Jointly organised by the Macao Sport Development Board, Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau, Sports and Olympic Committee of Macao, China, the Publicity Department of the 16th Asian Games Organising Committee, the Committee for Liaison with Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and Overseas Chinese of Guangzhou of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), and the Macao-Guangzhou Fellowship Association, the ‘100-day Countdown Ceremony to the Guangzhou Asian Games’ was grandly inaugurated along with the Asian Games photos exhibition at the Ruins of St. Paul’s, the famous World Cultural Heritage Site of Macao, on 31st July 2010.
At 10:00am, the guests of honor and other guests jointly pulled the fireworks in their hands and raised the curtain for the event. In tandem with the lion dance performance, some 750 uniformed students lined the stone steps, holding balloons in their hands and waving the national flag and the flag of the Guangzhou Asian Games. The lively and joyful scene marked the official opening of a series of countdown activities to the Guangzhou Asian Games. At the same time, organizers arranged for 29 Harley-Davidson motorcycles to parade from the Ruins of St. Paul around the city, disseminating the message of the Asian Games to local residents and visitors. The event attracted a large number of local and foreign onlookers.
Officiating guests at the ceremony included Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of MSAR Cheong U, Head of the Department of Education and Culture of the Liaison Office of the Central People’s Government in the MSAR Liu Xiaohang, Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China in the MSAR Lu Shumin, Chairman of the Guangzhou Municipal Committee of the CPPCC Lin Yuanhe, Vice Mayor of Guangzhou and Executive Deputy Secretary General of GAGOC Xu Ruisheng, President of the Macao Sport Development Board Vong Iao Lek, Acting Director of the Civic and Municipal Affairs Bureau Lei Wai Nong, President of the Federation of Macao Sport General Association Ma Iao Hang, Standing Committee Member of the CPPCC Guangzhou and President of the Macao-Guangzhou Fellowship Association Fong Chi Keong, Chairman of the Olympic Council of the Asia Media Committee Manuel Silvério, and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Macao-Guangzhou Fellowship Association Liu Hei Wan.
