Besides the fact that the opening ceremony for the 2019 African Cup of Nations (AFCON 2019) was breathtaking,ย many things thatย took place on the groundย did not showย on TV!
And onlyย the fans who were present at Cairo International Stadiumย on June 21st for the opening ceremony (Egypt vsย Zimbabwe)ย will understand! Here they are:ย
#1 The Songs
When the sun set, as everyone on the pitch was preparing for the ceremony itself,ย they played songs for people to sing and dance to as they cheered on for the National Team; even three hours before the game! And one of those songs was REALLY cheerful that EVERYBODY was dancing and singing every time it came on.
But unfortunately, we don’t know what the name of the song was!
#2 The TIGER Team
Around an hourย before the game, a team from TIGERย with drums invaded the fans’ space in the stands to make them cheer loudly for Egypt and the National Team.
Literally, everybody loved them!
#3 The Pharaoh with the Tabla
There were too many fans dressed up as pharaohs, but there was one specific guy who was also holding a ‘Tabla‘ and kept going to every row in the stands to make people sing and dance with him!
#4 The Failed Wavesย and the Successful Ones
The stadium wasย full houseย by 5:30 PM. From that time until the end of the game atย 12:00 AM,ย people were creating a new wave every 15 minutes. At the beginning,ย because it was too hot and not everyone was focused, it failed.
However as the time passed and the adrenalineย reached itsย maximum,ย theย fans created the best wave ever inย Cairo Internationalย Stadium, with their phones lighting up the atmosphere!
#5 The Mysterious Best Fan Prize
At half time, the screens in the stadium pulled up a picture of a woman named Rasha. And the speaker announced that she just won the Best Fan Prize from Orange Egypt.
The thing here is, everyone was confused at this moment because when the stadium speaker announced her,ย sheย didn’t say what the prize was nor how she won it. So everyone was just there looking at each other trying to understand what that whole thing was and what the prize could be. The curiosityย was actually funny!
#6 The CAT 2 Fight
During the first half, while everyone was following the boys playing on the pitch, suddenly a group of people in the CAT 2 stands began to shout “Let him go” for like a solid minuteย .
And because security were everywhere, it was so hard for everyone to understand what’s going on or who got in a fight with whom. It remains a mystery everyone wants to solve till now!
#7 The Pizza-Hut Boxes
Because there was a food court in the stadiumย that soldย KFC, Hardees, Pizza-Hut, Costa and more, people were standing in long lines to get their tummies full for the already long day!
But for some reason – or an obvious one, to be honest -, everyone seemed toย be preferring pizza over the rest. Therefore, the stadium stands were basicallyย filled with big Pizza Hut boxes, everywhere!
#8 The Pepsi & Chipsyย Combo
That one was so cool! Right?
Pepsi and Chipsy were giving away a big cup with a straw and a wide plate to drink Pepsi and eat Chipsy, all at once!
And everyone was pretty impressed!
