1 Out of 7 Billion
The world is getting smaller everyday but a lifetime is not enough to explore it. My adventure starts in Singapore.
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Blazing the Trail: 2010 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore
August 15, 2010
I decided to stay home on Saturday night to catch the opening ceremonies of the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) hosted by Singapore.
The Youth Olympics will feature 3,600 athletes aged between 14 and 18 years competing in 200 events across 26 sports. The concept is a dream of International Olympic Committee, president Jacques Rogge, who has advocated the idea since 2001 after winning the IOC presidency.
The story behind the Opening Ceremony illustrates the parallels between Singapore and the Young Olympians – their struggles, hopes and dreams. The show celebrates Singapore’s origins and diversity, and offers a glimpse of the nation’s hopes for the future, drawing on all that Singapore has to offer in terms of art, culture and expertise.
The creative director for both opening & closing ceremonies is theatre director, actor and playwright Ivan Heng, while Cultural Medallion recipient Iskandar Ismail will be in charge of sound and music.
My view of the opening ceremonies? Impressive display of colors and creative use of fire and water. More importantly, it was a great showcase of Singapore’s capability as a modern nation to host an international event of this magnitude.
There are specific aspects of the show that I particularly liked :
Note: Unless otherwise stated, all photos posted courtesy of the Youth Olympic Games website and Singapore Youth Olympic Games photostream in Flickr
1) The use of a reflecting pool (90.5m by 50.1m in length)
2) The use of multimedia and special effects to enhance storytelling
The bigger opponent (appearing as a shadow) is part of the special effects in one of the segments
3) “Walking/running on water effect” before the Olympic flame was lit by Singapore teenage sailor Darren Choy
Photo courtesy of Tim Chong (http://www.flickr.com/photos/oeyvind/4891123181/)
Photo courtesy of AP / Wong Maye
Darren Choy – 2009 Byte CII sailing world champion and gold-medallist at last year’s Asian Youth Games, 2007 South-east Asian Games silver-medallist. His role as final torch bearer was a tightly guarded secret. He even had to rehearse at midnight wearing a cap the weekend before the event.
4) Spiral Olympic flame in a 32 meter cylinder / lighthouse structure which represents Singapore as a port city
Other photos from the Opening Ceremonies
Basic info on YOG which I picked up from The Straits Times (14 August 2010, page A16)
- Singapore beat front runner Russia to host the Youth Olympics. One reason Singapore won is that it has never hosted an Olympic event before
- 204 national Olympic teams will participate in the Youth Olympics
- Because Singapore is the first host of the Youth Olympics, the livery of the Singapore 2010 logo will be featured in the ceremonial flag for subsequent handovers between future organisers
- The next Youth Olympic Games will be held in Nanjing in 2014. China beat Poland by 5 votes, winning 47 to 42
- Before Youth Olympics, there was the World Youth Games. Also organised by the International Olympic Committee, they were discontinued after the inaugural games in Moscow in 1998.
Other info on the YOG:
Medals (Silver, Gold, Bronze)
Lyo, a lion cub, embodies the values of Excellence and Friendship, while Merly, a merlion, personifies the values of Excellence and Respect.
Theme song (“Everyone”, sung by Sean Kingston, Tabitha Nauser, Steve Appleton, Jody Williams, Jessica Mauboy)
Journey to the West
December 13, 2009
As I now live in the Southwest, I was curious to explore what’s out here.
Here’s what I discovered:
1) West Coast Plaza
http://www.westcoastplaza.com.sg/home/index.aspx?key=home
There's a large Cold Storage supermarket in such mall.
2) West Coast Park
Although not as popular as East Coast Park, this park also has a McDonald’s outlet and some walking / jogging area. Good for a weekend morning stroll.
Zen-like McDonalds outlet
Sis and mom posing for the cam
This specific play area is for 7 years old and above. I meet the criteria.
Presenting the West Coast
Unless a wild animal was chasing me, I would not attempt to climb trees... :p
Oooh a flying snake
Soccer training or lessons at the park
Updates from Previous Weekends
November 9, 2008
Several friends have been asking what I’ve been up to for the past few weekends. Here’s a quick rundown.
