World Cup Opening Ceremony malfunction sees singer fleeing from sparks

Hannah FurnellFri, June 12, 2026 at 9:04 PM UTC

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The World Cup Opening Ceremony in Canada saw a malfunction, as a singer fled from sparks -Credit:AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

The World Cup Opening Ceremony saw yet another blunder as a singer fled from some firework sparks.

On Friday, June 12, the second day of the World Cup Opening Ceremony kicked off in Toronto, Canada, with plenty of incredible performances by a lineup of stars, including Alessia Cara, Elyanna, Jessie Reyez, and Michael Bublé. However, the show was not without some blunders.

After some viewers who tuned in to watch the broadcast were left unimpressed with one glaring detail, a very empty stadium, singer Jessie Reyz took to the stage for a pyrotechnic-filled performance. However, when singer Jessie appeared, she almost got blasted by one flare.

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As sparks flew out of the stage, which featured a massive FIFA World Cup trophy, one flew very close to Jessie's arm before she quickly turned away and continued singing.

One X user commented on the mishap, writing, "Little bit of a malfunction for the World Cup trophy during the opening ceremony in Toronto at BMO Field."

Leading the line-up for the Canadian Opening Ceremony are singing icons Michael Buble, Alessia Cara, and Alanis Morissette. After yesterday's Mexico Opening Ceremony drew massive crowds, and even the death of a fan outside of the Azteca Stadium, those tuning in to watch the action kick off in Canada saw a very different stadium.

"Opening ceremony of the World Cup in Toronto Canada with a lot of seats empty," one person noted on X. "Not a great look." Others noted that the game likely was the bigger draw for many in Canada, so fans were likely still set to arrive, leading to others to compare it to Mexico, which boasted a full stadium prior to the kick-off match.

"Hope you realize the game doesn't start for over 1 hour and Toronto has the worst traffic in North America lmao," one person said. "Seen the opening ceremony in Mexico City yesterday? Hope you realize that match also didn't start for over 1 hour and Mexico City has 100 x worse traffic than lmao Ofc I know it starts over an hour, no s-t, but its the opening ceremony! Lso its not that busy in Toronto ATM," the original poster replied.

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Others pointed out other possible reasons for what appeared to be a lackluster attendance, noting that the two countries approached the sport differently, while others noted the costs to attend a match.

The Canadian Opening Ceremony saw several blunders, including one with a firework spark and singer Elyanna -Credit:FIFA via Getty Images

"Mexico is a football country. Soccer in Canada isn't even top 3 most popular sports," one person said. "People are going for the game not to see a singer perform." Another pointed out, "It was probably very expensive."

Meanwhile, Fox upset fans with a switch-up on the broadcast of the sporting event. As fans tuned in, many were confused by the network's continued panning back and forth between the opening ceremony performances. At one point, they even suggested switching to Fox Sports for the rest of the show, even though the broadcast was still showing on the original channel.

Viewers quickly expressed outrage over the mishaps, with one X user saying, "Not even halfway through Day 2 of the World Cup & the Fox coverage has been nothing short of embarrassing."

Comparing the network to its competitor, another added, "Don't know what US fans would do with Telemundo coverage of the world cup. Fox is beyond abysmal." A third chimed in, "Telemundo might single handily save this World Cup from FOX."

Despite it being only the second day of the FIFA World Cup, this wasn't the first time Fox had come under heat during the event. Viewers' fury began when the network chose to air its own pregame coverage instead of the Mexico City World Cup opening ceremony, which featured Shakira and Burna Boy performing the event's official song Dai Dai.

Fox viewers were upset when the network's coverage of the World Cup in Mexico failed to show Shakira's performance -Credit:Getty Images

Nevertheless, Fox chose to roll out its own network stars, including Thierry Henry and Javier Hernandez, ahead of the game between Mexico and South Africa.

Many believe it wasn't a coincidence that Fox interrupted both opening ceremonies. A critic stated, "the fact that fox is not showing the opening ceremony for canada but telemundo is speaks volumes like im will not be watching a single world cup game on fox lol plus telemundo is so much better."

Someone else wrote, "What I miss most about ESPN's coverage of the World Cup was how respectful and duteous they were toward it being the World Cup. Fox Sports is over-the-top American centric and spends nowhere near enough time covering the other matches."

Fox is the official English-speaking TV rights holder for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The network splurged on the rights for quadrennial tournament in 2018. The 2026 tournanment acts as the third time Fox will host the series for English audiences. ESPN and ABC aired the World Cup in the United States from 1970 to 2014.

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”