Lots of dignitaries but no real fireworks as the Asian Games open
The opening ceremony of the Asian Games on Saturday in China offered all the staples of a major international sports event.
Dignitaries greeted General Secretary Xi Jinping, fans packed the 80,000-seat Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou to capacity, and many of the 12,417 participants from 45 nations and territories paraded to officially open the two-week show.
By comparison, next year's Paris Olympics will field about 10,500 competitors.
One big thing, however, was missing: real fireworks, the exploding kind that smell of power and burnt fuses. Instead, the high-tech games — billed of course as “green games” — offered electronic flash, 3D animations and a virtual torchbearer.
PHOTOS BY AP
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