The tenth All Africa Games were inaugurated on 3 September with a lively opening ceremony at the 42,000-seater Zimpeto National Stadium in Maputo. Accompanied by African drums, traditional Mozambican dancers presented the continent’s history - before colonialism, during colonialism and after liberation. The multi-sport event was declared open by Mozambique’s president Armando Guebuza.
37 of the 48 participating countries joined in the lap of honour. The largest contingent of athletes – 359 – came from Nigeria, while Africa’s newest country South Sudan was not represented. The small team representing Libya waved the flag of the National Transitional Council, and received a warm welcome from the crowd.
There was disappointment however for many Mozambicans who queued for hours and were not admitted into the stadium. Although government officials said that 42,000 free tickets had been distributed, there were reports of empty sections of the stadium during the ceremony.
An estimated 5,000 athletes are expected to take part in 23 different sports over the two-week sporting event, the largest of its kind on the African continent.
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