Wizcraft achieves major success with Hockey World Cup Opening Ceremony

Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., India’s leading Communication & Entertainment company, working under the leadership of the Government of Odisha and Hockey India, has scripted yet another success story with the spectacular opening ceremony of the Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup held at Kalinga Stadium, Bhubaneshwar, on Monday, 27^th November, 2018.

The company has earlier splendidly executed multiple opening ceremonies  like the 19^th Commonwealth Games in Delhi, the Commonwealth Games Handover ceremony in Melbourne, Youth Commonwealth Games in Pune, Afro Asian Games & National Games in Hyderabad, ICC World Cup 2011 in Dhaka, Indian Super League (ISL) in 2017 and the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year, to name a few.

The Odisha Hockey World Cup opening ceremony was produced and executed by Wizcraft and directed by its co-founder Viraf Sarkari. The glorious ceremony was executed with a crew of over 400 & a mass cast of 1200 performers.

As a first for India, over 150 drones recreated the countdown to the ceremony and lit up the skies. The spectacular opening concluded with the formation of the Indian tricolour. The memorable evening began with the arrival of the captains of the participating teams followed by an inspiring speech by Mr. Naveen Patnaik, Hon’ble Chief Minister of Odisha. The perfect light and sound and visual spectacular involved immense skill and teamwork.

Delighted with the success of the opening ceremony, Wiz Viraf Sarkari, Co-Founder & Director, Wizcraft International, said “Designed and completed within thirty days, we at Wizcraft are extremely elated & proud to be associated with yet another opening ceremony of such a grand stature. The packed stadium only added to the memorable and magical experience. Such phenomenal outcomes and positive feedback only drive us further, to continue delivering such exceptional experiences”.

Commending the Wizcraft team, Mr. Vishal Dev, Commissioner cum Secretary Sports & Youth Services Department, Govt. of Odisha, said “It’s the first time that we had such a grand ceremony for a Hockey World Cup; the show that was put up was spectacular. Everyone is delighted with the way this world-class ceremony has panned out and Wizcraft International deserves to be congratulated for the same. My sincere appreciation to the Wizcraft team for setting it up in such a short duration. They have indeed worked very hard and I think the fabulous outcome is for all to see. I wish Wizcraft all the very best for the future”.

Leading the stellar line-up of celebrities was Bollywood's Badshah Shah Rukh Khan, whose arrival in the golden chariot, amidst the audience, further invigorated spirits of the audience. He recreated the ‘Chak De India’ moment with the iconic dialogue, ’Sattar minute’ (70 minutes), where he spoke about how those seventy minutes belonged to each hockey player in the World Cup and no one could take that away if they dedicated themselves to excellence and played to their heart’s content. He reminded the audience about his passion for hockey, having played for his school.  He invited the Hon’ble Chief minister to join him on stage and reminded the audience about the shared passion for hockey, since the CM too had played as the goalkeeper of Doon School.

This was followed by a stunning performance on ‘Mother Earth’ by Bollywood’s ethereal beauty, Madhuri Dixit, which will forever be etched in the memory of all spectators. The magical segment began with a wonderful visual created of Ms. Dixit emerging from the Earth Globe which turned into petals of a flower, intertwined with the relevant stage props, sounds and impressive lighting.

The performances incorporated diverse classical & global dance forms, authentic tribal dancers & the children of Odisha.

The finale of the Earth Song depicted the five elements and five senses of the human world. This was translated into choreography by Padma Shri Aruna Kumar Mohanty, Shiamak Davar and Devendra Shelar that further unravelled into a poetic and visual treat. The awe-inspiring show was a fusion of visual action and poetic portrayal. The Earth song, conceptualized and scripted by Nupur Mahajan, was brought to life through a unique presentation of ‘mudras’ (classical dance gestures) by Madhuri Dixit. The magical performance depicted the importance of the five elements and the need for harmony and acceptance of each other.

As the well-synced fireworks lit up the sky and dazzled the audience even further, the show continued with yet another riveting and brilliant ‘live’ performance by music maestro, A. R. Rahman.  The legendary music composer amazed the audience with his classic superhits as well as his rendition of the theme song, ‘Jai Hind, Jai India’.

Madhuri Dixit exclaimed, “The ceremony was a visual treat. Watching each piece unfold and fuse together was a visual delight. The dance ballet “the Earth Song” that I performed to was something very different from my previous performance. I played a larger than life character called the "Mother Earth”. All the teams worked very hard to put forward this spectacle.

Music composer AR Rahman was delighted with the Opening ceremony and the visual production. “I’m glad that global standards are being seen in India. I felt privileged to have been a part of the opening ceremony and also to have had the opportunity to compose and create the theme song for the well-deserved hockey game”.