Fireworks light up Taipei Stadium during the opening ceremonies of the 2009 Taipei Deaflympics in Taiwan on Sept. 5, 2009. (Photo by Jason Chiou)

Opening Ceremony starts Deaflympics with a bang

by Martin Dale-Hench, Rachel Benedict and Colin Whited on September 6, 2009

The Opening Ceremony of the 2009 Taipei Deaflympics began with a bang and ended with a bang, with nary a whimper in between. Thousands flocked to Taipei Stadium in Taipei, Taiwan, on Saturday night, filling the stadium nearly to capacity for a show that rivaled last year’s Olympics Opening Ceremony in Beijing. The Taiwanese went all out, investing US$18.3 million into the ceremony. By comparison, Salt Lake City in 2007 had only $1 million to work with. Dr. Stan Lai, the Games’ opening director, said the opening ceremony would be a “memorable event that will call forth the beauty of the human heart and reach out to the deaf community.” Even at the beginning, the ceremony’s grandeur was unparalleled in the history of the Deaflympics. To prepare for the Games, the Organizing Committee recruited a volunteer force of nearly 3,000 people, a 2 to 1 ratio of participants to volunteers, including foreign language and sign language interpreters. The committee also hired Taiwanese playwright and theatre director Lai to choreograph the Opening Ceremony. Before the show even began, Dwight Benedict, one of the 20,000 attendees and a spectator of multiple opening ceremonies, said, “The ceremony hasn’t even started and it’s already the best ever.” The show started with fireworks launched from the rafters, illuminating the night sky and startling many onlookers. They would be the first of many fireworks throughout the night, as the ceremony proceeded through 12 acts. The three-hour-long ceremony celebrated Taiwan’s 5,000-year-old heritage, showcasing its cuisine, mythology, music, and people. More than 17,000 performers participated in a colorful and diverse demonstration that drew its inspiration from a wide variety of peoples, such as the aborigine peoples of Taiwan who danced along to a tune sang by Hu Te-fu, Taiwanese’s “Patriarch of Aborigine singers.” Deaf percussionist Evelyn Glennie, as well as 80 deaf children who teamed with U-Theatre, put on exhibitions of drumming. The China Disabled People’s Performing Art Troupe performed the dance Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, displaying their trademark eyefest of hands. The entire ceremony had a political overtone and agenda. “The determination of self-breakthrough is the spirit of Deaflympics, and also the spirit of Taiwan,” Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou said. “Taiwan never gives up. … This is the spirit that leads to the success of our bidding for Summer Deaflympics and makes Taipei now the spotlight of the world.” The city poured money into advertising and marketing — NT$1.1 billion, according to the Taipei Times — and invited celebrities such as actor Jackie Chan and basketball star Scottie Pippen to endorse the Games. The President also called Deaflympics “a major international event through which we will be showcasing Taiwan to the world.” However, the lights-out, all-out performance also had a melancholy tinge. Actor Jet Li came onstage to thank the four aborigine men who risked their lives to save 135 fellow villagers during the destruction of Typhoon Morakot. One of the highlights of the night came during the fourth act, when renowned Taiwanese model Patina Lin dangled high up in the air, her body scintillatingly painted blue — representing the sacred ocean goddess Matsu — and flew to the platform in the middle of the stadium floor. She then signed a prayer, “Power in Me,” Taipei’s marketing slogan for the Deaflympics, to a deaf boy standing in a rice field. Possibly the most anticipated part of the entire opening ceremony, the athletes’ parade began with France leading the way into the stadium. After France — host of the first International Games for the Deaf in 1924 — the countries came alphabetically. The crowd roared for certain countries such as Germany and the USA. However, the loudest of all came for Chinese Taipei, which also received a standing ovation. The People’s Republic of China was absent from the parade, since the entire China contingent boycotted the opening ceremony. The Taipei Times has reported that the boycott possibly was due to the Dalai Lama’s visit last week. After the parade, Dr. Hau Lung-bin, mayor of Taipei City, Mr. Chen Chih-ho, president of Chinese Taipei Sports Association of the Deaf and Dr. Donalda Ammons, President of International Commttee of Sports for the Deaf, took the stage to share few words each. “NEVER GIVE UP!” was Dr. Lung-bin’s message to the participants, and it drew cheers from the crowd. As the opening ceremony came to the end, there was a fireworks show outside the stadium and throughout the city of Taipei. Spectators were full of rave reviews as they departed the stadium after the ceremony concluded. “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!”

Opening Ceremony from US Deaflympics on Vimeo.

The U.S. Team enters Taipei Stadium as part of the athletes' march during the Opening Ceremony for the 2009 Taipei Deaflympics on Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009. (Photo by Hui Zhang)

(Photo by Jason Chiou)

Fireworks light up Taipei Stadium during the opening ceremonies of the 2009 Taipei Deaflympics in Taiwan on Sept. 5, 2009. (Photo by Jason Chiou)

Opening Ceremony starts Deaflympics with a bang

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