Opening Ceremony
By MattHanson | 09 August 2007
Today is the morning after the opening ceremony and on reflection it was a fantastic experience. As we arrived at the stadium, all nations were directed into the volleyball arena whilst we waited patiently to be directed outside where we would proceed into the main stadium. Having arrived at about 4pm we waited for 3 hours in watching and listening to other countries chanting, singing songs and dancing. The GBR team were fairly reserved apart from a select few that tried to start a chant but failed miserably. It actually turned into "England, England" which probably didn’t please some of the Scots. Our wait was made worst by the fact that we were down as United Kingdom instead of Great Britain and as teams were going out in alphabetical order, we were very close to the back. We finally made it outside, where we waited some more and then it was time to enter the stadium. We entered to a massive roar from the crowd which was later to be eclipsed by the entrance of the Thai team. Everyone was buzzing when we got inside and the view of the stadium was class. There were various speeches which no one could understand and took much notice of. One of the Thai athletes then entered with the flame. Once the torch was lit, the games were officially declared open and fireworks shot up from every corner of the stadium. It was a long wait to begin with but I think myself and the rest of the athletes are glad they got to experience it.
