Jamaica and the Caribbean paraded their finest musical talents before the rest of the world, as the 9th World Cup of cricket opened in a rousing and colourful ceremony. The thousands at the newly built $32m Trelawny Multi-Purpose Stadium on Jamaica's north coast heard from an exceptional lineup of musicians. The dominant flavour was Jamaican with legends Byron Lee, Sly and Robbie, Jimmy Cliff, Lovindeer and Third World complemented by modern stars Sean Paul, Shaggy and Buju Banton. The stadium lights were dimmed and a video of the late Bob Marley filled the large TV screens. Redemption Songs never sounded so powerful, particularly when the stage light went up to reveal the I-threes, who launched into a Marley medley, including Buffalo Solider and One Love. The ghost of Marley, Jamaica's greatest singer, was present at this musical feast. The rest of the cast was impressive--- David Rudder, Kevin Little and Faye Anne Lyons. Culture and history Dancers portrayed Caribbean culture and history. The stunning floats of the carnival king and queen of Trinidad and Tobao lit up the ceremony. The programme included performers from the other cricket playing countries--- South African reggae star Lucky Dube, a trio of Irish dancers, South African drummers and an Indian song and dance troupe. "A fusion of Caribbean talent, traditions and ethnicities, and therefore a tribute the rich cultures of the host venues and the region as a whole," was how the opening ceremony's event manager Martin Lewis described it. The march past of the teams was impressive, with each of the 16 captains leading a child by the hand. No prizes for guessing which team got the biggest cheer. The West Indies appeared last, although by the order of things--- the teams appeared alphabetically--- it should have been Zimbabwe. Vocal crowd The Trelawny stadium is several hundred metres in from the main road on the island's north coast, carved out of scrub and bush near the small historical town of Falmouth. With the Caribbean sea forming a backdrop to the stage area and the north stand, deliberately left empty as a sort of huge backstage area, about 10,000 crowded into the stadium. That's not large by the standards of match days at the main cricket ground Sabina Park, but that took nothing away from the occasion. The Trelawny crowd was very vocal and sang and danced along with the acts in appreciation. Reprinted from bbccaribbean.com