Yes, you heard right, the all-promised, all-awaited gala that would have had a lot of pop-stars and would have topped any other gala ever opening a sports event.

How is this? Well, FIFA says that they wanted to protect the field of the Berlin Olympiastadion, despite previously saying that no harm will be done.

Despite promising that the massive stage, which would have creaked like the knees of an aging rock star under the weight of such luminaries as Brian Eno, Peter Gabriel and the Black Eyed Peas, would not damage the field at Berlin’s Olympiastadion, FIFA cancelled the event apparently for just that reason.

Still, the German newspapers suspect a cover-up. Supposedly, because of the lack of interest for the opening ceremony and, more, its high cost, FIFA just dropped it.

However, some in the German press know a cover-up when they smell one and it is likely to be revealed over the weekend that the gala event was actually cancelled because it is floating very few people’s boats. Lack of ticket sales, it is alleged, is the real reason for the cancellation.

The Berliner Zeitung newspaper is expected to go public with revelations that the estimated 25 million euro ($30 million) costs are rising higher and faster than a David Beckham penalty and that tickets are selling slower than those for a Lothar Matthäus spoken word event.

As usual, money rules.

Source: dw-world.de