No fewer than 170 chain hoists from ChainMaster were deployed during the opening ceremony in the Indoor Stadium. Eighty-eight of them were already installed in the stadium, being BGV-D8 hoists with a safe working load of 1,000 kg equipped with encoders, load sensors and computerized control. These were complemented by a further 82 BGV-D8 rigging lifts, also with SWLs of 1,000kg brought in specially for the event.
The opening ceremony combined three themes: Garden in the City, Asian Zest and Spirit of Evolution. It began with 400 schoolchildren from Singapore dancing to a medley of songs in a variety of Asian languages. The climax of the ceremony came when all the lights were extinguished other than those trained upon a pair of dancers on a platform 17m up, which was gradually lowered. The evening was rounded off with a performance of modern dance.
(Jim Evans)
