Myanmar "open for business" with lavish ceremony
Fireworks are released during the opening ceremony of 27th SEA Games in Naypyitaw, yesterday. Myanmar is hosting the games for the first time in over 40 years. - Reuters pic, December 12, 2013.Myanmar staged a lavish spectacle of lights, dance and pyrotechnics at the opening ceremony for the Southeast Asian Games yesterday, as the impoverished and formerly reclusive state displayed a dazzling face to the world.
Fireworks exploded above the 30,000-seat, purpose-built Wunna Theikdi stadium and a wall of screens beamed majestic Myanmar landscapes and intricate animations during the Chinese-backed extravaganza in the country's capital Naypyidaw.
The 22-day SEA Games, featuring Olympic staples like athletics alongside traditional sports like chinlone, is seen as a coming-out party for Myanmar two years after the end of military rule.
"Tonight, I'm very proud of Myanmar... I'm so grateful to be here," said Aye Aye Kyi Toe, an 18-year-old dancer dressed in resplendent traditional clothes.
Domestic pop stars and massed ranks of dancers entertained the crowd, which burst into chants of "Myanmar, Myanmar!" when reform-minded President Thein Sein entered the stadium under a flurry of fireworks.
The Games were formally opened when a bare-chested warrior in a chariot fired a blazing arrow to light a symbolic flame in a large cauldron set high in the stadium.
There was a glitch, however, when the cauldron lit up narrowly before the flaming arrow had left the warrior's bow.
China, which marked its own international re-emergence with the Beijing Olympics in 2008, has offered nearly $33 million (RM106.3 million) in technical assistance, including for the opening and closing ceremonies.
"China has helped a lot," presidential spokesman Ye Htut told AFP, listing the lighting, sound system and technical advice for yesterday's ceremony, which features thousands of local performers.
"The Chinese also trained 200 of our athletes on their soil and they have sent two dozen sports coaches to help us improve our level," added Ye Htut.
China is keen to secure its economic and political interests in Myanmar, one of Southeast Asia's poorest countries which sits at a crossroads between the world's second biggest economy and regional rival India.
The United States has similarly courted Myanmar since it began political reforms in 2011. It also is eyeing the potential of a new market of 60 million people and a country flush with natural resources.
Myanmar is hosting the Games for the first time in more than four decades, marking another landmark in its gradual emergence from rule by a hardline military junta.
"For 44 years we have not had the SEA Games," said Onh Myint Oo, a former army officer who is now deputy director-general of the sports ministry.
"Now we are open for business. It's the right time to have the Games."
Only a smattering of foreign fans made the journey from their respective countries, but those who travelled to the remote capital were effusive in their praise of Myanmar's return to the international stage.
"It's my first time at the SEA Games and in Myanmar... the ceremony was so special, it was great," said Joanna Usana, 31, from the Philippines.
Competition has already started and finished in some events, including the Myanmar cane-ball game of chinlone, which was played in front of enthusiastic crowds of local fans.
Myanmar won six categories in that event, propelling it to an early lead in the medals table with 18 golds.
But the bulk of the disciplines begin today and run until the closing ceremony on December 22. - AFP, December 12, 2013.
http://www.information.myanmaronlinecentre.com/myanmar-sea-games-opening-ceremony-reuters-121213-jpg/
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