What to Expect in the 2014 World Cup Opening Ceremony: Kickoff Time, Venue, Live Stream, Performances, and the Usual Spectacle and Pageantry

The official mascot of the FIFA 2014 World Cup, Fuleco the Armadillo, is seen on a float of Leandro de Itaquera samba school during the first night of the Special Group of the annual Carnival parade in Sao Paulo's Sambadrome February 28, 2014. REUTERS/Paulo Whitaker REUTERS

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) 2014 World Cup is finally here. Even though Jennifer Lopez has already made an announcement about her surprise exit from the 2014 World Cup Opening ceremonies, people can still witness the usual spectacle and pageantry in the opening rites of the biggest competition in the world.

Kickoff Time and Venue

According to FIFA's official Web site, the official kick off time is 3:15 PM (local current time in Brazil) at the Arena de Sao Paolo on June 12. The opening ceremony will last for 25 minutes.

Live Stream Information

ESPN will be streaming all 64 matches from the first kickoff to the finale. It will be available for viewers who pay for cable service that has ESPN as part of the channels lineup. In Australia, SBS will stream every game on its Web site. For Canada viewers, CBC will be streaming all the 64 games also on its Web site. For UK football fanatics, streaming will be available on BBC. For more information, here's a link to a Wikipedia article that enumerates the official or licensed broadcasters of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Performances and the Usual Spectacle and Pageantry

More than 600 dancers reportedly started rehearsing a month ago to put on a show that the world will surely be amazed of. "The Opening Ceremony is a tribute to Brazil and its treasures: nature, people football," said Daphne Cornez, the show's Belgian artistic director.

"The sense of excitement here is amazing and everyone is very motivated. It doesn't matter whether they're feeling tired or hot sometimes, or if they have to go through routines again and again: they just keep on smiling. It's amazing."

One of the performers, a 60-year-old female dancer Edna Sasson who will be representing a river could barely contain her excitement. "It's a unique event," said Sasson. "It's not like dancing at the local theatre or any other theatre for that matter," she added. "You're dancing at the start of the World Cup, with millions and millions of people watching, I'm loving it."

Joana Havelange, who works as the executive director of operational planning and support said that no fireworks will be utilized since the ceremony will be held during the day. The event will chiefly focus on the "dancers, the sets, the dance routines, fantasy sequences, and the soundtrack."

In addition to the dancers, there will also be "acrobatic gymnasts, trampolinists, capoeira, performers and stilt walkers," who all stepped up and offered to lend their talents for the big event.

The opening ceremony will end with Pitbull's performance of the 2014 World Cup theme song "We Are One."