All systems go for extra Special night in Croker
Former South African president Nelson Mandela has already accepted an invitation to attend the opening ceremony on Saturday, June 21.
Now 84, Mr Mandela will join President Mary McAleese after she welcomes the 7,000 athletes from 160 countries who will participate in the nine-day event.
Also there will be Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bono and other members of U2, The Corrs and Samantha Mumba, while comedian and chat show host Patrick Kielty will be master of ceremonies.
It won’t be Mr Kielty’s first time in Croke Park - he was substitute goalkeeper for Down minors in the 1980s. “I did run out onto the pitch but it will be the first time I’ll be there with all the responsibility for putting in a star performance resting on my shoulders,” he said yesterday.
The games’ chief executive, Mary Davis, said support and enthusiasm for the event was huge and she was very confident it would be the best ever world games.
“It has been a mammoth task from a logistical point of view but it has been comprehensively planned and everything is in place,” she said.
Tyrone Productions is putting together a spectacular three-hour show that will not just be seen by the 75,000 who will pack the GAA stadium - RTÉ television will provide the first ever live broadcast of the opening ceremony.
MCD, which will produce the closing ceremony, is also providing event management and logistical support for both ceremonies. They will create one of the biggest stages seen in Ireland on Hill 16, with 14,000 sq metres of cover used to protect the playing surface.
Shaun Davey has composed the music for the ceremony and its climax will be the athlete’s song, May We Never Have to Say Goodbye, performed by Rita Connolly, Ronan Tynan, the National Symphony Orchestra, many of Ireland’s finest traditional musicians, a pipe band and a choir of 500.
Other highlights include the coming together of the largest Riverdance group ever assembled - 100 dancers drawn from companies worldwide and from Irish dance schools.
The ceremony will culminate with the arrival of the Special Olympics Flame of Hope, closely guarded by police officers from 20 countries led by members of An Garda Síochána and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
It will be handed to Special Olympics athletes who will light the World Games Flame heralding the start of the event.
