Opening Ceremony

After more than a week in Israel, the big day of the Opening Ceremony was finally upon us on Monday.

Unfortunately, the long wait continued once we arrived at Ramat Gan stadium. The bus picked us up from our hotel in Netanya at 3.30pm, and we then had to sit in the marshalling area outside the Ramat Gan stadium for 4.5 hours.

The Ceremony started at 8.30pm and within around half an hour, we marched in. The Aussie Supporters Group were up in the grandstand immediately to our right and stood up and cheered as we entered.

Josh Small was asked to say a Yizkor prayer in Hebrew in memory of his Dad, the other Australians who died in 1997, and the Israeli Olympians who died in Munich. Tony and I accompanied him on the main stage in front of tens of thousands of people. He did a fantastic job.

In the waiting room before we went up on stage, we met Jason Lezak, the American Olympic swimmer who was to light the Games torch. It was great to meet him, and chat about his experiences.

Once the formalities and entertainment was completed, the uniform trading was in full swing. Aussie shirts & caps were traded with Argentinians, Mexicans, Russians, Brazilians, etc.

All of us had a great time, particularly those who participated in their first Opening Ceremony.