Friday 20 August 2010

Singapore 2010 YOG Closing Ceremony To Be an Unforgettable Party!!

The headlines scream that this is going to be an unforgettable party ..... as seen HERE in the the GovMonitor ..... and after being down along the Esplanade for the Opening Ceremony, I wanted to make sure we were going to be there!!

The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games Closing Ceremony will be ‘An Unforgettable Party’. The evening’s performances will be presented by new and exciting young talents through high energy songs and dances climaxing into a night of 5,000 ‘stars’. In the midst of the performances, there will be fountains, fireworks and flames to add to the vibrancy of the celebration. The audience will also be treated to an evening of highlights of the 12 days at the Games.

But on reading the YOG (Singapore Youth Olympic Games) website all tickets were balloted and there were none left ..... this was a great disappointment indeed. Then I heard from my friend Jose that she managed to get one ticket for herself and that she had been trying on-line for sometime.

On Wednesday evening I phoned the YOG office, only to be told there was one ticket left and it was in the side area, I wasn't bothered about it being "on the side", but I did want two tickets. I asked was it possible that there maybe a cancellation, to which she replied that there wouldn't be as there were "no refunds" available on any of the tickets.
Decided to persevere. It paid off!

I must have tried at the very least 50 times, every few minutes for 2.5 hours. It kept coming up with "all tickets sold" ..... then suddenly I saw "limited tickets available" ...... so immediately clicked on it, but only ONE ticket was available. But it paid off on the next click, managed TWO TICKETS in the centre area. I wonder if they 'released' a few to see what the demand was?

am impressed by the ticket system though, as the ticket that we have is an Ezi Link Card (as in public transport ticket) as well as it can be changed into a Debit Card after the games are over. A great little marketing tool for DBS Bank ..... but also a nice little souvenir! 

Tickets had to be collected by the 23rd August at The Indoor Stadium. I didn't want to leave it to chance, went yesterday to pick them up. So off I went on the trek to the Indoor Stadium ...... three train changes later I arrived  at the STADIUM MRT:
Stadium MRT Station is an underground Mass Rapid Transit station on the Circle MRT Line. The station was opened on 17 April 2010 along with the rest of Stage 1 & 2 of the Circle Line in Singapore.

as you enter the station area, this is what you see:

then on the platform itself looking up at the entrance ....

The train journey home after the YOG Opening Ceremony was a breeze and I expect the Closing Ceremony to be no different, after all SMRT are putting on an EXTRA 300 TRAINS just for the evening alone!!

So now I have the tickets we are ready for the unforgettable party!!

and a little about Singapore YOG:

About Singapore 2010 – Blazing the Trail
Singapore will be hosting the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) from 14 to 26 August 2010. The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games will receive some 5,000 athletes and officials from the 205 National Olympic Committees (NOCs), along with an estimated 1,200 media representatives, 20,000 local and international volunteers, and more than 320,000 spectators.
Young athletes – aged between 14 and 18 years – will compete in 26 sports and take part in a Culture and Education Programme.
The Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games aims to inspire youth around the world to embrace, embody and express the Olympic values of Excellence, Friendship and Respect.
It will create a lasting sports, culture and education legacy for Singapore and youths from around the world, as well as enhance and elevate the sporting culture locally and regionally.

PS: 27 August 2010. It did not turn out to be anything like I expected. 
But I did get to see the flame extinguished !

~~Stay tuned for the actual ceremony that is on THURSDAY AUGUST 26 2010 ~~

2 comments:

cajunsis said...

Fun! Can't wait to hear all about it. Shoulda called me - I live next to the Indoor Stadium, (look at my blog today - taken from my balcony) actually went there for supper last night. We could have met for coffee during the day. Oh well, another day, another time. Glad you made it and got your ticket :-) Hope you enjoy!

Leone Fabre said...

Hi Euvah ..... it was a last minute decision to actually go, was chatting with Stephy in Orchard Rd when I realised it would be easier (and quicker) to get the tix while I was "halfway there"!.

Then as I was taking the photos - after picking up the tix - was thinking that you lived close by. Timing was not good, I shoulda planned it better. But it was 3.40 by that time and I had to get home to Bukit Batok, shower and back out again to meet Suxin for the Japanese Film Festival on at the National Museum!!

Next time I will plan ahead, and we will catch up for coffee 'close by'.

Am looking forward to the ceremony, the opening was unbelievable .... the closing will be even better!!

Just the atmosphere alone was awesome ..... :-)