1) FINA/Arena Swimming World Cup 2008 (Singapore Sports School)
The FINA/Area Swimming World Cup happens every year in a few countries (just like the F1). It’s an international meet whose participants have either competed in regional/world championships or just about to get into them (hence, the preparation).
I first caught it last year and learned a few things about swimming (unfortunately, still haven’t picked up the skill), i.e. flags are placed above the pool shortly before the backstroke event so swimmers know that they are a few meters away from turning over; that the swimming assistants (the ones that carry clothes basket) enter after the swimmers have gone to the pool.
This year, I watched with Auleine and Vincent. Lots of events but the longest one was the 1500m race which lasted for 20 mins or so.
Vincent, Auleine, and me
Tao Li (Singapore)
2) Dinner at Project Shop Cafe
Had dinner with Ben, Jeremy, Duncan, Desmond at Project Shop Cafe. With this visit, I can say that I’ve tried all PS Cafe’s in Singapore. Good food and chat ; ended around 1130pm.
PS Cafe (Palais) with Ben, Jeremy, Duncan, Desmond
3) Theater Weekend
I spent several hours in the theater during the weekend of 8-9 November.
“Gemuk Girls”
The Necessary Stage
Synopsis
Kartini and Juliana are not your typical mother-daughter pair — one loud and overbearing, the other straitlaced and on the threshold of entering politics. Together, they are Gemuk Girls and proud of it (Gemuk = fat)
One day, they receive shocking news about Kartini’s father who had been arrested and detained in the 1960′s. Suddenly the floodgates of the family’s emotional past are thrown open. Can a family survive as they struggle to reconcile the past with the present? Will Kartini and Juliana continue to be Gemuk Girls?
Gemuk Girls is a bold and often darkly humorous look at family politics and the politics of the day.
I was amazed with the execution of this production, including the production design and multimedia effect. The performers were effective in their respective roles and I would say very witty in delivery.
I went with Pierre who had acted in several productions including at least one at The Necessary Stage theater over at Marine Parade Community Center.
Pierre knew the people in Gemuk Girls.
Najib Soiman, Alin Mosbit, Siti Khalijah
“Avenue Q”
Esplanade Theater
Synopsis (from www.allmusicals.com)
Avenue Q is about real life. It’s about finding a job, losing a job, learning about racism, getting an apartment, getting kicked out of your apartment, being different, falling in love, promiscuity, avoiding commitment, hangovers, internet porn, and discovering the world.
Here’s a video from a live performance/promo at the West End (length 6 mins 30 sec)
This is the 2nd time I’m catching this musical. Still laughed a lot and so did Pierre and Levin who joined me that afternoon.
Levin and Pierre
4) Lunch at Jones the Grocer
9 Dempsey Road
#01-12 Tanglin Village
Dempsey Road
Singapore
Ph +65 6476 1512
Been here a few times and one Sunday, I had brunch with my sister. The fudge and cupcakes continue to be the highlight of the meal. Yummy!
Fudge (Jones the Grocer, Dempsey)
F1: Singapore Grand Prix
September 23, 2008
F1: S’pore Grand Prix facts (from Straits Times Online)
SINGAPORE hosts its inaugural Formula One Grand Prix on September 28. It will be also be the first race held at night anywhere in the world and the first F1 race on a street circuit in Asia.
Here are some facts:
- First F1 GP: 2008
- Circuit: Public streets around Marina Bay area
Photo courtesy of Kelvin Chng
- Spectator capacity: 110,000
- Track length: 5.067 km
- Number of laps: 61 (309.087 km)
- Number of turns: 23
- Maximum speed: 300 kmh along Raffles Boulevard
- Overtaking opportunities: Turn 1 (Pit Straight), Turn 7 (Raffles Boulevard), Turn 14 (Esplanade Drive)
- Race direction: Anti-clockwise
- Start time: 8.00pm — AFP
Road closures and diversions Singapore F1 Road Closures and Diversions (from LTA)
Concluding Note on the 2008 Beijing Olympics
August 25, 2008
Reuters came out with the Top 10 moments of the Beijing Olympics. I saw the article over at Yahoo News (Singapore). I’m glad they included the three (3) which I will remember about the recently-concluded Olympics.
