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Football the focus of closing ceremony
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The opening ceremony was a big success (¿Getty
Images)
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Football and the 16 teams that have provided such rich
entertainment and excitement over the past three weeks will be the focal
point of the ten-minute closing ceremony before the UEFA EURO 2008T final
between Germany and Spain at the Ernst-Happel-Stadion in Vienna.
Official song
The official tournament song - Can you hear me? - will be performed live
by Spanish star Enrique Iglesias, and 400 artists, many from the Vienna
musical comedy school and the Austrian gymnastics federation, will get
fans involved as they look back on the tournament. Both the opening and
closing ceremonies were put together by French event agency Auditoire,
whose artistic director, Martin Arnaud, staged the opening ceremony for
the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France as well as the opening and closing ceremonies
of the 2004 Paralympics in Athens.
Ceremony elements
Field of play: A printed plastic pitch cover will be laid over the Ernst-Happel
turf. There will be eight circles on it, each symbolising one of the fields
of play where matches in the tournament took place.
Waltzing puppets: Each participating team will be represented by
a 2.5m-high puppet. The puppets will be decorated with balloons in the
colours of the corresponding team. Like players during the tournament,
the puppets will move together, recreating the matches each team has played.
Competition: The puppets will dance together in the order the teams
played their matches: from the group phase to the quarter-finals and semi-finals.
At the end of each match, the puppets who did not make it to the next
round will release their balloons.
Supporters: 320 supporters will take part in the ceremony. They
will initially be divided into 16 groups of 20, with each group supporting
a different team. They will follow the matches and their outfits will
evolve as the ceremony progresses, to end up with two groups of 160, representing
the supporters of the two finalists.
Referees: Like during a real competition, there will be referees
in the show to ensure fair play on the dance floor.
Lackeys: These distinguished characters on the pitch will make
sure the guests are welcomed and shown to their dancing positions.
The closing ceremony will conclude with Spaniard Enrique Iglesias performing
the official UEFA EURO 2008Tsong, Can you hear me?
Props
The 16 puppets are 2.5 metre-high steel constructions mounted on wheels.
Each is manned by a technician hidden under the costume. Approximately
5,000 helium balloons were needed to decorate these structures. In addition,
16 balloons measuring two metres across, representing the flags of each
team, will lead the supporters onto the pitch.
Costumes
The Lackeys will be wearing 18th century-inspired period costumes with
comical details relating to the football world. The referees will wear
a distinguished orchestra conductor's tail coat. The costumes of the supporters
on the pitch will represent the teams' shirts. A funny and ingenious technique
involving sandwich boards allows the supporters to change their shirts
throughout the ceremony. For the soundtrack of the show sounds of supporters
cheering have been mixed into Vienna waltz pieces to create an original
and imaginative atmosphere.
Euro2008.com,
29 June 2008
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