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Published on December 4, 2007

HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn will preside over the grand opening, while HRH Princess Sirivannavari Nariratana will lead the 1,141 Thai contingent to the stadium during march past.

A large crowd of enthusiasts streamed into the stadium yesterday to witness the rehearsal. Thousands of tickets for yesterday's rehearsal were also on sale for home audiences, with tickets priced at Bt100 totalling 3,900 seats and Bt150 for 7,000 seats sold out ahead of yesterday.

Students in uniform, however, were not charged for entry into the stadium.

According to the organisers, the name of the stadium will be changed to "His Majesty the King's 80th Birthday Anniversary Stadium (5th December 2007)" during the official opening of the stadium at 5.15pm on the day, ahead of the grand opening ceremony  between 5.45pm and 8pm.

Great applauses filled the stadium as spectators witnessed fantastic performances, which were divided into eight sessions.

The performances were splendidly orchestrated  by famous Suppawat Jongsiri or Suppaksorn, whose assignment for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 18th SEA Games in Chiang Mai in 1995 and the 13th Asian Games in Bangkok in 1998 was a monumental success and left unforgettable memories in all Thai hearts.

All performances reflected the traditions and cultures of the northeast of Thailand and the "spirit, friendship and celebrations" in tune with the  Games' theme.

The highlight was in the fifth session which included the ignition of the Games flame at the cauldron. The celebrations on the occasion of His Majesty the King's 80th Birthday in some of the performances and the firework display in the eighth session also drew a big round of applause.

Although the two-hour rehearsal might not have been as good as the actual grand opening, home enthusiasts left the stadium full of joys.

Preechachan Wiriyanupappong

 The Nation

Nakhon Ratchasima