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Third East Asian Games Open in Osaka
The Third East Asian Games offically raised its curtain in the Osaka Dome Stadium here Saturday afternoon with cheers, flames and flowers.
Yoshihisa Akiyama, President of the Games Organizing Committee,expressed his cordial greetings to the participants and wished the games a success under the theme of "A Future of Hope for the World".
Japan's Prince Takamado then declared the Games open.
With the sonorous sound of a band, athletes marched in along the track in a sequence of China, Hong Kong of China, South Korea,Macau of China, Mongolia, Chinese Taipei, Kazakhstan, Guam, Australia and Japan.
Each delegation was spearheaded by a Japanese guide carrying a large lantern bearing the name of the delegation, followed by two officials or athletes dressed in their native costumes.
Japanese Olympic gold medalist Tadahiro Nomura carried the torch into the Dome and then relayed it to Kazu Hatanaka, a disabled athlete in armchair. Hatanaka then passed the torch to Japan's Olympic gold medal winner Naoko Takahashi, who ignited the flame to the cheers of the audience.
As the athletes paraded away, drums, dance and the band returned back to induce the festive atmosphere. The performance, named "Visual Fantasy", told a fairy story of the visitors from the future.
In the story, androids Tom and Dacchi, who landed on earth in search of something precious for the future, found the most important thing as heartwarming consideration rather than superior science or technology.
The spectators were dazzled by the performance full of drama, dances, drums and songs. The laser beams and stage lights made the Osaka Dome a sea of cheers.
At the same time of the opening ceremony, the competitions of the games were also unfolded.
A total of 1,999 athletes and 866 officials from 10 countries and regions are taking part in the nine-day games which feature 15 medal sports and two demonstration events.
China topped the medal tallies in the first games in Shanghai with 105 gold medals and the second games in Pusan of South Korea with 62 golds.
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