The much-awaited ICC World Cup is set to kick off on 30 May, marking the fifth time and the first in 20 years that England will host the quadrennial tournament.
This edition of the cricket World Cup will feature 10 teams, all competing against each other in the round-robin format and the top four qualifying for the semi-finals.
The first game of the tournament between hosts England and South Africa will take place on Thursday, 30 May at The Oval.
But before the first ball is bowled, it’s time to celebrate the occasion. The ICC Cricket World Cup opening ceremony will take place at The Mall on Wednesday, 29 May with the Buckingham Palace in the backdrop.
ICC has promised that it is going to be the “most celebrated start to a Cricket World Cup ever.”
Cricket’s leading governing body has planned live sport, music and entertainment events for 4,000 fans who will be present at the venue.
However, reports from Daily Mail suggest that no players of the participating 10 teams will be in attendance, as ICC would want to keep them free of fatigue ahead of the start of the tournament.
Multiple former cricketers from all the teams will be present at the venue to add on to the monumental occasion.
Here are all the facts about the curtain raiser event of the ICC World Cup 2019:
- The opening ceremony will take place at The Mall, in the City of Westminster, central London.
- The event will start at 9:30 PM IST on Wednesday, 29 May and will be aired live on the Star Sports Network.
- Every country will be represented by a cricketing legend and a celebrity. The host country England will have Kevin Pietersen and Love Island's Chris Hughes present.
- A total of 4,000 tickets for the ceremony was made available to the public.
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