On June 22, actor Ly Hien was invited to participate in the opening ceremony before the match in Group H between Spain and Saudi Arabia at the 2026 World Cup, becoming the first mainland Chinese artist to appear in this ceremony in a match of the men's World Cup tournament.
However, this particularly meaningful moment did not appear on official broadcast platforms.
From June 19, the leading sponsor of the World Cup, Adidas, has announced an official invitation letter, confirming that Ly Hien is the guest performing the opening ceremony of the match. Before the event took place, Ly Hien also posted photos on his personal social network, saying that he had prepared carefully and was ready to appear on the field.
Unlike the serve in the middle of the court when the match officially started, this time it was just a ritual of bringing the ball into the court before the match.
Ly Hien wore a dark red sports shirt paired with light-colored sports pants, held the match ball, walked onto the field, placed the ball on the designated exhibition podium, then waved to the audience and took souvenir photos.
Many fans and netizens stayed up late waiting to watch live television, but in the end did not see the image of Ly Hien, they could only watch through video clips posted by audiences at the scene.
The keyword "Ly Hien kicks off but is not broadcast" also quickly climbed to the hot search list of Weibo. Many netizens complained that they "wake up all night just to be disappointed".
According to the media, the reason for Ly Hien's ritual not being broadcast is not because there is any special arrangement, but stemming from the usual regulations on television rights.
In essence, this opening ceremony is a commercial activity organized by a sports fashion brand - the sponsor of the World Cup - and does not fall into the official FIFA process.
Broadcasting rights contracts of television stations usually only include official match content, not brand promotion activities that take place before the match.
In addition, the invitation for Ly Hien was given by the brand, not the World Cup organizers, so the broadcasting units are also not obligated to broadcast live this promotional activity.
In fact, Ly Hien is a long-time football fan. He has always been a loyal fan of Real Madrid club, and once went to Santiago Bernabéu stadium to watch a Real Madrid match in 2025.
Although Ly Hien's opening image was not broadcast in China, many netizens still believe that it does not reduce the value of the event. Ly Hien's appearance on the football field of an official match at the World Cup as a Chinese artist is already a meaningful and noteworthy moment.
After completing the ritual, the actor continued to record moments at the stadium, posting a video of Spanish players entering the stadium to share this memorable World Cup trip with fans.
