14 August 2010 marks a historic beginning for the inagural Youth Olympic Games (YOG)! And yes, Singapore will walk down in history as the first host nation of the first ever YOG! Hooray!
Remember 10 Jan 2009? The date which we launched the Singapore 2010 YOG logo? That was more than a year ago! It felt like it was only yesterday when I was fretting over all the last minute preparations for the event and now, we are already in the midst of the games. 3600 young athletes competing in 26 sports all over our tiny island. How cool is that! Everyone should raise their poms poms and cheer them on! =)
To show our support for the YOG, bf and I got ourselves a place at the YOG Opening Ceremony held at the Marina Floating Platform!
Us with the YOG flag
Say hello to Lyo and Merly, the YOG mascots.
Merly & Lyo
We arrived there at 5 plus and the blazing sun was unbearable. We sat there feeling all sticky and so to distract ourselves, we dug into the goodie bags to entertain ourselves.
In there, some interesting finds include:
1. PIGEON TORCHLIGHTS
Pigeon torchlights
Fly fly...
These pigeon torchlights are very fragile. One of my pigeon’s wings broke while I was fluttering happily during the event. =( My bf’s one was perpetually lighted up and cannot be switched off… hahaha…
2. Tatoos
My bf dutifully pasted the tattoos...
3. Don’t know what this is called but I shall just call it poms poms
Cheer, cheer!
Other finds include a pathetic muffin which could barely fill anyone’s stomach, a nice handbook of some YOG information, a heart torchlight which is similar to the ones we see at NDP and so on..
After a 2 hrs wait, the ceremony finally began! It started off with a dance by a group of youths before ushering in the athletes from all over the world!
Kicking start the ceremony!
Our friends from all over the world...
The first segment of the performance was mainly focused on showcasing Singapore. At some moments, I felt that it was a NDP show that I was watching… hahaha.. Having said that, I believe our friends from all over the world enjoyed that segment, giving them a slice of Singapore’s multi-ethnic culture. The song “five stars arising” was also a nice inject into the introduction of the programme to represent how Singapore (a tiny star) rises to the challenges and tribulations since indepedence.
Showcasing our multi-ethnic country and kudos to the impressive Olympic rings...
The later parts of the programme was in my opinion, very interesting. Of which, I particularly liked the chapter on Monsters. This chapter focuses on the need for our young athletes to persevere and challenge these ‘monsters’ in their journey towards reaching their pinnacles. Beyond that, I feel that this fighting spirit also applies to other aspects of life. Be it obstacles, moments of defeatness and fear of failure, we need to constantly brace ourselves with the courage to keep fighting.
Fighting that monster in all of us!
And for the segment which I felt the most proud? It was when Singapore was called out during the flag parade that showcased all the participating countries. Everyone at the platform was filled with brimming national pride as we jumped up from our seats and cheered as loud as we could. It was not staged, chereographed or coordinated by the cheer leaders. It was sheer pride that got everyone at the platform so overjoyed.
I was lucky to capture this shot before everyone infront of me jumped up and blocked my camera...
Here are more pictures of the other segments of the ceremony.
A nice lighted globe and beautifully flowers
The state flag
The Olympic flag
Chapter: Don't play with fire...
I guess this is a dragon...
Alas! The highlight of the night was nonetheless the lighting of the YOG cauldron. Suspense hung in the air as to who is the ultimate torch bearer. Amanda Lim was the first torch bearer for the night, coming in in a brightly lighted phoenix boat.
Together with the phoenix are dragon boats...
The torch went past the hands of a few torch bearers before it was handed over to Darren Choy, our national sailor. The platform was once again filled with the piercing screams of excitement of everyone there as Darren ran confidently across the shallow waters and lighted the cauldron! The YOG flame is finally ablaze here after 2 and a half years of preparation for this mega event! *Brimming with pride*
Handing over of the flame to Darren.
- The YOG flame is burning bright!
The event ended with nonetheless beautiful fireworks that were ten times more interesting than the best I have seen!
Fireworks I
Fireworks II
Fireworks III- My fav fireworks shot for the night...
The fire is finally ablazed in Singapore! We should all savour this moment and stand proud as Singaporeans!
