POP superstar Jennifer Lopez, hundreds of dancers, drummers and gymnasts, and a paraplegic who kicked a football in a robotic suit delivered a pre-match extravaganza to open the World Cup on Thursday in Brazil.

    Brazilian singer Claudia Leitte performed the official World Cup song “We Are One,” along with Lopez, rapper Pitbull and Brazilian drumming collective Olodum in the ceremony’s grand finale.

    There were last-minute doubts over whether Lopez, who media reports say recently broke up with backup dancer and boyfriend Casper Smart, would attend. FIFA said Sunday the singer had pulled out of the ceremony over “production issues.” But with two days to go, the world football body said she would perform after all.

    “We Are One” has been viewed more than 75 million times on YouTube, though some critics have panned it as a disappointing follow-up to World Cup classics like Ricky Martin’s “Cup of Life” in 1998 and Shakira’s “Waka Waka” in 2010.

    More than 60,000 fans were expected to be in Sao Paulo’s Corinthians Arena, including 12 heads of state and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and around 1 billion people were expected to watch the opening ceremony and match on TV.

    The 25-minute ceremony featured more than 600 artists, including acrobatic gymnasts, trampolinists, marshal arts-style capoeira performers and stilt walkers. More than 1,200 people have worked on the ceremony.

    There were no political speeches this year, not even from Brazil’s President Dilma Rousseff, though messages of peace from Pope Francis and other religious leaders were read out as doves were released.

    The most powerful moment came when a paraplegic gave the first kick to Brazuca, the official World Cup ball, by donning an Iron Man-like robotic suit controlled by brain signals. The cutting-edge exoskeleton was designed by Brazilian neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis.

    (SD-Agencies)