May 27, 2019
Today the 2019 Games of the Small States of Europe were officially opened in the city of Budva, Montenegro. This marks the first time Montenegro has hosted the historic games. The opening ceremony was presented on a small stage, but with the big heart of a small country. It began at 21:00 local time with a rendition of The Beetles “I Want to Hold Your Hand”, that was soon followed by an introduction into the Montenegrin poetry written by Petar II Petrović-Njegoš. The main stars of the show, the athletes, then made their way to the stage. First was Andorra, followed by Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, San Marino, and Montenegro. The flag of Montenegro was then presented and the national anthem of Montenegro “Oh Bright Dawn of May” was sung. The pace of the opening ceremony was lighting fast as one of the team members from the 2012 woman’s olympic handball team made her way to the stage with a torch in hand and lit the games cauldron. After the formalities were taken care of, the artistic presentation began. It featured the story of the creation of Budva, and an almost complete history of Montenegro that featured stories about resistance to Ottoman and Nazi occupation, and stories about Montenegrin cultural heroes. It also featured many traditional performers and modern dancers. One of the last segments of the opening ceremony was the rising of the GSSE flag, which undertaken by the best athletes from each nation. After this was completed the athletes and judges oaths were taken by Marija Jokovic and Nikola Marić. The President of Montenegro, the President of the European Olympic Committee, and the President of Montenegrin Olympic Committee then officially opened the games. The games will go from May 27 until June 1. It features 10 sports and around 750 athletes. Livestreaming is available at RTCG, RTV, and AlfaSports. You can also follow Global Olympian for its written reporting of the games.
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