- Michael Phelps roars in triumph and relief after American team mate Jason Lezak overtook France’s Alain Bernard on the final leg of the 4×100 freestyle relay to keep alive Phelps’s dream of beating Mark Spitz’s record from 1972 of seven golds in a Games – a dream he was to realize.
- Liu Xiang dejectedly walks away from the track as he realizes he has to withdraw from the defence of his 110 meters hurdles title because of a leg injury. Liu was the most popular sportsman in China and his grimacing departure clouded the Games for millions of home fans.
I really would have wanted to see him get the gold medal after all the publicity and product endorsements! Get well soon!
- The Opening Ceremony. It emerged that some of the performance seen on television had been enhanced by computers, a child singer was replaced by a supposedly prettier face to mime to her voice and representatives of China’s ethnic minorities were no such thing. But it was a jaw-dropping beginning to the Games, culminating in former gymnast Li Ning being swung up the roof of the stadium and ‘running’ around the top level before lighting the cauldron.
I’m glad I recorded the Opening. I’m sure it will be in my DVD recorder hard drive for quite awhile, maybe until the commemorate DVD comes out (not sure if there will be one).
London 2012 Olympics
27 July to 12 August 2012
Beijing Olympic Flame
August 10, 2008
The Beijing 2008 Olympics Opening Ceremonies were spectacular.
Olympic flame lighting 101.
Li Ning, former Chinese gymnast made a dramatic run as images of previous Olympics were flashed on the upper section of the stadium. Suspension wires at their finest!
Here’s another creative way of lighting the Olympic flame — seen at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics
Welcome to Beijing!
August 8, 2008 — 2 Comments
As far as I can remember, I’ve never been THAT interested in the Olympics.
I remember buying Olympic souvenirs though while living in Sydney in 2001 but that was after the games. Haha. That doesn’t really count as supporting the games, does it?
I think I can trace my lukewarm affinity to the summer games to the fact that there wasn’t much coverage in the Philippines when I was living there. There were only a few events that get shown on TV — boxing and basketball — and more often than not, the viewers would need to stay up really late and sleep in sorrow.
I’m trying to recall how I began developing an interest in the Beijing Olympics. Hmm.
1) The VISA advertisements in Golden Village cinema ? First, it was this famous Chinese hurdles champ Liu Xiang, then the one that features Jackie Chan.
Liu Xiang’s ad
2) 5566? They performed at the Asia Beatbox Championship and sang “Welcome to Beijing” which a lot of people seemed to know. I bought their album because of that song but here’s the video. I must admit I attempted to follow the Sunday variety show-inspired dance moves!
3) All the controversy surrounding the torch relay in Europe and the US? Olympics have a political angle too. So it was refreshing to see HK stars (and a few showbiz wannabees) battling it out to carry the torch.
4) Publicity generated by modern Olympic venues?
(Photo courtesy of Guo Lei/Xinhua) Bird's Nest / Beijing National Stadium. Took 5 years and US$500m (S$683m) to build. Capacity of 91,000 pax. Exterior built of steel.
National Aquatics Center or Water Cube. Cost : US$200m. It is the largest structure to be fitted with ETFE (lightweight version of teflon which allows more light penetration and heat absorption).
Interior of Water Cube. Has three swimming pools and a seating capacity of 17,000.
5) Official Olympic merchandise?
Beibei is the Fish, Jingjing is the Panda, Huanhuan is the Olympic Flame, Yingying is the Tibetan Antelope and Nini is the Swallow
I also have a copy of the official Beijing 2008 Olympic Games soundtrack. Contains 2 CDs. My favorite track is Jay Chou’s song, “Over My Shoulder” / “Qian Shan Wan Shui” (video below).
We are moments away from the Opening Ceremonies (happening 08.08.08 at 08.08pm). Directed by filmmaker Zhang Yimou. I’m sure it will be a grand spectacle that gives justice to the rich Chinese culture and heritage.
Enjoy China’s “Coming Out to the World” party!
My TV guide and DVD recorder are ready. “Citius, Altius, Fortius” (faster, higher, stronger). Let the Games begin!
Official Beijing Olympics site
Mediacorp TV Olympic coverage schedule (Singapore viewers only)
