Opening ceremony: Fireworks, flags of nations and a night to remember 

Expo officials have set out the running order for tonight’s live event.

The show gets under way with live streaming from 7.30pm (3.30pm UTC).

8.06pm – Emirati national anthem, followed by a poem written by Sheikh Zayed, the Founding Father, set to music and fireworks

8.13pm – flags of the nations

8.18pm – Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak to welcome the world to Expo 2020

8.38pm – flags of the Bureau International des Expositions, UAE and Expo raised

8.40pm – Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, to lead a prayer

8.40pm – 8.50pm – opening show focused on the themes of Expo

8.50pm – Chinese pianist Lang Lang opens music concert

9.03pm – pop star Ellie Goulding takes to the stage

9.08pm – American singer and Golden Globe-winning actress Andra Day

9.18pm – opera superstar Andrea Bocelli to round off the evening

Grand finale with a 9.24pm finishing time

Source: The National