Great Opening Ceremonies

Under ideal weather conditions, the Opening Ceremonies to the 2010 Special Olympics National Summer Games were held on July 13 at the TD Waterhouse Stadium at the University of Western Ontario in London.

Here's how the stadium looked as we waited for the arrival of the athletes:







And here comes British Columbia!





And in that large group of BC athletes, there's Cory, looking up and finding us in the large group, proudly waving a small Canadian flag: (sorry about the camera shake - it was quite a moment)

Team BC moving into their seats:

And the arrival of the Host Team - Ontario:




All the athletes from all over Canada now in their seats, with Team BC on the left:





Then Cory stands, turns around to look for us, and starts waving his flag. I had a large BC flag with me and waved it back:









And then the arrival of the Torch. Law enforcement officers all across Canada raise funds for Special Olympics through the Law Enforcement Torch Run. Here a very impressive and very long procession of officers leads the Torch runner into the stadium:



Then the Torch arrives:



And, after a bit of a delay, the Olympic cauldron is lit and the 2010 Special Olympics National Summer Games are officially open!





Now we're off to Day Two of competition....look for another update later today.