A glittering ceremony at Bahrain’s historic 15th Century Arad Fort heralded the start of the 3rd West Asia Para Games last night.
The games were inaugurated by Supreme Council for Youth and Sports first deputy chairman, General Sports Authority chairman and Bahrain Olympic Committee president Shaikh Khalid bin Hamad Al Khalifa.
More than 700 athletes from 11 countries are competing in the 10-day event.
Athletics, wheelchair basketball, boccia, goalball, table tennis, power-lifting and badminton will feature on the schedule, with four different locations set to host different events.
Before Shaikh Khalid officially declared the games open with a brief statement, eliciting loud cheers from a sizeable crowd of invitees and athletes, the teams from the 11 participating nations did a traditional march-past.
Supporters of each team shouted encouragement and clapped loudly as their contingent walked past Shaikh Khalid who was the chief guest.
Behind them, the exterior of Arad Fort had been lit up by a projector, with the image displayed on the façade changing to the national colours of every nation as their names were announced.
A couple of camera-drones buzzed overhead, zipping through rays of light shooting into the sky from floodlights placed at the base of the fort’s wall.
Earlier, as Shaikh Khalid entered the arena, a military band struck up Bahrain’s national anthem with everyone standing to attention.
A moving tribute was paid to each team, including host Bahrain, in one of the performances that followed with the oratory being dramatised behind the speaker, as he stood on the stage, with a visual depiction, courtesy the projector, of the words being spoken, playing out on the fort’s wall.
A group of children appeared on stage next, dancing to a folk tune before another set of young boys performed acrobatics that left the crowd gasping.
The atmosphere was understandably one of festivity, with the athletes watching each performance enthusiastically and cheering lustily at every opportunity.
The West Asia Para Games were previously hosted by Jordan in 2019. The UAE were the inaugural hosts in 2017.
To ensure the health and safety of all concerned, as part of the coronavirus countermeasures in force in the kingdom, the competing teams were tested upon arrival in the country. They will be tested again on the fifth and 10th days of their stay here. Rapid tests will also be supplied to those working with organisers and participants.
&uuid=(email))