Topalov looks perplexed with the knight on the rim :)

This bodes well for the future of chess (despite the already ongoing in-fighting between RCF, Fide and Agon). Kudos to Agon for organising an opening ceremony where non-chess players outnumber chess players.

What a fantastic opening ceremony, seems to be just the right mix of pomp and party!

How did the position in the Topalov-Cole blitz game come about? I can't come up with a move sequence that doesn't hang a bishop, e.g.

1.g3 b6 2.Bg2 Bb7 3.Kf1 Bxg2+ 4.Kxg2 Nf6 5.Nf3 Nh5 6.e3

Suggestions, anyone?

The Grand Prix is a very good thing, of course (with or without party).
There are still FIDE "relicts" left in the WCh cycle though.
To the Candidates tournament 2014 only 2 players of this big Grand Prix series will qualify,
while also 2 (maybe even 3) qualify from the FIDE World Cup 2013 (see FIDE World Cup regulations).
The World Cup stresses Rapid (and Blitz) too much for a Qualifyer for the Classical WCh,
but okay, I can understand that FIDE sticks to that Knock Out thing,
since indeed many people find it exciting (lovers of Classical chess not so much though).
But it really would be enough if only the World Cup winner could qualify to the Candidates.
There are only 8 spots.
Maybe you already realized that the top 4 players in the world;
Carlsen, Kramnik, Aronian and also Anand (who was eligible too),
neither of them plays the Grand Prix.
Although there isn't regulations about that yet (as far as I know),
I assume that again 2 players will qualify for the 2014 Candidates via ranking
and another one as an Organiser's nominee.
So Carlsen, Aronian and Kramnik are quite likely to get in.
(The losing finalist of the 2013 WCh match will be the 8th candidate.)
Well, we remember much worse situations in the past.
Still, I think the situation could be improved easily.
Why do Carlsen, Aronian and Kramnik not play the Grand Prix?
I assume there is still not enough prize money offered (compared to other tournaments) + the format is too time consuming for them!
Do you remember the Interzonal tournaments of the past?
Why not simply hold just 3 Grand Prix tournaments instead of a whole 6 (with slightly different regulations)?
More prize money could be offered and it was less time consuming. That means the top players could still play London, Tal Memorial, Bilbao, Wijk and so on without regrets.
There were no need to let players qualify via rating.
The qualifyers for the Candidates would look like:
1x WCh runner-up
1x World Cup (okay)
6x Grand Prix (winners + runner-ups of each of the 3 Grand Prixes)

There is a huge contrast between FIDE claiming they have no money and often let players qualify for Candidates tournaments almost entirely via rankings and then on the other hand sometimes lifting these big Grand Prix series.
Why not something between, a happy medium that works?
Normally it wouldn't be unthinkable to lead some dialogues and unite with the organizers of the big "private" tournaments (Wijk, London, Tal Memorial, ...).
That way a whole series of tournaments could be established.
That's the way other sports (Tennis f.i.) procede and flourish.
And it's not that hard to do!
At the moment FIDE downright confronts the private tournaments with their big Grand Prix series.
This is what Carlsen's manager recently said:
"For Magnus it was difficult to participate [in the Grand Prix] this time due to a very busy schedule. For 2012, he has long planned to take part in the Final Masters in Sao Paulo/Bilbao and in the London Classic. As these have conflicting dates with the two GP tournaments in 2012 it's impossible to do both. For the first half of 2013, Magnus plans to participate in the Tata Steel Tournament, the Candidate, Stavanger and the Tal Memorial. Trying to combine these with playing three GP's during the same period will definitely be a too tough schedule."
I don't think he already signed all the contracts. It's more of a priority setting, apparently similar to Aronian and Kramnik.

The Chess world still has to deal with the FIDE relicts.
The overemphasis of the World Cup is one of them (the brain child of Ilyumzhinov - he already backpadeled fortunately).
The egoism / ignorance / lack of diplomacy in dialogue with to sponsors / the private tournaments is another one.
Making huge controversial steps forth and back instead of a more slow developement in the right direction.

Very telling:
"Then Paulson stated that it was "obligatory" to play the FIDE anthem at an opening ceremony of an official FIDE event. French GM Robert Fontaine, who has been appointed Chief of Staff of Agon, suddenly pulled up an old-fashioned tape-recorder and started playing an actual cassette tape that played the anthem."

!st prize for best suit is a tie (no pun intended) between Topalov and Dominquez. At the bottom of this list we find Nakamura (too big), Giri (too ugly) and Adams.

Who is L. Cole and who is Sophie Baxter?

I see Ali is once again enjoying the perks of being a FIDE VP.

Is there any free live commentary anywhere?

I am sorry to say, but this Paulson fellow is about to ruin chess. Just look how he messed up the opening ceremony. -Only a cheapish cocktail party with some boobs for hire.

What happened to the traditional 2 hour ballet with 32 dancers in black and white costumes? I was expecting a grand scale performance, staged in a historical building and accompanied by a large string orchestra in the presence of prominent officials. Oh well.