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King George VI opens Olympic Games
Under a blue sky the Games of the XIV Olympiad were proclaimed open by King George VI. He was one of the 90.000 present in Wembley Stadium for the opening ceremony of the Games of the XIV Olympiad.
Unlike 40 years ago, when the Games first came to London, this time there was not a spot of rain to be noticed during the opening. Let's hope this fine weather will last another 17 days.
The royal party consisted of the King and Queen and Princess Margaret, with Queen Mary, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, and the Duchess of Kent. Distinguished foreign statesmen were Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands, the Shah of Iran, Lord and Lady Mountbatten, and Mr. Trygve Lie, the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
Next all attention was focused on the athletes who will compete in these Olympics. Traditionally, Greece started the march into the stadium followed by all other countries in alfabethical order with just one exception. The team of Great Britain was the last one to enter the stadium.
A few teams stood out. Denmark, in bright scarlet and white. India, in light blue and white, with blue turbans; Pakistan, in green, with white turbans. Belgium, in all-white track suits and the Brazilians in blue sweaters.
Nations with very little athletes were cheered even louder than the rest. The single sprinter from Malta and the duo from Singapore were applauded as if they had already won a gold medal.
When all athletes were in mass formation on the Wembley turf, Lord Burghley emphasized in his speech the values of the Games and of sport and it was in reply the King spoke the words: "I proclaim open the Olympic Games of London celebrating the XIV Olympiad of the modern era."
Next 7.000 pigeons were released and the Olympic flag was raised followed by a salute of 21 gun shots. Only one question remained: who is the final torch-bearer? It turned out to be J. W. E. Mark, a former Cambridge Blue, and still an athlete with a fine reputation, who appeared amid the loudest cheers of the afternoon. Many of the athletes on parade broke ranks to watch him circle the arena and light the Olympic Flame.
Everybody seems to be ready for 17 days of Olympic excitement! |
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