12:30 The football has started and we’re going to enjoy it right now – make sure you’re tuned in as Sportskeeda will be keeping you updated about the Euro 2016 Championships – every step of the way. It’s all underway now, good luck to the 24 teams that are competing! See you soon!
12:25: The national anthems are being sung, the players are down on the pitch and the action is about to get underway, don’t miss a second!
12:23 Here it is for those who haven’t seen it - the Can-can dancers are now vibing to Zara Larsson's hight notes. She’s got a sparkling black dress on – if the tournament is anywhere as dazzling then we should really be in for a treat!
12:20 At the heart of it all we’ve got the famous French moulin, or windmill. This time it’s blue, although many people will be remembering the Moulin Rouge.... In the middle we’ve got the superstar David Guetta with his hit “Tonight’s going to be a good night” – remind us of anyone else, Mr. Will.I.Am?
12:15 The UEFA Euro 2016 Opening Ceremony is under way! The pitch is painted green and the dancers are ready, tune in right now to watch it all begin! We’ve got candy-people, pink and blue dancers and the entire works!
Check out how fans at the Stade De France are prepping themselves for the match, as they begin warming up the stands, painting themselves and singing their national chants! Who will you be rooting for in this opening fixture? It's France VS Romania, the Euro 2016 opener!
The teams are out, with France's Evra warming up on the pitch as N'Golo Kante shakes hands with every member of his team.... The French look seriously fired up for this one! Dimitri Payet has got his club coaches backing though, as this tweet by West Ham fan handle shows:
The UEFA Euro 2016 Opening Ceremony starts soon.
The 4-year wait since Juan Mata put the final nail in the coffin for Italy’s European dream is over. Tonight at the Stade De France (France’s national stadium), France & Romania will go head-to-head as we kick off the 2016 edition of the European Championship finals. The wait is finished, and the action starts now. We’ll be following all of it right here on Sportskeeda. Before that however, we’ve got a few special treats to whet our appetites pre-match.
David Guetta – Official Euro 2016 Music Ambassador
If France had to pick someone to represent their music in this tournament, it’d be nobody other than the world-famous DJ David Guetta. A living legend of dance music, EDM & pop, the Frenchman has been a pioneer in electronic music. He's brought together household names from pop music in the USA, Europe and Africa and showed the world how to mix electronics music with mainstream pop vocals.
An 8-time nominee for Best House DJ & Best International DJ, he’s won the former award twice and the latter once in 2007. He’s sold over 9 million albums and 30 million singles around the world – although his music has been played an replayed a billion times over.
Global house hits like ‘Titanium ft. Sia’, ‘Sexy Chick ft. Akon’ and his classic ‘Love Don't Let Me Go ft. Egg’ have become staples at parties worldwide. He’s worked with hundreds of artists across every genre of music and tonight will be no different – he’s assembled an elite crew of performers. Don't miss the show, it’s about to start!
David Guetta - “This One’s For You”: Euro 2016 Official Song
It’s the traditional football opening act, full of colours (not just red & yellow), dance (not just after goals) and some controversy (swept under the rug by a match as usual)! We’re going to get a glimpse of David Guetta singing “This One’s For You” - a song we’ll hear much more of for the next 30 days! Along with that, expect his friend and fellow producer Will.I.Am to bring his own electrifying performance to bear. Ariana Grande’s smooth notes and suggestive displays will surely kick some spice into it too!
For those who’ll want something a little bit more chilled out, Hungarian piano legend Adam Gyorgy and Louane Emera will be hitting the softer notes for you. French rap star Soprano will be dropping some hot verses alongside the remixing magic of DJ Karmatronic. The international music basket on offer would of course not be complete without some different languages. To that end, French pop star Florent Pagny will be entertaining the audience in French, Spanish, Italian and English too!
French Tradition at the UEFA Euro 2016 - Can-can Dancers & the Eiffel Tower
Still not impressed? Well then at least your eyes will get a great feast as around 150 professional Can-can dancers will come onto the pitch to showcase French dancing. The high kicks and full-power style of the dance are reminiscent of typical French cabarets, where it is still very much appreciated. Tales of times bygone tell of slightly over-enthusiastic men (let’s face it, they often are) being kept civil by this dance. How? Well, the ladies of the can-can would place a bet that they could their hats off with a dance move. That’s a pretty effective way of saying, “look but don’t touch” in our opinion!
The Eiffel tower remains the iconic Parisian landscape that will frame the whole event, with a pre-tournament concert nearby it to warm up the legs (of fans, not players). It’s going to be quite an affair and the French will not hold back at all. The Radio France will be sending in their choir unit to join the French Republican Guard to bellow out their national anthem in unison.
The final touch will be all over the sky - in the form of an aerial display from the French Air Force’s finest fly-boys. The Euro 2016 will be painted red, white and blue - and the French will be hoping that on the 10th of July, the European Cup’s ribbons are too!