2003 ICC Cricket World Cup opening ceremony timing schedule

The World Cup Organising Committee has released the timing schedule for the opening ceremony of the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup taking place at the Newlands Cricket Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday 8 February.

SATURDAY 8 FEBRUARY 2003

• 17h00 Gates open. It is imperative that people arrive early to avoid any bottlenecks as CWC 2003 Security checks and searches will take place
• 19h30 Audience to be seated for an hour-long prelude with host of the show, comedian Marc Lottering. The audience will form part of the show, so their involvement is imperative. They are led by audience leaders positioned on each of the stands.
• 20h25 Five-minute countdown to the show
• 20h30 Opening Ceremony starts. The show comprises seven scenes and takes the audience on a trip around South Africa. The scenes are as follows:
  • Scene one: SAFARI
  • Scene two: UNITY - pyrotechnics at the end of the scene from the stage
  • Scene three: TOWNSHIP
  • Scene four: OCEAN
  • Scene five: INNOVATION
  • Scene six: PROTOCOL - introduction of teams
  • Scene seven: KARNIVAL - pyrotechnics at the end of the scene from the roof of the North Stand
• 22h30 Mass choir entertains. Audience to remain seated till the end of the performance. (This assists with limiting congestion as 3 000 cast members file out of the field and make their way to Newlands Rugby Stadium.
• 22h45 Performance ends