jubilant and celebratory. It was a fabulous, happy evening and the 25 000 at Newlands and the billion or more who watched on television must surely have had their spirits lifted.
Among other aspects, one of the concerns around this World Cup has been the prospect of over-regulation. But the organisation at Newlands was slick and smooth and more relaxed than might have been anticipated. If you’d wanted to, you could have bought a ”Hansie Burger” from at least one of the many refreshment points around the stadium.
On Sunday morning, just a few hours before South Africa and the West Indies are due to take the field, England will finally make it known whether or not they intend to honour their fixture against Zimbabwe in Harare in Thursday. It would be stretching a point to say that the World Cup is already smoothly up and running, but it couldn’t have asked for a better introduction than that provide at Newlands on Saturday.
More cricket in our Cricket World Cup special report