One Day To Go: The 8th Francophone Games Open Tomorrow in Abidjan With a Spectacular Ceremony
Some 4,000 young artists and athletes from 53 participating delegations have now arrived in the Ivory Coast, in Abidjan, to take part in the 8th Francophone Games that will take place from 21 to 31 July 2017. This year’s edition is focused on Solidarity, Diversity and Excellence. It is also meant to support the development of Ivory Coast and strengthen the national cohesion of the country.
The opening ceremony will be held on 21 July 2017 from 6:30 pm to 8:10 pm (local time, i.e. GMT+0) at the Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan. It will be attended by half a score of heads of States, as well as hundreds of ministers, senior officials and other prominent personalities.
It will be made of three parts, starting with a colourful parade of the 53 participating delegations marching to the sound of music, then official speeches and finally a grandiose spectacle which will evoke the values that are very dear to the Francophonie, the Ivory Coast and the 8th edition of the Francophone Games. Thousands of extras and famous artists such as Magic System and Kumba Gowlo will set the pace of this great spectacle orchestrated by Richard Athias. This will be a spectacular show!
The ceremony will be broadcasted live on a number of partner TV channels, on the national Ivorian TV Channel (RTI) and on the Francophone Games website: www.jeux.francophonie.org.
The 9 sports competitions and 12 cultural and creative contests planned during the Games will begin as early as on 21 July 2017. The first cultural contests will be held tomorrow (21 July) at 10:30 am (local time, i.e. GMT+0), then, the first football game will take place at 1:00 pm (local time, i.e. GMT+0). The lists of artists and athletes who qualified to the contests and competitions are available online, on the website of the Games, as well as all results updated in real-time.
AKWABA! (welcome in the Ivorian dialect): in Abidjan, the Ivory Coast will warmly welcome all admirers of the French language, arts lovers and sports aficionados and let them enjoy this great Francophone youth party.
Below are a few key figures on the 8th edition of Francophone Games:
-30 heads of State invited, as well as hundreds of ministers, senior officials and prominent personalities
- 53 participating delegations
- 4,000 young athletes and artists from the 84 States and governments of La Francophonie
- 3 ceremonies, 12 cultural contests et 9 sports competitions
- 700 journalists
- 15,000 accredited persons
- 3,000 volunteers
- 500,000 spectators
- 60 hours of TV programmes, including live shows and daily briefings
- 500 millions TV viewers
TV schedule; TV broadcast, results in real time and the latest news are available on http://www.jeux.francophonie.org/ and on the social media – Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Google+, Instagram and Snapchat (cijfjeux).
Useful information to travel to Abidjan (visas, practical information, accommodation, transport…) and attend the ceremonies, cultural contests and sports competitions (tickets, programming, Games sites) is available on the website of the 8th edition of the Francophone Games: www.abidjan2017.ci
About IOF
The International Organisation of La Francophonie represents one of the biggest linguistic zones in the world. Its members share more than just a common language. They also share the humanist values promoted by the French language. The French language and its humanist values represent the two cornerstones on which the International Organisation of La Francophonie is based.
The International Organisation of La Francophonie was created in 1970. Its mission is to embody the active solidarity between its 84 member states and governments (58 members and 26 observers), which together represent over one-third of the United Nations’ member states and account for a population of over 900 million people, including 274 million French speakers.IOF organises political activities and actions of multilateral cooperation that benefit French-speaking populations. Its actions respect cultural and linguistic diversity and serve to promote the French language, peace and sustainable development.IOF has concluded 33 cooperation agreements with international and regional organisations and has established permanent dialogue between the major international linguistic zones (the English, Portuguese, Spanish, and Arab-speaking zones).The IOF has its head office in Paris as well as four permanent representations in Addis Ababa (at the African Union and at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa), in Brussels (at the European Union), in New York and in Geneva (at the UN). It has three regional offices (West Africa ; Central Africa and Indian Ocean ; Asia-Pacific) located respectively in Lomé (Togo), Libreville (Gabon) and Hanoi (Vietnam) and two regional antennas in Bucharest (Romania) and in Port-au-Prince (Haiti).
Alongside the IOF, the Parliamentary Assembly of La Francophonie and the four direct operators are responsible for implementing the programs decided at the Summits. The four direct operators are : the Academic Agency of La Francophonie, TV5Monde, the International Association of Francophone Mayors and The Senghor University of Alexandria.
Contacts
Mahaman-Lawan Seriba, Directeur du CIJF
mahaman-lawan.seriba@francophonie.org
Thomas Gil, Responsable des partenariats, du marketing et de la communication du CIJF
Thomas.gil@francophonie.org / Tél : (+33) 1 44 37 33 56