The 24th SEA Games opening ceremony: colorful and impressive

The Vietnamese sports delegation  paraded at the opening ceremony

        During two-hour event, on the way running to pass the torch to female weightlifter Udomporn Polsak - the 2004 Olympic gold medallist, the torch of Thai boxer Suriya Prasathinpimai was blown out suddenly by the strong wind.

        However, the organization board timely gave another torch to Polsak at the end of relay route so that she could light the flame of the 24^th SEA Games.

        Apart from this small problem, the opening ceremony of 24^th SEA Games took place successfully and received praises from the press. Reporter Bambang Wahyu Whono of Kompas newspaper – the most famous Indonesia Daily – remarked that “There are a lot of eventful performances, specially “Amazing Spirit” calling for people to stand side by side in order to protect the global environment from being destroyed. Besides, I enjoy the traditional dance and songs very much becauce they express distinctive cultural identity of Thailand.”

        The costs of the opening ceremony totalled 30 million baht. However, reporter of English daily newspaper Bangkok Post said that it was reasonable for an opening ceremony organized thoroughly. He commented “the opening ceremony also honored the merit of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej on his 80^th birthday. The interesting thing here is that they used images, dialogues, and other special effects harmoniously, thus the audiences could witness a generous and kind-hearted king and Thailand that always strives to overcome difficulites.”

        The image of Ao Dai (Vietnamese traditional long dress) and other traditional dresses of 10 nations attending 24^th SEA Games appeared in the program “The Amazing Friendship”. In this performance, Nakhon Ratchasima’s Stadium was full of applauses. Afterwards the ceremony was ended by the performance expressing the solidarity among the Southeast Asian people, and that the oganization board wanted to send a message to the world: Asian is a united bloc”

        Source: Tuoi Tre Newspaper