FIFA World Cup 2014 Opening Ceremony: Brazil's Culture Encapsulated to Perfection as JLo and Pitbull take Centre Stage

Brazil is not just a country about football is it? There is so much culture in that wonderful land, and the FIFA World Cup 2014 Opening Ceremony encapsulated that to perfection in a short, concise, but thoroughly entertaining show as the world watched on in raptures, waiting in bated breath for that first ball to be kicked when Brazil takes on Croatia in the opener, with the ceremony whetting that appetite wonderfully well.

It all began with the big ball at the centre of the pitch saying welcome in all 32 languages of the participating nations at this World Cup.

What followed was a bit of theatre with men and women in stilts and performers acting out the Amazon jungle as we all awaited the first rumble of this tournament. There were trees, water and several other little things which captured Brazil and all of its venues for the 2014 World Cup wonderfully well, with performances, choreographed perfectly, making it quite a spectacle.

The big ball was the centre-piece, though, the conductor to the orchestra of performers as the showcase of Brazil and its vast heritage and culture continued in earnest.

Samba -- what would Brazil be without a little bit of Samba -- was also brought out in all its glory as various musical styles found its moment in the Opening Ceremony sun, ensuring the tournament would never go out of tune.

What would music be without a bit of dancing then? So music was accompanied by some dancing duets, before the coco dancers decided to shake their legs a little, as the crowd warmed up to the opening ceremony.

Martial arts followed the dancing, with some major air-kicking and smooth transitions easing into a bit more of the dancing again as the entire stage was lit up by the colourful dancers.

The ball/orb, which clearly had a mind of its own, called in its minions to encircle around it, before bidding them goodbye to signal the end of the festivities, emphasised by kids acting as referees, waving red cards to put an end to proceedings.

That's what it looked like at least, but, soon enough, in came kids dressed as balls with a lot more wearing shirts with flags of the 32 countries etched in them performing a bit of choreographed dancing, prancing and acrobatics of their own to add to the fantastical show.

What followed was a symbolic moment of the World Cup, with the first official kick being placed by a paraplegic person wearing an exoskeleton, which is controlled by the wearer's mind.

Finally, the three superstar pop singers – Jennifer Lopez (yes, she was there), Pitbull and Brazil's own Claudia Leitte performed the popular World Cup official song "We Are One," with the trio popping up in the middle of that gigantic ball which decided to open up to form a stage at the centre of the pitch.