A Night To Remember: Spectacular closing ceremony precedes World Cup final

A Night To Remember: Spectacular closing ceremony precedes World Cup final
The closing ceremony 'A Night To Remember' marked the beginning of the end of the Qatar 2022 World Cup.
2 min read
18 December, 2022
The closing ceremony was a spectacular show of light, music and dancing [Youssef Loulidi/Fantasista/Getty Images]

Qatar began to draw the curtains on the 2022 World Cup with a mesmerising closing ceremony on Sunday, an hour before the final kicked off between Argentina and France at the Lusail Stadium.

Titled 'A Night To Remember', the ceremony lifted off with colourful lamps representing each team in the competition released into the air. Only two remained floating above the pitch - those representing France and Argentina. 

The first performance of the evening was a rendition of  Louis Armstrong's 'What A Wonderful World' by Qatari artist Dana al Fardan. The tempo soon rose after her performance as 'Dreamers' by BTS star Jung Kook blared around the stadium, with fans dancing and clapping to the song.

Davido, Aisha, and Trinidad Cardona emerged to perform 'Hayya Hayya', part of the official soundtrack for the tournament. A host of other musicians from around the world - Ozuna, Balqees, Rahma Riad, Manal, Nora Fatehi and Gims - all took to the stage during the ceremony.

All the singers appeared on stage for a final performance, before the fifteen-minute ceremony concluded with a shower of sparks and fireworks. 

All eyes subsequently turned to the two teams, France and Argentina, as they vie for the World Cup trophy in the final.