By Jude Summerfield
The festivities of Euro 2024 are nearly upon the excited football public and the tournament in Germany will kick off on Friday night when the host nation take on Scotland.
While on the on-field action is what will bring plenty of fanatics to their closest television screen - be it at home or out and about - the competition will first witness a visual feast for the eyes with the opening ceremony taking place at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
Here's how fans can watch what should be a lively and entertaining opening ceremony.
How to watch the Euro 2024 opening ceremony
ITV are the United Kingdom's confirmed broadcasters for Germany's clash with Scotland in Group A, with their coverage running from 18:30 BST until 22:45. Fans can tune in to watch the opening ceremony on their TV channel or live stream it through ITVX on mobile and tablet devices.
Over in the United States, the game is set to be shown live on Foxsports.com, ViX, FOX Sports App, FOX Network and SiriusXM FC.
Confirmed acts at the Euro 2024 opening ceremony
While no performers have yet been confirmed for the opening ceremony, popular music artists traditionally take to the pitch to bring some glitz and glamour to proceedings before the football action gets underway.
UEFA's official song for Euro 2024 was conjured up by MEDUZA, OneRepublic and Leony, who combined their talents to create 'Fire', with a description reading: "The song merges anthemic house production, compelling soundscapes and pop expertise into one joyful three-minute track."
However, UEFA has so far only revealed that the three artists will play the song at the closing ceremony.
A tribute to Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer, who passed away in January earlier this year at the age of 78, will take place. The nation's two living men's Euro-winning captains - Bernard Dietz and Jurgen Klinsmann - will be joined by Der Kaiser's wife, Heidi, in bringing the Henri Delaunay Cup onto the pitch before kick-off.
The host city of Stuttgart held an opening concert on Thursday night, with national pop stars Robin Schulz, Topic, Leony and Le Shuuk all performing at the Schlossplatz Fan Zone.
For some fans, however, the main attraction and source of anxiety is the presence or potential lack of presence of a tiny car. The mini Volkswagen charmed the hearts and minds of fans at Euro 2020, but UEFA has instead opted to make electric car manufacturer BYD as their main transport partner. Whether BYD plan on replicating the cute vehicle during the opening ceremony this year remains to be seen.
This article was originally published on 90min.com as How to watch the Euro 2024 opening ceremony.
