The 9th edition of the Indian Premier League is upon us and things will kick off with a grand opening ceremony on 8 April. The venue for the epic event will be the Dome @ NSCI-SVP Stadium in Mumbai and we will see a host of Indian and international stars from the entertainment industry converge under one roof. It promises to be an enthralling night before the start of the cricketing action in the 2016 IPL on 9 April.
Follow IPL 9 LIVE Ceremony with Sportskeeda
The first match of the tournament will feature defending champions Mumbai Indians and one of the two new franchises to have joined the IPL bandwagon, Rising Pune Supergiants. The match will be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai, home of the 2015 IPL champions. While Pune will be looking to begin on a winning note, Mumbai will want to get the momentum going for their title defence.
So far, all opening ceremonies of the world's most popular T20 league have been highly spectacular and the event which ushers in the 2016 edition of the tournament is also expected to be in a similar vein. And going by the list of celebrities who will be performing at the IPL opening ceremony, the fans are surely in for a treat. With eminent Indian and foreign stars assembling at one place, the event will be a star-studded affair.
The Bollywood gang of performers will feature the likes of Ranveer Singh, Katrina Kaif, Jacqueline Fernandez and popular rapper Yo Yo Honey Singh. Among the international superstars who will be setting the stage on fire tonight are EDM group Major Lazer, singer Chris Brown and rapper Fuse ODG. With names like these entertaining the crowd at the opening ceremony, the audience is sure to be vowed.
The fans at the Dome @ NSCI-SVP Stadium will be eager to watch popular American R&B artist perform for the first time in the country. Brown is equally excited about this opportunity and said in a statement, "We are very excited to perform in India for the very first time... Looking forward to a crazy night of mayhem and meeting all my beautiful people in India."
Another major attraction during the IPL 2016 Opening Ceremony will be well-known EDM group Major Lazer, who shot their video for their superhit single 'Lean On' in India. The group shared their plans for the night by saying, "At IPL we treat the whole city like one scene and we bring everyone out for music, food and just good energy all around. All of us in Major Lazer are excited to be back in India bringing carnival to the fans."
Indian actor Ranveer Singh, who recently bagged the prestigious Filmfare Award for Best Actor, is also looking forward to perform at the opening ceremony of the 2016 IPL and has a theme for it too. The superstar revealed that he wants to uphold the spirit of cricket through his performance. "My act will honour the spirit of cricket and victory. I want to dedicate this performance to all the cricket fans across the world,” Ranveer said.
There is a lot more in store for those in attendance at the venue and for the millions who will enjoy the grand opening of yet another IPL season from the comfort of their homes. The atmosphere is bound to be electric as a bunch of popular celebrities combine with some of the biggest cricketing superstars to mark the beginning of the 9th season of the Indian Premier League.
IPL 2016 Opening Ceremony: Live Streaming Details
Online Stream - HotStar
Opening Ceremony Date - 8 April 2016, Friday
Opening CeremonyTime - 19:30 IST, 14:00 GMT
Opening CeremonyVenue - Dome @ NSCI-SVP Stadium
IPL 2016 Opening Ceremony: Live Telecast
TV Channels - Sony Max, Sony Six, Sony Six HD, Sony ESPN and Sony ESPN HD
Brand-new app in a brand-new avatar! Download CricRocket for fast cricket scores, rocket flicks, super notifications and much more! 🚀☄️
