The Women's World Cup is just around the corner, with excitement building in the football world as 32 nations step up their preparations for the biggest tournament in the women's game.
For the first time ever a World Cup is being hosted by Australia and New Zealand, with the opening match taking place at Eden Park in Auckland on July 20.
It is an exciting event for the country, and they will also have the privilege of hosting the opening ceremony of the tournament, which is sure to be a brilliant show of the cultures of the two host countries, with entertainment to delight fans in the stadium and at home.
MORE: Full match schedule for the Women's World Cup
The Sporting News has all the details surrounding the opening ceremony for the 2023 Women's World Cup.
What time is the Women's World Cup opening ceremony?
- Date: July 20
- Time: 5:30 p.m. local time (3:30 p.m. AEST, 8:30 a.m. BST, 1:30 a.m. ET)
Though there has been no official announcement of a start time for the Women's World Cup opening ceremony, it can be assumed it will begin around 90 minutes before kick off of the opening match.
Bearing in mind that the game is beginning at 7:00 p.m. local time, the opening ceremony should be beginning at around 5:30 p.m. local time.
This will ensure there is enough time for the festivities, as well as both teams to then warm up in time for kick off.
Where is the Women's World Cup ceremony?
The opening ceremony is being held at Eden Park in New Zealand's biggest city of Auckland.
Eden Park has a capacity of 50,000 and is the largest stadium in the country, it has hosted matches at the Cricket World Cup as well as a Rugby World Cup final in 2011.
It is also one of the home grounds of the fearsome New Zealand Rugby Union team the 'All Blacks', who hold an imposing record at the venue.
It has also hosted matches for the countries only professional club the Wellington Phoenix and international matches for the men's international side the All Whites; Eden Park is hosting nine matches at the tournament, including one semifinal.
MORE: FIFA Women's World Cup mascot 2023: What is Tazuni?
World Cup opening ceremony performers and artists
At this stage there has only been confirmation of two artists performing at the opening ceremony.
Local artists BENEE, a New Zealander, and Mallrat, an Australian, were announced to be performing the official song for the Women's World Cup at the opening ceremony.
The song called "Do It Again" aims to "explores the bullish determination involved in not only getting women's sport on a huge platform, but even noticed and supported at all."
It is not known what other performances there may be at the opening ceremony, though a New Zealand based website recently posted an article seeking volunteers or 'cast members' who wished to play a key part of the opening ceremony.
How to watch Women's World Cup opening ceremony live
The Women's World Cup opening ceremony will be shown around the world, with many broadcasters televising or streaming all the action from the opening match — including the ceremony — live.
| Country | Date | Time | TV | Streaming |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | July 20 | 1:30 a.m. ET | Fox Sports, Telemundo (Spanish) | Fox Sports site/app, Peacock, Telemundo Deportes site/app (Spanish) |
| Canada | July 20 | 1:30 a.m. ET | TSN, RDS (French) | TSN+, RDS Direct (French) |
| UK | July 20 | 8:30 a.m. BST | BBC | BBC iPlayer |
| Australia | July 20 | 3:30 p.m. AEST | Optus Sport, Channel 7 | Optus Sport site/app, 7Plus |
| New Zealand | July 20 | 5:30 NZT | Sky Sports, Prime TV | Sky Sports NOW |
| Singapore | July 20 | 1:30 p.m. SGT | StarHub1, Singtel | Starhub TV+,Singtel TV GO, MeWatch |
| Malaysia | July 20 | 1:30 p.m. MYT | — | — |
| India | July 20 | 11:00 a.m. IST | — | — |
| Hong Kong | July 20 | 1:30 p.m. HKT | — | — |