The Opening Ceremony of the 1st SportAccord World Combat Games
can only be described as breathtaking and spectacular.
The 90-minute program was a stunning mixture of contemporary and
traditional dance, hi-tech visual graphics, cultural
representatives from the home of each martial art, kids acrobatics
and group performances, and amazing vocal performances from top
artists around the world.
The Ambassadors from each of the 13 martial arts including Jet
Li and our own Miss Thailand Gavintra Photijak took to the stage to
rousing applause. The highlight of the show was undoubtedly Jackie
Chan, acompanied by backing dancers, singing the official anthem
for the Games.
The VIP area was filled with dignitaries from sport, world
governments, IOC and celebrities, and certainly SportAccord and
representatives of the People's Republic of China. The highlight
was without doubt when the 13 IOC / SportAccord recognised martial
arts and combat sports entered the arena, receiving a standing
ovation from the capacity crowd.
The 16 selected muaythai athletes from all 5 continents walked in
proudly with their traditional muaythai uniforms. The stunning red
and gold traditional muayboran clothes, complete with mongkols,
certainly stood out from the crowd and the muaythai boys and girls
raised cheers around the stadium when they walked in the parade,
catching everyones eye and truly demonstrating the pride that we
all have in our sport of muaythai.
It was the perfect opening to the perfect games and regardless of
which martial art you were there from, all participants and
spectators left the stadium feeling truly honored and thrilled to
be part of such a key event in martial art history.
