The
curtain was raised for the 26th Southeast Asian Games in a bright and colourful
cultural performance ceremony at the Palembang City's Siriwijaya Stadium
yesterday.
The ceremony began with a show of folk
activities of Indonesians under colourful laser lighting. About 100 children
and 3,500 young people dressed in traditional costumes staged the show. Songs
such as Sriwijaya – Golden Penninsula and Reach of the Dreams were performed by
stars Agnes Monica of Indonesia, KC Conception of the Philippines and Jacklyn
Victor of Malaysia.
Sports delegations and flags of participating
nations were paraded on boat-shaped vehicles, each carrying a typical image of
each nation.
Malaysian athletes came out with a replica of
Petronas Twin Towers, the symbol of the country. The towers were once the
world's tallest. Thailand came in with their golden pagoda, Cambodia with an
Angkor Wat temple replica and Viet Nam with Buddha seated stately on a lotus
throne with a replica of Hue's Thien Mu Pagoda.
Olympic 1992 badminton champion Susi Susanti
of Indonesia performed the ritual of lighting the flame by spectacularly flying
on a trapeze 100m along the stage.
The region's biggest sport festival opening
ceremony captured the attention of the thousands of athletes, coaches,
officials assembled and more than 10,000 spectators witnessing performances by
artists who had been practising for seven months.
The biennial Games involving 11 nations in
sports, from athletics and swimming to sepak takraw – a cross between football
and volleyball – is being held in the Indonesian capital Jakarta and Palembang
in South Sumatra.
Under the slogan United and Rising, the SEA
Games will showcase Indonesia's rise as a regional powerhouse, with a booming
economy backed by a massive 245 million population.
"It's God's will that the Games will run
smoothly," Indonesia Olympic Committee chairwoman Rita Subowo said.
"We've been working hard for a long time under difficult circumstances,
but I'm confident the Games will go well."
At the Games, which will run until November
22, athletes will take part in 46 sports, competing for 545 sets of medals.
This year, Viet Nam is to participate in 42
sports with a target of 70-90 gold medals which would put them in the top three
overall.
The three-hour ceremony ended with a
performance of fireworks and lights in the sky and the song Together We Can
Give, composed by Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.
VNS
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