National Games open in Palembang
Moch. N. Kurniawan, The Jakarta Post, Palembang
The 16th National Games (PON) were officially declared open on Thursday by President Megawati Soekarnoputri in an opening ceremony highlighted by an artistic light show and entertaining performances involving some 4,000 local and national performers.
President Megawati arrived at the Jakabaring Stadium in Palembang at 7:10 p.m. She was applauded by the spectators, who had been crowding into the stadium since early afternoon.
Before her arrival, the spectators inside the stadium had been treated to a spectacular light.
A troupe of dancers performed the traditional Gending Sriwijaya dance to welcome the President and her entourage.
Following the arrival of the President, various performances were staged to entertain the spectators, including one by a group of dancers wearing butterfly-motif costume, accompanied by a song from child star Natasha.
Following the butterfly show, five large balloons were released into the air symbolizing the unity of the nation.
Next came a parade by the 30 participating teams, which entered the stadium in alphabetical order.
Bali was the first team to enter the stadium, followed by the newly established province of Bangka Belitung. The last team in the procession was host South Sumatra.
In her opening speech, Megawati called on all the athletes to uphold sportsmanship and unity.
"Show your spirit of struggle in every contest. But always uphold sportsmanship regardless of whether you win or lose," she said.
"Through these games, the unity of our nation must also be maintained."
After she pressed the button to formally open the games, fireworks were launched, lighting up the sky for almost seven minutes, to the delight of the spectators
Rocket man Eric Scot demonstrated his ability to fly using a rocket pack on his back, traveling from the north to the south end of the Jakabiring Stadium, to the wild applause of the spectators.
Thirty provinces are taking part in the quadrennial National Games, which will see a total of 7,000 athletes compete in 41 sports.
Banten, Bangka Belitung, North Maluku and Gorontalo, which account for 60 of the total number of athletes, are making their debuts after being established as new provinces.
Competition in sixteen out of the 41 sports to be featured during the games will start on Friday.
These are aerosports, aquatics, fencing, baseball, bowling, rowing, judo, shooting, archery, rock-climbing, pencak silat, sepak takraw, table tennis, boxing and wushu, and tarung drajat, an Indonesian martial art that is making its debut at this year's games.
However, details as to what medals are on offer on Friday were sketchy, with members of the organizing committee either unwilling or unable to supply information. Several officials said they had no idea about what events would be staged on Friday.