text: what time does the opening cermony start?   the official proceedings start at 16:23 cet with the match between germany and costa rica kicking off at 18:00.  at approximately 16:38 the fifa world cup trophy will be brought to center field escorted by german super-model claudia schiffer and brazil soccer legend pele.  later all world champion players still alive today will appear in the stadium before president kohler inaugurates the world championships at 17:00hrs.