(1) Sunday: World Gymnaestrada - Day 114th WORLD GYMNAESTRADA 2011 is opened and starts with full program ...

" MEET TH MAGIC!"
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With an emotional Opening Ceremony the 14th World Gymnaestrada 2011 was opened on Sunday afternoon in the Olympic Stadium  ist am Pontaise in Lausanne, Switzerland.
From Monday, July 11 to Saturday July 16 more than 1.800 different events of all the manyfold possibilities of gymnastics will held in the Olympic City of Lausanne under the slogan "Meet the Magic"!
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** Supported by the German company "SPIETH Gymnastic" our European Gymnastic Service "GYMmedia INTERNATIONAL" will report directly and every day with small summaries of this colorfull festival of sport, fun, health, motion and international understanding ...

However, it seems the Organising Committee had a direct line to the weather Gods as, just one hour before the big show, the sun came out and blue skies opened up over La Pontaise Olympic Stadium. The long anticipated show could begin!

It started with a playful and colourful show by 400 children, accompanied by their parents, while the ranks of the sold-out stadium filled up quickly with enthusiastic spectators. A total of 250 performers in white uniforms then gathered in the centre of the stadium, forming the Swiss cross, while the host country’s delegation marched in to traditional Swiss music presented by the Alphorn Academy of Switzerland, with the musicians playing live from the roof top. The march was accompanied by rhythmic clapping from the public before delegation members took their seats in the grandstands.

<< Than came two brass bands  Brassbands , folowed by the long line of 55 guest nations from 5 continents, all over tne world! Delegationen aus den anderen Teilnehmerländern.

Bannerets and flags were in motion and the first big atmosphere junped from the delegations up to the visitors in the stadium round ...

After the rain before the opening ceremony took place under thr full sunshine in a wounderful and friendly atmosphere.

At the same time like the invasion gymnasts celebrated performances in the middle of the stadium.
After than they performed the geographical Swiss frontier as a colorfull picture (photo, below:)

In his opening speech, FIG President Prof Bruno Grandi gave a warm welcome to the gymnasts who hailed from all continents, demonstrating the universal nature of gymnastics and the solidarity that unites them at this unique event, taking place in the city that is both the Olympic Capital and the home of the International Gymnastics Federation.
Prof Grandi expressed his gratitude to the Local Organising Committee and the Swiss Gymnastics Federation as well as the local, cantonal and federal authorities.
François Daniel Golay, President of the Local Organising Committee, spoke of his pride in Lausanne hosting the World Gymnaestrada for the third time in Switzerland after Basel in 1969 and Zurich in 1982.

The Opening Ceremony in a
* VIDEO of the FIG Channel --:


Between the speeches, spectators enjoyed watching a video of previous World Gymnaestradas, a performance by Martin’s Tap Dance Company produced by tap-dance World Champion Fabrice Martin, as well as the official hymn “Meet the Magic”, performed by Groove Convention.
When the Swiss flag had joined that of the FIG and the World Gymnaestrada and the sounds of the national anthem had faded, the crowd directed their eyes to the sky for the next highlight of the ceremony, with the Swiss Air Force’s Patrouille Suisse 2011 flying in breathtaking acrobatic formations over La Pontaise.
A total of seven routines simply blew the stunned crowd away. Back on the ground, the show continued with a performance by five groups from the Cantonal Gymnastics Association (ACVG) using a wide variety of balls, and an entertaining piece by the Top Secret Drum Corps from Basel who kept the public amused with their Swiss-like precision and discipline combined with comic and theatrical elements, topped by the use of burning drum sticks. * Source: f i g-report; photos: GYMmedia / A. Schäfer
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* Previews &  und Flashbacks
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LAUSANNE - Host of the  14th World Gymnaestrada 2011

* ... a video of the fig channels --:


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*  ... focal point:
The mascots Jim & Cathy :
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