New Delhi (ABC Live): The U.S. Mission in India has issued alert to U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in India for during the 2010 Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held in New Delhi, w.e.f. October 3 to October 14, 2010.
New Delhi (ABC Live): The U.S. Mission in India has issued alert to U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in India for during the 2010 Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held in New Delhi, w.e.f. October 3 to October 14, 2010.
The alert to this effect was published in US States department website http://travel.state.gov on September 2, 2010.
It is to mention that US issued safety and security issues related to the 2010 Commonwealth Games in reference to Worldwide Caution issued by the Department of State on August 12, 2010, regarding the continuing threat of terrorist actions and violence against U.S. citizens and interests throughout the world. This Travel Alert expires November 15, 2010.
Further US States department clarified that it has no information on any specific threat of attack that any individual or group is planning to coincide with the Games.
Time a concern for Games opening
AAP
Limited rehearsal time may hamper India's plans for its Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, Australian events expert David Atkins says.
In just one month from Friday teams from 71 Commonwealth countries are due to take part in the Games opening in New Delhi.
But delayed construction meant Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the Games' main stadium, was inaugurated just two months out from the opening ceremony.
Advertisement: Story continues below
That gives ceremony organisers precious little time on site to fine tune such a large event, which Indian Games officials have rashly claimed can surpass the universally-acclaimed Beijing Olympics opening extravaganza.
"That's late by normal standards," Atkins told AAP. "That in-stadium rehearsal time is pretty critical.
"It depends on the nature of the performance and how much the show reliant upon the infrastructure in the venue itself."
Atkins was artistic director for the Sydney 2000 Olympics opening and closing ceremonies and produced the opening, closing and victory ceremonies for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
His team had access to the main stadiums at Sydney and Vancouver around four months before the opening ceremonies and he estimated the lead time for Beijing was much longer.
The Sydney 2000 ceremonies included 20,000 performers.
"The logistics around coordinating that many people - costuming them, transporting them, feeding them - that exercise is daunting," he said.
Atkins said some productions can be rehearsed at other locations and then transferred to the main stadium just prior to the ceremony.
But the Delhi opening ceremony will include a floating aerostat (helium balloon), measuring 80m by 40m, and touted as the star attraction in India media reports.
Constructed in Italy, the blimp is designed to float within the stadium among much smaller devices of similar design.
It will house cameras, laser projectors and provide a 360-degree viewing experience.
Atkins said wind grounded 25 per cent of the flying devices during the Shanghai event and two devices during Sydney's opening ceremony.
"Some things you simply can't do and never get seen because on the night prevailing conditions prevent you from doing it," he said.
"I'm sure they're going to do something spectacular but I'm sure it's a very apprehensive and tenuous process."
He was sceptical about the bold claims by Indian officials about bettering Beijing's opening ceremony.
"Everyone tries to outdo the previous one," Atkins.
"To be honest, in terms of scale and budget, I don't think anyone is going to eclipse what happened in Beijing."
Atkins said Sydney's opening ceremony had a budget of $68 million and estimated the Beijing event would have cost up to $300 million.
Indian firm Wizcraft International Entertainment is tasked with producing the Delhi Games' ceremonies, with Australian major events guru Ric Birch as an international adviser to the event.
Birch occupied the same role for the Beijing Games and directed the overall production of the Sydney Olympics opening ceremony.
A spokeswoman for Birch said he was unable to comment on the opening ceremonies due to a non-disclosure agreement with India.
No comments:
Post a Comment