After a spectacular opening ceremony, the international media praised the inauguration of Expo 2020 in Dubai on Friday.

The opening ceremony, which featured Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, British singer Ellie Goulding, Chinese pianist Lang Lang, and Saudi singer Mohammed Abdu, was characterized as "amazing" by Canada's CBC news service.

Meanwhile, the "lavish celebration of fireworks, music, and messaging about the potential of global collaboration for a more sustainable future" was praised by Reuters.

Having kept the title Expo 2020 – the event was postponed by a year because of the outbreak of the coronavirus last year – this year's theme is Connecting Minds, Creating the Future.