Back in pictures on the opening ceremony of the African Games

EVENT – This is a colorful opening ceremony of the City of Lights, on the evening of Monday, August 19th, to kick off the 12th edition of the African Games, which take place until the 31st. August, in the cities of Rabat, Salé, Témara, Casablanca, Benslimane and El Jadida. Chaired by Prince Moulay Rachid, the ceremony brought together athletes and personalities who are doing African sport at the Prince Moulay Abdellah sports complex in Rabat, the time for an exhilarating show of fireworks, lights, dancing and choreography around the world. 'A reconstituted Hassan Tower and a map of the continent.

This show was enhanced by a dozen frescoes carried by a series of paintings symbolizing both the diverse nature of the kingdom, its artistic and cultural wealth, and celebrating the colors of the Moroccan flag, the 20 years of rule of the ruler and the African rooting of Morocco.

The traditional parade was marked by the participation of more than 6,000 athletes representing all the countries taking part in the African Games. They will compete in the 29 sports disciplines on the program, including 17 qualifiers for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, including athletics, swimming, beach volleyball, weightlifting, cycling, horse riding and judo. In addition, participants in these African Games will also compete in kayaking, basketball, boxing, chess, football, gymnastics, handball, pool, snooker and volleyball.

Mahamat also praised the quality of the preparation of this sporting competition, organized by Morocco in just 9 months, emphasizing that it is a true "feat worthy of the great nations".

At the beginning of the event, the anthem of the African Union, the Olympic anthem and the national anthem of the kingdom were sung, as well as the song of the green march "Nidae Al Hassan". Finally, on the notes of "Happy Birthday" and "We Love Africa", the official song of the event, the Moroccan producer RedOne, accompanied by a skewer of artists, closed in beauty an opening night that will have beaten his full.

At the end of this ceremony, the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) awarded the decoration of the African Olympic Order of Merit to the sovereign in recognition of the efforts made by King Mohammed VI for the promotion of sport. . A distinction that was given to Prince Moulay Rachid by Mustapha Berraf, President of the Algerian Olympic Committee and President of ANOCA.

Among the many personalities present at the opening ceremony, we find Ahmed Ahmed, President of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) who said "honored to attend" this beautiful demonstration of the vitality of African sport " .