Asian Games opening ceremony ready to cast a spell

If you remember the opening ceremony of the Doha Asian Games for the rider galloping on horse-back to light the torch on top of the stadium, the current edition, all set to unveil the opening ceremony on November 12, has promised to ignite imagination with a drop of water from the Pearl river.

The director of the opening ceremony, Chen Weiya, stated that the opening ceremony would feature a 170-metre long fountain matrix, the longest in the world.

“There will also be a huge water area for performance, including a deep area, which has never been seen before,” he said, highlighting the point that the ceremony would start on a simple note, with a drop of water from the river.

Remembering water

Chen Weiya said that people would remember water when they recall the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou.

“Four years ago, a stage was set in the desert of Doha. Four years later, a boat sets sail on the Pearl River. At the Guangzhou Games, eight giant sails will be set on the Pearl River,” he said. The boat parade will reach the venue, the island of Haixinsha.

For the first time, the opening ceremony will not be held in a stadium. “The Pearl River will be the stage and the whole city, the backdrop,” he said.

“The people of Guangzhou, known as the flower city, will make a new Guinness world record, as the television tower will become a giant green tree, maybe the highest in the world,” said Zhu Hai, the chief script writer for the ceremony.

Music director, Li Haiying, said that Lang Lang the renowned Chinese pianist, and the famous actress Zhang Ziyi, would perform together.

“It is a performance combining classical music and pop music. It emphasises romanticism instead of power,” he said.

“The lighting fountains and fireworks will make Haixinsha a big sailing boat. The lighting will bring Haixinsha and the Pearl River alive,” said the lighting director, Sha Xiaolan.

A pleasure

Quite floored by the overall preparations, the IOC member and Secretary-General of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA), Randhir Singh said on Wednesday that it was a pleasure to be in Guangzhou and witness the place getting ready for magnificent Games.

“The level of sport that has been raised in China has been phenomenal and is something that the rest of us in Asia have to be proud of,” he said.