National Games open in Palembang

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.