A giant inflatable replica of the World Cup trophy malfunctions during the opening ceremony in Toronto Stadium in Canada on June 13, 2026. Photo: Xinhua

A technical malfunction involving a giant inflatable World Cup trophy became a talked-about moment of the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in Canada, sparking widespread discussions and memes across social media on Saturday.

Before the host nation opened its campaign on June 12 with a 1-1 draw against Bosnia and Herzegovina, earning Canada its first-ever point in men's World Cup history, the Canadian host city staged an opening ceremony celebrating Indigenous heritage and the country's multicultural identity in Toronto Stadium.

The show featured traditional Indigenous performances and dances centered on the theme of a cultural “mosaic,” symbolizing the coexistence of diverse races, cultures and communities, per Xinhua.

However, during the ceremony's main performance segment, a giant inflatable replica of the World Cup trophy suffered an embarrassing malfunction. According to the live video of the opening ceremony, as the trophy was being raised, part of the outer covering around its base began to peel away, exposing the inflatable tubes inside. The structure then started losing air and visibly deflated before organizers removed the creative prop from the field.

The trophy mishap was not the only issue to mar the event, thepaper.cn reported. Despite Toronto Stadium having been expanded to accommodate more than 45,000 spectators and attracting 43,002 fans on a sunny day, television footage showed numerous empty seats in several sections when the ceremony began.

Meanwhile, Canadian musician William Prince also encountered audio problems during his performance, with his vocals becoming barely audible at one point.

The mishaps quickly fueled a wave of jokes online.

A netizen compared the incident to the malfunction during the opening ceremony of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, when one of the four arms of the Olympic cauldron failed to rise as planned.

“Even the golden ball said, ‘Nah, not today,’” another netizen joked.

Chinese netizens also joined the online banter, describing the ceremony as remarkably “laid-back” and joking that “the world is just one giant amateur production.”

As of press time, neither FIFA nor the organizers of the opening ceremony have issued an explanation regarding the technical failure of the inflatable World Cup trophy.

Global Times