A beautiful opening ceremony, which lasted over two hours, at the Stadio Adriatico in Pescara, got the Mediterranean Games started on Friday evening.

Among the distinguishes guests attending the ceremony were Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the president of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge and the Prince Albert of Monaco. Also among the distinguished guests was the president of the Maltese Olympic Committee, Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco, who on Thursday, was re-elected as vice-president of the Mediterranean Games committee.

During the ceremony, the president of the committee, Amar Addadi spoke about the tragic circumstances involving the Abruzzo region after the recent earthquake, thanking the ‘Italian friends’ for staging the Games regularly despite what had happened.

Other speakers at the ceremony were Mario Pescante, president of the Italian Olympic Committee and Jacques Rogge, the IOC president. Both said this was a special edition of these Games auguring that they will be a ray of hope and joy not only to those taking part in them, but also for the pop[ulations of the 23 countries involved.

As already published in yesterday’s edition of The Malta Independent, Malta’s contingent was led by flag-bearer Caroline Fenech, the captain of the women’s basketball team, winners of the gold medal in the recent Games for the European Small States in Cyprus.