New Delhi:
India's golden boy Abhinav Bindra, with ace tennis star Saina Nehwal and boxer Vijender Singh, is going to be the torch bearer for the last lap of the Queen's Baton relay at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony. The ceremony will kick start on Sunday evening.
The opening ceremony will highlight the culture, rhythms and ragas of India in a three-hour long show at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium.
Scheduled to begin at 7.00 pm, the ceremony will have President Pratibha Patil, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Prince Charles as the guests of honour.
Around 60,000 spectators are expected to witness the grand opening.
All the participating countries will take part in the marching event. The parade will be led by a flag bearer. Australia, the host country of the Commonwealth Games 2006 will lead the marching occasion while the current host India will stand at last.
The whole ceremony is divided into seven segments in which 7000 artists from all over the country will perform.
First segment is the Swagatam, a welcome song presented by thousands of school kids running almost 10 minutes, and then coming up next will be the Rhythm of India an act in which nearly 500 drums from all over the country will play together for nearly 20 minutes.
The Great Indian Journey, a 30 minute act on exploring India, is the third segment. A special CWG
rath(chariot) is the highlight of this act.
The fourth segment will be on yoga and the various yogic poses. This act will go on for nearly 20 minutes.
The fifth segment will enlighten the crowd by bringing in a feel of ethnic and authentic India. Puppets from Rajasthan will entertain the spectators.
The sixth segment will be a celebration of the rich tradition of Indian dances in a 30-minute capsule.
And last but not the least, the Knowledge Tree that will talk about the Vedas and Indian classical music, will mark an end to the opening ceremony programme.