The 2006 World Cup soccer finals' opening gala in Berlin has been cancelled, a German soccer official said on Friday.

The gala, rather than an opening ceremony, was to be held for the first time ahead of the World Cup tournament on June 7 in Berlin's Olympic stadium, two days before the finals start.

FIFA said on Friday the staging of the event could damage the playing surface needed at the Olympic Stadium five days later.

However a German newspaper said it was called off because of rising costs and sluggish ticket sales.

The gala's artistic director, Austrian Andre Heller, planned tohave a cast of some 5,000 volunteers for the spectacle, which was first planned by the German government and then taken over by FIFA.

"Personally, I still think the idea of holding such a high-profile opening event is a good one," said FIFA president Sepp Blatter in a statement.

"FIFA has not taken the decision to cancel the event at such a late stage lightly, but as world football's governing body, we must put sporting considerations first."

FIFA said that it had decided to cancel the gala because of concerns about whether a new pitch needed to replace the grass trampled in the opening ceremony would be in satisfactory condition to play group matches just a few days later.

"It has since become clear that there would be considerable risks involved, not only in dismantling the stages and the event's technical installations in time but also in laying a new pitch, which has to be in perfect playing condition by June 12."

According to a report to appear in Berliner Zeitung newspaper on Saturday, the gala was cancelled because the costs for the event kept rising higher above the 25 million euro budget and because ticket sales for the ceremony in the Olympic stadium were sluggish.

Performers were to include American soprano Jessye Norman, U.S.band Black Eyed Peas, Algerian singer Cheb Khaled and around 5,000 volunteers.

Previous World Cups have held opening ceremonies. They typically lasted about an hour immediately before the first match.

(Xinhua News Agency January 14, 2006)