The International Children’s Games 2022 (ICG) Opening Ceremony was a huge success, with thousands of athletes, coaches, family and friends and VIPs gathering in the Assembly Festival Gardens to celebrate the start of the Games.
Acts including Britain’s Got Talent’s Flintz and Stone, Freeman Dance, Off Balance Dance, a BMX stunt act and Impact Steelband all put on a fantastic show with the crowd loving MC, John ‘JD’ Dalziel.
The Ceremony was followed by training and competition days across The Alan Higgs Centre, Broadgate, University of Warwick and Coventry University.
The Closing Ceremony, which is a private event, will took place on Monday 15 August from 7pm at Butterworth Hall at the University of Warwick Piazza, before departures begin on Tuesday 16 August.
The Ceremony was a final celebration of all 1,500 athletes that have made their way to Coventry to compete from 73 cities around the world.
The athletes competed in seven different sports to take home medals for their city. The sports covered in the International Olympic Committee sanctioned event were 3 x 3 basketball, athletics, climbing, football, swimming, table tennis and tennis, with para-sport competitions also included for the first time.
Councillor Abdul Salam Khan, Deputy Leader, Coventry City Council, said: “The Opening Ceremony was an amazing evening, with everything from the local performers in the Cathedral Ruins and cultural activity right through to seeing the participants entering the Gardens, the atmosphere was simply brilliant.
“We have had so much positive feedback about the Ceremony, the Games so far and how much people are loving Coventry. The athletes, their friends and families are all having a brilliant time here and it helps raise the city’s profile especially on following the city playing host to the Commonwealth Games recently.”
Steve Wiles Operations Director for CV Life, said: “It’s been an absolute pleasure to work with Coventry City Council and partners of the Games on the organisation of the Closing and Opening Ceremonies.
“The Opening and Closing Ceremony went so well, everyone had a brilliant time and it was amazing to see the athletes enjoying themselves. It makes the hard work worth it.
The Closing Ceremony celebrated the achievements of all the countries that have competed during the event, with music, dancing, awards – including the John Mutton Fair Play Award for 2022 only, and a first look at the official ICG 2022 film.
The International Children’s Games were organised in partnership between Coventry City Council, University of Warwick, Coventry University, CV Life and event delivery partner MLS.