A historic Opening Ceremony of the 19th Commonwealth Games Delhi
Finally, the crisis hit event kicked off on Sunday evening with an amazing opening ceremony that held the spectators watching the show live or on television stunned. Due to the unending problems, the Organizing Committee had to face huge criticism during the last couple of months and the chaos that was prevalent in the Indian capital, the international community was highly doubtful about the event taking place. But Sunday evening was a delightful event, both for the Organizing Committee and the delegates and visitors. The Indian culture dazzled in vivid colours in the dark night.
It looked like the organizers had brought together the best dancers and drummers in the country. There were about 7000 of these talented people who showcased the Indian culture in the most spectacular way possible. The crowd of 65000 people, Prince Charles, Duchess of Cornwall and the Earl of Sussex, were all having chills downs their spine as they watched the night proceed. One of the drummers who caught the attention of all the people was a very young boy. The performance of the acrobats was also a sight to see.
However, there was a point when some commotion was observed at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, where the opening ceremony was taking place when the news of dengue fever in the Games Village broke out at the Stadium. The delegates and visitors were seen getting paranoid because of the poor health condition at the Village.
Dengue fever, the disease spread by mosquito, has gotten to Ruptu Gogoi. Gogoi is an Indian lawn bowling official. People are particularly concerned about this disease because it has laid down 3500 people in the Indian capital and has claimed seven lives so far.
Since some of the high profile athletes pulled out of the Games on grounds of security concerns, the Organizing Committee did special work on security management. Besides the paramilitary staff and security personnel of the Delhi Police, the India Army was also on standby in case of any uncalled for incident. The ticket holders had to go through a series of security checks. It took them around 3 hours to get to the main venue after passing through 19 concentric checkpoints in the ring made of steel.
This did annoy the fans and spectators, but the colourful and bright opening ceremony made them realize that it was all worth the waiting. The ceremony started on time and there was no hassle in the progression of the event.
The Nehru stadium echoed with the countdown beats on huge drums amidst the cheers and screams of the enthusiastic crowd. At the end of the countdown, the helium balloon was set free in the sky. The balloon was the centre piece worth 5.5 million pounds.
The Prince and Duchess were seen interacting with the athletes of their kingdom, asking them how things were getting along at the Games Village and how the sticky, humid and hot weather was treating them. The Duchess talked to the two bare-chested athletes from Northern Ireland and Scotland and joked with them that the heat was good for losing weight. She also went on to say that the two of them looked fit and were appropriately dressed as per the weather conditions. Tom Reynolds, 25, from Northern Ireland is also a part time model, whereas Roger Skedd from Scotland is a 28-year-old athlete.
After having a small chat with the two muscular athletes, the Prince and Duchess also met the team members of the Australian hockey squad who were dressed in bikinis while the sun was scorching on the Games Village. The 16 girls waved at the Prince while still in the pool. Prince Charles, dressed in a suit and tie told the 24-year-old Australian athlete, Rachael Lynch that he was jealous of her being in the pool.
Apart from the paranoia caused by the dengue outbreak at the village and the traffic issues before the ceremony, the event progressed smoothly despite the doubts of many domestic and international experts. The tournaments will start from today.
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