(Photo by Jason Chiou)
Sold-out Opening Ceremony draws rave reviewsby Leila Hanaumi on September 6, 2009 The Opening Ceremony of the 2009 Taipei Deaflympics lacked just one thing: empty seats. Taipei Municipal Stadium was packed with fans waving their blue, bamboo-like light-sticks. As one exciting performance followed another continuously, the stadium glowed blue through the ceremony's conclusion. As the opening ceremony drew to a close and fans began packing away their light-sticks, a man sprang up from the audience, waving an Israeli flag, and signed, "Taipei is great!" The same zeal could be found in the eyes of many other attendees, who had nothing but positive things to say about the ceremony. The audience was composed of a vast majority of hearing Taiwanese people, who were quick to nod eagerly and stick thumb-ups into the air when asked what they thought of the opening ceremony. "This is a first for Taiwan," a hearing local said. "We came to watch because we were proud of that!" Taipei is the first Asian host of the Deaflympics, according to the Taipei Times, and that helped sell out every ticket available to the public. People also were quick to purchase tickets because of rumors of extensive and detailed planning. A volunteer said she became involved with the Deaflympics in winter 2008. For such an intricately planned event, the result and reception were appropriately sensational. "I've been to many Deaflympic opening ceremonies, but I've never seen anything like this one," exclaimed Dyer Pressard, a deaf French fan. A nearby Russian fan agreed wholeheartedly: "This one tops it all!" A group of deaf Taiwanese teenagers said they bought tickets in May and, four months later, took a three-hour train ride to Taipei to watch the ceremony. They agreed that the show was worth it. "I thought the drums at the beginning was cool!" one said, while another raved about the fireworks display. When someone mentioned singer A-Mei's vocal performance, the group gave a unanimous nod of approval. A-Mei turned out to be a crowd favorite, but it was hard for anyone to choose a particular part they enjoyed the most when the ongoing performances were one surprise after another. Whether it was an unexpected, loud boom of fireworks or unicycle choreography that no one anticipated, the crowd ate it all up. "I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Jet-Li give his speech!" American fan Jody Bingham said. She watched the ceremony on the jumbotron television outside with other fans who weren't able to gain admission. Lena Ryden, of Sweden, also stayed outside throughout the ceremony. She noted how exquisite the clothing and props were. Exquisite — that word floated around the stadium and embodied a sense of unity amongst fans from various countries. The performers were flawless, the design was lovely and the feeling was exquisite. Perfectly exquisite. |
 (Photo by Jason Chiou)
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