BEIJING: The curtain came down on the 11th Asian games at a Spectacular ceremony here Sunday, leaving host China immensely satisfied that the extravagant festival had earned it umpteen friends apart from medals, that is,
The closing ceremony, full of glitter, gaeity, colours, music, dance and acrobatics, lasted 150 minutes to give a fitting finale to the host’s domination which fetched it 341 of the 976 medals on offer, 183 of which were golden.
The hi fi razzmatazz reached dizzy heights with the entry of the live version of the games Panda Mascot Pan.
The giant Panda, trained meticulously for this occasion, then took the centre stage before joining hinds with the Pigeon Mascot Keke of the ‘94 Hiroshima games with the 12th games emblem as a backdrop outlined by dazzling lights.
The gesture symbolised the passing of the games torch to the Japanese city even as the lights transformed the arena into a stage full of sparkling stars before being trained on the spectators watching the show openmouthed.
The ceremony, involving over 10,000 performers, commenced with the clarion calls from 400 schoolchildren.
An850strong chorus sang beautiful Asia to the accompaniment of a symphony orchestra which set the tone for the lively musical evening.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 12, 1990
