Commonwealth Games opening ceremony will begin today at 7 PM

Mangalore Today

New Delhi, Oct 3: The 2010 Commonwealth Games get underway on Sunday with a grand opening ceremony on the cards at Delhi’s iconic Nehru stadium. The biggest sporting event in India’s history kicks off on Sunday evening. The grand Opening Ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games will begin at 7 pm.

The ceremony has been designed by a creative team including directors Shyam Benegal and Bharat Bala will showcase India and its traditions to the world.

It is a D-day for the Organising Committee, for Delhi and for India. After seven years of planning, controversies and delays three billion people around the world will tune in to see what India has to offer. The opening ceremony after all always sets the tone for multi –discipline Games of this kind.

The renovated Jawaharlal Nehru stadium will host the nearly three-hour ceremony. CNN-IBN can share some exclusive details of just what to expect today. The aerostat will be the centerpiece of the ceremony. It will rise to the top with drums from all over India and flutes taking the crescendo to a fever pitch.

Singer Hariharan will perform the ‘Swagatam’ song which will welcome the Commonwealth countres to India with school children forming the ‘namaste’ on the ground. The tree of knowledge segment will showcase India’s ‘guru shishya’ tradition with folk dancers and musicians taking centre stage. A yoga performance will raise the bar while the great Indian journey will showcase the spirit of India.

The grand finale will be Oscar winner AR Rahman performing live and while the magic unfolds the athletes will for the first time witness the ceremony from the stands. Australia will lead out the teams while hosts India will be led out by Olympic gold medalist Abhinav Bindra.

This will be the third time that India to hosts an opening ceremony after the 1951 Asian Games with former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in attendance. Thirty-one years later the Nehru stadium showcased one of the best opening ceremonies ever in the 1982 Asian Games.