| Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Sahin, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Mrs. Emine Erdogan, several ministers, deputies, members of the arts and sports world and residents are watching the inauguration of the games at the Cemal Gursel Stadium.
The ceremony began with eight athletes and the games' mascot "Kanka" carrying the flag of the Universiade behind the band. Turkey's national anthem was played by the band. The delegations from 58 countries took their places in the stadium.
Turkish athlete Sabahattin Oglago, who will compete in the men's cross-country skiing, carried the Turkish flag in the ceremony.
Delivering the opening remarks at the ceremony, the Chairman of the Organization Committee and State Minister in charge of sports Faruk Nafiz Ozak said that everyone witnessed a story of success in Erzurum on Thursday. Young people from five continents came together in Erzurum with a joy and happiness, Ozak said. I wish all the students success in the competitions, Ozak added.
Following the remarks of Turkish President Abdullah Gul that officially signaled the beginning of the games, eight athletes brought the flag of the International University Sports Federation (FISU) to the stadium and FISU's anthem was sung. Meanwhile, the olympic torch was carried by Turkish national athletes Kenan Sofuoglu, Selcuk Cebi, Neslihan Darnel and Gizem Girismen.
Turkish dance group, Anadolu Atesi (Fire of Anatolia), began a show as part of the opening ceremony. TV channels from 80 countries showed the opening ceremony to their viewers live.
There is heavy snowfall in Erzurum on Thursday night. The games will host nearly 3,000 sportsmen from 58 countries who will compete in a total of 11 branches; Alpine skiing, biathlon, ice hockey, curling, ski jumping, cross country, Nordic combined, snowboard, freestyle skiing, figure skating and short track. Turkey will participate in the games with 152 athletes.
Officials said that the facilities built for Universiade 2011 constituted the biggest sports investment Turkey had made for a single sports event up until today, stating that construction of the venues had cost nearly 600 million Turkish liras (TL).
Erzurum 2011 Winter Universiade Games will end on February 6. The next Universiade Games will take place in Maribor city of Slovenia in 2013. |
