Uniting the world
ANAND PARTHASARATHY
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Young people took centre stage at the inaugural events of the World Cup.
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The German team were accompanied on and off the pitch by Youngsters — one for every player.
PHOTO AP
SPECTACULAR: Youthful participation at the inauguration ceremony in Munich.
More than any other event, the World Cup football pushes the world into a month-long frenzy. And Germany has decided that any happening of this magnitude would be incomplete unless the young have an active and visible role in it.
That may be why so much youthful talent and energy were on display at the hour-long inauguration ceremony at Munich's Allianz Arena — an eye catching tyre-shaped structure that was specially constructed in time for these games.
Showcasing youth
The traditional Bavarian dances that opened the cultural feast featured dozens of local school children rhythmically striking their thighs, knees and stamping their feet. They gave way to 80 teenagers from Berlin doing a break dance to the accompaniment of hip-hop numbers. But the kids were not just there to showcase culture — hundreds of students in colour-coded uniforms were spread all over the stadium complex, helping to restore the carefully covered "astro turf" pitch to its playing condition, within minutes of the gala opening, assisting the sea of spectators find the gates to the terraces and helping physically challenged fans to identify special ramps and lifts. A sponsor had enabled the German team to be accompanied on and off the pitch, by youngsters who marched beside their idols, one for every player.
When the loudspeakers asked every one to stand up for the national anthems of the two teams, and again as a mark of respect for footballers who had died since the last World Cup games — every single spectator did, to pin drop silence! Remember, there were people from all over the world, not just Germany. Good manners can be contagious!
Soon after the opening match was over, I got to see the true ticking heart of the World Cup — a huge Command Centre, deep under the stadium, where hundreds of engineers laboured at computer terminals, ensuring that security gates worked, the giant public address and TV screens functioned, the pictures and results flashed to the world's media in "real time" — and medical help swung into place when anyone had need of it. Companies like Avaya, and Toshiba; Germany's own telephone company Deutsche Telekom, as well as Internet portals like Yahoo! have all joined hands, to ensure that the 2006 World Cup was an unforgettable experience. To do that, most of these engineers and volunteers had to work — while the world watched and enjoyed.
Football tech
For me, the chance to view the events from the grandstand, was rewarding. But the eye opener was the orderly way in which nearly 60,000 spectators walked in and out of the stadium, thanks to a neat mix of technology and common sense. We carried tickets with an embedded smart "chip". It was now easy for organisers to let in fans and keep out hooligans. You could carry cell phones and food — but not things that could be used as missiles. The stadium erupted many times into a frenzy of flag waving, dancing and shouting — but all non-threatening.
A.P.
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