After Air France Strike Is Settled, the Opening Festivities Go Airborne
Air France reached an agreement Wednesday with striking pilots to end a 10-day walkout that severely undermined preparations for the World Cup.
The strike embarrassed Air France, the World Cup’s official carrier, as well as the French government.
Tuesday night, as World Cup celebrations began in Paris, negotiations seemed deadlocked. Pilots had gathered at Charles de Gaulle airport and agreed to continue the walkout, despite an appeal by the transport minister to keep talking. The agreement came overnight.
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Bugs on stilts, floating soccer balls and trumpeting bungee jumpers gave a surreal tone to the opening of the 16th World Cup.
As the wave went around, 600 acrobats and volunteers acted out the planting of a “magic garden” in Stade de France Stadium at Saint-Denis, where Brazil and Scotland kicked off the competition minutes later.
The crowd of 80,000 laughed and cheered as a lone soccer ball, steered by remote control, rolled elusively around the pitch, with five boys in vain pursuit.
Stiltwalkers dressed as striped insects stalked among 380 pudgy green “hedge hoppers” who brought a rippling, 8,000-square-yard canvas on to the field.
As the stilt bugs sowed the canvas with yellow “pollen” helium balloons, 10 bug-costumed acrobats--current or former members of the French trampoline team--bounced up from beneath. Giant flowers of red, orange, pink and yellow sprouted and a soccer ball arose from each, exploding with hundreds of balloons.
Organizers said the ceremony was cleared with aviation authorities to keep the 3,000 balloons from interfering with air traffic.
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Yugoslavia’s playmaking midfielder Dejan Savicevic, nicknamed “The Genius,” is out for Sunday’s against Iran because of a knee injury. Knee injuries probably will cost Iran goalkeeper Ahmad Reza Abedzadeh, its captain, and midfielder Sattar Hamedani for the match.
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The planes are booked, the hotel rooms reserved, and thousands of Japanese soccer fans are ready to cheer on their national team in its World Cup debut Sunday.
The only problem? Most of the tickets haven’t arrived. And Japan’s tour operators are panicking.
Of the 14,700 tickets ordered for Japan’s opening match against Argentina, only 2,200 have been delivered, Jun Ishiyama, spokesman for the Japan Assn. of Travel Agents, said Wednesday.
Five travel agencies decided to cancel their World Cup tours for the Argentina match, fearing they won’t receive the tickets in time, Kyodo news reported. Other major tour operators said they may be forced to cancel as well.
