Sports / Games News
Asian Games close in spectacular Arabian fantasy
(Reuters)
Updated: 2006-12-16 13:20
DOHA, Dec 15 - The 15th Asian Games closed in spectacular fashion on
Friday in a multi-million dollar arabesque fantasy, with swashbuckling
sailors duelling in the soft light of 40,000 lanterns.
Just hours after hosts Qatar won the 428th and final gold medal of the
continent's biggest sporting extravaganza, the President of the Olympic
Council of Asia Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al-Sabah officially closed the Doha
Games.
"May the youth of Asia ever celebrate the Asian Games in the spirit of
brotherhood and for the good of humanity," he told the crowd in the
Qatari capital.
Athletes from 45 countries marched around a packed Khalifa stadium for
the final time as hundreds of dancers armed with glittering swords
twirled around giant Persian urns to the sound of traditional Arab beats.
The floor of the stadium was transformed into a vast desert, which played
host to a caravan of camels and Arabian horses.
Flying carpets and boats with neon-lit sails descended from the sky as
sword-wielding sailors unleashed a torrent of brightly-coloured fireworks
into the air.
The theme then switched to a more oriental flavour as singers and dancers
from China took the stage to showcase the next Asian Games in Guangzhou
in 2010.
The Asian Games flag and torch were handed over to Liu Peng, president of
the Olympic Committee of China, as the ceremony drew to a close in a
crescendo of dazzling fireworks.
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