Opening ceremony of Shanxi provincial games to offer audio-visual feast

The 16th Games of Shanxi Province will commence in Datong, Shanxi province on the evening of Aug 8 with a grand curtain-raiser. 

The opening ceremony will last for about 90 minutes and will consist of four parts: a warm-up show, the official opening ceremony, a cultural performance, and the lighting of the torch, aiming to mesmerize the audience with a visually spectacular cultural extravaganza. 

The cultural performance will incorporate fashion and various art forms, displaying the remarkable achievements made in sports development as well as the historical and cultural heritage of Shanxi province. 

Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics champion Su Yiming will be the final torchbearer to ignite the main torch. 

Li Chunyu, director of the Datong municipal sports bureau, said the opening ceremony will showcase regional cultural characteristics through panoramic presentations incorporating dance, music, theater, light, and audio-visual effects. 

In addition to the already completed preliminary competitions, Datong will then host six competitive events in athletics, swimming, gymnastics, football (Division A), table tennis, and martial arts routines. It will also host three mass sports activities for discus throwing, gateball (a mallet sport inspired by croquet), and sports dance. 

The other host city, Shuozhou, will organize four competitive events for fencing, badminton, boxing, and international-style wrestling. 

All of the competitions are scheduled to conclude by Aug 18.