Originally Posted by
kenrod
Good morning fellow Canucks!
We had a decent time at the Pan Am opening ceremonies. We started out by going to Harbourfront where we saw the Downchild Blues Band. After seeing some of the concert, we walked toward the Skydome, where the Pam Am opening ceremonies would be held. There was a little more security to get in, than there would be for a concert or a baseball game, but it wasn't too bad and everyone was good about it.
There was an hour long pre-show that was hosted by CBC news anchors, two in English and one in French. That show sucked, because their voices were just echoing throughout the Skydome and we could barely understand what they were saying. There were a couple of comedians, and they also introduced "Patchy" the mascot the the XVII Pan Am Games.
After the pre-show, the real show started with dancers from Cirque du Soleil. Normally Cirque travels around the country and has permanent shows in Las Vegas. This troupe was a one-night-only show for the Pan Am games.
After a short show, the parade of athletes was next. 42 countries from North, Central, and South America as well as the Caribbean were represented. Some of the athletes from the United States sat near the dancing volunteers, and started dancing with them. That as pretty cool.
The crowd roared when the Canadian athletes came out last. There was a standing ovation with flags being waved. Boy I really got a dose of national pride at that moment!
After the athletes took their seats, Cirque du Soleil put on a spectacular performance that lasted about two hours. There were hundreds of dancers and even a BMX bike group that wowed the audience. Even though the stadium was big, it was hard to see the individual performers, but to see the big picture was pretty spectacular to see.
Next the Pan Am and Olympic flags were brought out by famous Canadian athletes, and even an astronaut. After the flags were raised, the speeches by the organizers of the Pan Am games, followed by the declared opening of the games by the Governor General. I also saw that Harper and Wynne were also there in the dignitaries box.
The torch relay was next where more famous athletes were passing the torch and running around the stadium. Finally the torch was passed to basketball great Steve Nash who took the torch out of the Skydome and lit the cauldron that was outside. Those of us inside had to watch this on video screens. Once the main cauldron was lit, a smaller version inside was fired up, then the CN Tower lit up with fireworks. Unfortunately for us, we only got to see the fireworks on the screens. It would have been nice if they opened the dome so we could see those spectacular fireworks.
A little more dancing from the Cirque du Soleil performers, then the show was over.
All in all, it was a spectacular night. We as a family have always been fans of Olympic ceremonies and always watch them on TV, but it is entirely something else when it is experienced in person.
Have a great day everyone!