Pan-Armenian Games Opening Ceremony #1
Pan-Armenian Games Opening Ceremony, Vazgen Sarkisyan Stadium, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007
Today saw the official opening of the 4th Pan-Armenian Games in Yerevan. Over 2,500 competitors from communities in Armenia and the Diaspora will take part in sporting events scheduled for the next week. Lots to say about the event, including some criticism of the way it was organized, but it has to be said that today’s opening ceremony was nonetheless quite refreshing and enjoyable. I was there covering the event for EurasiaNet.
Anyway, if there was any event that truly illustrated how far flung Armenians are in the world, this was it. Pretty much every country and community, including Armenians from Istanbul were represented. I also found the fact that Armenians from Georgia quite proudly wore their countries flag positive, especially at a time when some forces are trying to stir up trouble between Armenians and Georgians.
Everybody without exception had a good time, with the Argentinian-Armenian team proving to be the loudest and most excitable. The Lebanese Armenians came in a close second, and even a a brief but heavy downpour of rain didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. Here is the first batch of many photos taken tonight and there are plenty more to come.
Pan-Armenian Games Opening Ceremony, Vazgen Sarkisyan Stadium, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007
There are a lot of good looking spyrkahyes out there!
Comment by Paul — August 19, 2007 @ 2:51 am
Pan-Armenian Games Opening Ceremony #2
Pan-Armenian Games Opening Ceremony, Vazgen Sarkisyan Stadium, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007
As I mentioned in the previous post, there are some issues that many of us have raised about th…
Trackback by Oneworld Multimedia — August 19, 2007 @ 4:26 am
Hey there! the pix looks awesome. I really wish i was there with them sharing the excitement. I have a request
- I really wanna see pix of the Australian Armenians !! If you could somehow get some pix of them, i’d be soo glad. will appreciate it heaps!
Keep it up!!
- Australia.
Comment by Sydney — August 19, 2007 @ 4:17 pm
Sydney, will try when next they play in any of the events. Incidentally, they have a nice and quite large (actually, it’s huge) toy kangaroo mascot. What else could it be?!?!?!? Cheers.
Comment by Onnik — August 19, 2007 @ 7:04 pm
Istanbul vs Gyumri, Pan-Armenian Games
Istanbul vs Gyumri, Pan-Armenian Games, Yerevan, Republic of Armenia © Onnik Krikorian / Oneworld Multimedia for EurasiaNet 2007
Now that the Pan-Armenian Games has begun, there’s pretty much sporting events scheduled to be held every day fo…
Trackback by Oneworld Multimedia — August 19, 2007 @ 8:45 pm