What's New in Baku: Opening Ceremony Part 2

The Baku European Games opening ceremony continued with a giant pomegranate moving to center stage. The pomegranate is a prized fruit of Azerbaijan, so much so that it's one of the mascots of the Games - plus Azerbaijan holds an annual pomegranate festival (perhaps I'll go and blog about it in the future!) The pomegranate slowly broke open and released balloons in the shape of pomegranate seeds. Pandomonium erupted as everyone in the stadium tried to claim a balloon seed as their own!

Balloon seeds pour out of the pomegranate

Then the crowd settled back down for the Parade of Nations, with 50 participating countries presenting their athletic teams. There was plenty to look at - the uniforms, the size of each team, the crowd reaction. But my favorite thing to watch was the ladies lining the walkway of the athlete's entrance. Rather than just standing still, they moved in unison, marching in place one minute, then clapping their hands to the music, then side-stepping back and forth, continually changing their movements each time I checked back in on them. It was a small little detail that frankly seemed unnecessary, but fascinated me and added to the whole spectacle of the moment.

Bopping ladies greet each team

With the Parade of Nations wrapping up, Jeremy and I noticed a golf cart drive quietly in from the side with a blond passenger in a white dress. There had been rumors that a famous pop star would perform at the ceremony. Could this be true and could this be her? As she made her way to a flower-draped piano, the emcee introduced...Lady Gaga! The crowd roared before raising their mobile phone lights high as she sang "Imagine."

Lady Gaga sings to an enthusiastic crowd

Lady Gaga was followed by obligatory speeches about the Olympic Movement and Baku's involvement. Then the stage went dark. We watched inspiring tributes to each of the four elements - earth, water, wind, fire - all so appropriate here in Baku: a city perched on a peninsula of land jutting out into the Caspian Sea, often buffeted by strong winds in the land of fire with an actual burning hillside within an hour's drive. As dancing flames emerged from the stage, a man coaxed them towards the edge before leaning down, grabbing them in his hands and tossing the fireball up into the air...to light the Games cauldron!