The 13th edition of South Asian Games will officially kick off today an opening ceremony at Dasharath Stadium.
President Bidhya Devi Bhandari will officially announce the commencement of the tournament at the three-hour programme.
Nepal is hosting the regional sporting extravaganza for the third time. The tournament was first hosted in Nepal under the banner of South Asian Federation Games in 1984 and returned for the second time in 1999.
Around 8,000 artistes and performers will perform at the stadium in the opening ceremony, which will begin with a three-minute laser light presentation. Athletes and officials will then take part in a march-past with Olympian weightlifter Kamal Bahadur Adhikari bearing the national flag of Nepal.
The opening ceremony will also feature the official Nepali SA Games song from renowned singers namely Kunti Moktan, Ananda Karki, Satya Raj Acharya and Indira Joshi among others, while Nepal APF performers will display the names of the seven participating nations through mass acrobatics.
Apart from using lights and digital display, the Ceremony Committee is also displaying a show of drones over the stadium. The ceremony will end with 20 minutes of fireworks in and around the stadium.
More than 5,000 delegates, including 2,715 athletes, are participating in the regional meet that features 26 sports disciplines. The Games will offer a total of 1,115 medals — 317 gold, 317 silver and 481 bronze.
