Africa-Press – Senegal. The ninth Games of La Francophonie opened Friday in Kinshasa under the sign of cultural diversity, noted the special envoy of the APS.
The opening ceremony of the event took on an impressive cultural and artistic cachet.
At the Martyrs de la Pentecost stadium in the capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), traditional and sports outfits were all the rage.
Thousands of residents of Kinshasa, the largest city in the French-speaking world, attended the opening of the Games of La Francophonie, alongside their compatriots who had arrived from various parts of the DRC, officials and some 3,000 athletes from many countries.
In the stadium full as an egg, the Kinshasa people showed hospitality to their guests.
A minute of silence was observed during the opening ceremony in memory of the victims of the war in eastern DRC.
Les délégations des 40 pays prenant part à l’événement sont entrées une par une dans le stade, drapeau national au vent. Elles ont rivalisé de danses et de démonstrations artistiques, sous le sceau de la diversité, les Ivoiriens aux côtés des Arméniens, Béninois, Burkinabè, Sénégalais, Congolais, Français, Canadiens, Suisses, Tchadiens, parmi d’autres nationalités.
‘’Ici, c’est Congo’’ et d’autres slogans ont fusé de tous les côtés du stade, où les feux d’artifice et les jeux de lumière ont été impressionnants.
Les artistes ont tenu à démontrer la diversité du monde francophone et du pays hôte de l’événement.
Les Léopards de la Sape – la sape, the acronym for the Society of Ambianceurs and Elegant People – were a resounding success with the public. They came to show the traditional Congolese way of dressing tastefully, dressed as they were in designer clothes, from head to toe.
The Leopards of Sape took over the podium of the ceremony, revealing at the same time their talent for dance and their passion for music.
Arriving in a harmonious line of small yellow taxis, they unveiled a beautiful page of Congolese culture, reminding older people of this movement created in the 1960s in Brazzaville, capital of neighboring Congo, which wanted to demonstrate that clothing was a true art.
Congolese music stars including Bill Clinton Kalonji and Fally Ipupa performed at the end of the ceremony. To the delight of athletes and officials.
Forty countries are taking part in the ninth Games of La Francophonie, which will continue until August 6.
Athletics, disabled sports, women’s basketball, judo, freestyle and African wrestling, table tennis, men’s football and cycling are part of the programme.
Apart from sports, participants from French-speaking countries will also take part in 11 cultural disciplines, including ball juggling, photography, painting, visual arts, creative dance and hip-hop.
The competitions will take place at the Martyrs de la Pentecost stadium, at the Tata-Raphaël stadium and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Kinshasa.
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