The European Football Championship (Euro 2024) kicked off today, Friday, with a short and simple opening ceremony.
who wore the colors of the 24 teams participating in the tournament, performed the official song “Fire,” sung by singer Leonie, in front of a stadium filled with 66,000 spectators, led by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.
Then, flags and fabrics of different colors were spread in the middle of the Allianz Arena in Munich, before an inflated body in the shape of a championship cup appeared in the middle.
The opening ceremony witnessed honoring German football legend Franz Beckenbauer before the start of the opening match between the German national team and its Scottish counterpart.
At the end of the opening ceremony, Beckenbauer's widow, Heidi, carried the cup that will be awarded to the winning team in the final match on July 14, to the Munich stadium, and then blew a kiss to the sky.
Beckenbauer, who died last January at the age of 78, won Euro 1972 and the 1974 World Cup as a player, and also won the 1990 World Cup as a coach.