Spellbounding, superb, spectacular.
These are three words that I would use to describe the Opening Ceremony of the very first Youth Olympic Games. The first in the world Ceremony took place on the Marina Bay floating platform and I was one of the 20 000 privelaged ones to have been present there, witnessing the spectacle as history was made.
Hello, it's me, Clarissa, McDonald's Young Journalist and your guest blogger for the duration of the Youth Olympic Games. For those who don't know who I am, you can find out more about me here.
The hairs on my hand were literally standing on end as I witnessed the 3600 athletes entering the float and taking their seats. It is hard to describe what I felt when the athletes were welcomed with thunderous applause and cheers. The idea of the youth of the world coming together here in Singapore, to compete within the values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect was hard to wrap my head around.
The athletes making their grand entrance, flags proudly waving in the air
Despite many people doing so, I shall not compare the Opening Ceremony to the National Day Parade that we saw about a week ago. But a tiny comparison I would make between the two would be the fireworks.
Those that were let loose during the Opening Ceremony were more sporadic. We never knew when the fireworks would be coming, but when they were lighted, man, it was amazing.
The fireworks- happening right in front of me!
Centered around the theme of "A New Story", more than 5000 performers were involved in the 2.5 hour show.
One of the segments, 'Origins', highlighted the development of Singapore from a humble fishing village into a vibrant, metropolitan nation that we are today.
Singapore as it was then,
and as we are, now
Another segment, 'Monster', told the story of a boy who faced his fearr- a monster that was created in his head. The message of this segment was a powerful one. We all have our own monsters, and most of the monsters are created within ourselves, by ourselves- distractions, lack of discipline, temptations. If we have the strength to overcome our monsters and vanquish our fears, our dreams be made possible. This story was an excellent form of inspiration to all athletes slated to compete over the course of 12 competition days.
The monster- a giant puppet controlled by 20 people
A smaller version of the monster being puppeted amongst the crowd
Being a country that is full of culture and tradition, we definitely had to show the world the diversity that is present here.
The Malay and Chinese and cultures being showcased
It was really surreal to see the Singapore flag flying in the wind beside the flag with the five rings.
The raising of the Singapore flag
The Olympic flag being raised
The flags flying in unison, alongside each other
Another segment of the show that was very educational for me was the Parade of Flags.
The flags of the countries that are part of the National Olympic Committee were paraded and all 204 participating countries introduced.
France
Finland
Haiti
SINGAPORE!
Note that the DNA strands represent the National colours of the counties being announced
All the 204 flags standing on parade
The most breath taking moment I would love to highlight would be when the Olympic flame was brought on the the platform.
It had travelled around the world- starting from Greece, it moved through the five continents before being brought to our island. The flame was brought to the platform via a boat in the shape of a phoenix, with a convoy of 10 dragon boats esorting it. It was held by National swimmer Amanda Lim as it entered, before being passed onto 5 other National athletes. Sailor Darren Choy was granted the huge honour of lighting the cauldron.
The caulron is in the shape of a lighthouse. As he lighted the cauldron from the bottom of the lighthouse, the flame went up a spiral path before igniting the 'bulb' in the lighthouse.
The flame arriving atop a phoenix-shaped boat
The Olympic flame burning bright!
The flame will be kept alight in this lighthouse until the 26th, when it will be extinguished during the Closing Ceremony.
Till then, my next post will carry updates midway through the Games. I will bring you the thrills and spills of the Games from events like Swimming, Sailing, Rowing and Athletics.
I end my post with more pictures from the Opening Ceremony.
Enjoy!
The flags of the participating countries line the circumfrance of the stands
Fireworks,
Fireworks,
And more fireworks!
My fellow winners- Jean, Shehnaz, and I! :D
And with that, I bid you goodbye.
Clarissa
:)