Today
Jakarta
- 29 °C
Other Publications
Doha promises memorable opening
The Jakarta Post , Jakarta | Fri, 12/01/2006 12:58 PM
Damar Harsanto, The Jakarta Post, Doha
Fast-growing Qatar has promised an opening ceremony for the 15th Asian Games in the capital Doha that will rival, if not surpass, the grandeur of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
Organizers have promised to turn Friday's opening ceremony, which will emphasize Qatar's Bedouin and sea cultures, into the most memorable cultural and sporting spectacle in the history of the Asiad.
David Atkins, the artistic director for the opening ceremony, said the kickoff for the quadrennial event would surpass his well-orchestrated 2000 Olympics opening.
""I don't believe we could have done this ceremony in Sydney because of the level of commitment that was required by Qatar to make this ceremony a reality,"" he said.
Khalifa Stadium in the Sport City complex, with its landmark silvery cauldron standing more than 200 meters in height, will serve as the main stage for the opening. The ceremony itself will feature more than 7,000 performers, 10,000 costumes and 32,000 pyrotechnic effects.
Among the scheduled performers are Spanish tenor Jose Carreras, Bollywood sensation Sunidhi Chauhan, Cantopop legend Jacky Chueng and Lebanese artist Magida El Roumi.
About 10,500 athletes from 45 countries will line up inside the 50,000-seat stadium starting at 7 p.m. local time (11 p.m. in Jakarta).
""We have very grand aspirations and we are doing things in this ceremony that have never been done before,"" Atkins said.
Tickets for the opening are sold out, according to Ahmed Abdulla Al Khulaifi, deputy director general of the General Corporate Services of the Doha Asian Games Organizing Committee.
Sharif Omar Hashisho, the organizing committee's director of ceremonies and cultural events, promised that the opening ceremony for the quadrennial event -- bearing the theme ""The Games of Your Life"" -- would be a show that ""everyone will remember and everyone will be proud of"".
Doha is also busy decorating streets and intersections, as well as filling up empty spaces with colorful banners, flags and flowers ahead of Friday's ceremony.
Hundred of buses have been scurrying back and forth across the city, reflecting the hectic preparations for an event that involves more than 16,000 volunteers.
