Pictorial: beautiful scenes from AFCON 2023 opening ceremony

An electric opening ceremony kicked off the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Cote d’Ivoire 2023 in thrilling style on Saturday night in Abidjan.

READ ALSO: AFCON 2023 kicks off

A capacity 60,000 crowd at the Alassane Ouattara Olympic Stadium soaked up the colours and culture of Cote d’Ivoire ahead of the tournament opener between the hosts and Guinea Bissau.

The celebration featured singers, acrobats and dancers in a vibrant showcase of Ivorian tradition and African unity.

Fireworks in the Ivorian national colours lit up the Abidjan sky at the end of the ceremony to launch Africa’s biggest football party in spectacular fashion.

The stunning spectacle whipped fans into a frenzy moments before kick-off as the continental showpiece got underway:

Below are some of the spectacular images from the event.