Three-dimensional Vesuvius, a burning ball and much more at the Student Games 2019 Opening Ceremony
Once, long ago, as a result of the Vesuvius eruption, the ancient Roman city of Pompeii was buried under a layer of lava and ash...
But even now, two thousand years later, serious passions are boiling in the foothills of this once formidable and now sleeping volcano. Naples hosted the 30th World Summer Student Games Opening Ceremony, which brought together more than eight thousand athletes from around the world, including Turkmenistan.
The event took place at the legendary Neapolitan stadium San Paolo, which had for seven years seen Diego Maradona who became the two-time champion of Italy as a player of the Napoli Football Club.
President of the Campania region with the capital city of Naples Vincenzo De Luca, President of the International University Sports Federation (FISU) Oleg Matytsin, and remotely President of the International Olympic Committee Thomas Bach addressed the ceremony participants. President of Italy Sergio Mattarella announced the Games open.
During the ceremony, an official talisman of the competition - the siren Parthenope - appeared from above, and then gracefully swam away to nowhere. The audience watched performances given by Italian singers Malika Ayane and Carmen Pierre. Champion of Europe, World and Olympic Games in fencing among Paralympic athletes Beatrice Vio, three-time Olympic Champion in diving Klaus Dibiasi and many other stars participated in the show.
The celebration culmination was a kick of the fiery ball by famous football player Lorenzo Insigne, who so lit the Student Games torch. A burning ball rocketed high up, right to the top of the virtual three-dimensional Vesuvius volcano, the emergence of which in the stadium became a sort of highlight of the ceremony.
The national team of Turkmenistan, including athletes performing in six sports, passed in a ceremonious parade together with the teams of 126 countries of the world to join other opening ceremony participants.
Already the next day, judo wrestlers of our country began the fights on the judo mats in the competitions for the medals at the 30th World Summer Student Games 2019 in Naples, Italy.
