FISM OPENING CEREMONY :: BY CRAIG MITCHELL

Delegates received a special gold-embossed program for the official opening on their seats also listing the many people that went to make this opening show a reality - the Supervisor in Chief, the Planner in Chief, the Artistic Director, the Co-ordinator in Chief, the Performance Supervisor, the Administration Supervisor, the Promotion Supervisor, the Stage Setting Supervisor, Stage Setting Designer, External Liason, Stage Management Director, Stage Managers, Front Stage Director, Backstage Director and Stage setting engineer. Makes us feel very secure that there's a commander in chief for everything ( I wonder if they've met the obstacle watcher in chief ? )

After 30 minutes of mandatory speeches telling us that this FISM will "bring harmony to the world" ( and a novel translation method in which a translator just reads a prepared English sheet ) we had the grand opening effect - confetti and the turning on of a scrolling LED light ... total duration 2 minutes. And then onto the FISM traditional Chinese dance championships featuring the Yishan Drum dance, the Huanyao Flower dance, the Clogs dance ( did you know they did Riverdance in China ? ) the Mi Zuo Dance and my personal favourite the Legenary Vine dance. In between there was some magic - fans, cards, silks, flowers, more fans, cards, silks, more flowers - and the thrilling "Traditional magic trick in new form" or roughly translated - "producing bowls of water from your back that are in full view of the entire audience" Interesting approach that. But let's be thankful for Pagoda Bowl Balancing to save the evening - a talented group of acrobatics who balance bowls on their feet ( although the cynic in me says that velcro could make life a lot easier ) earning a standing ovation. I think this could be a running theme - save the show by giving the magicians some acrobatics. To end off - an act featuring "1000's of delightful flowers" ... no prizes as to what happened.

At just over 90 minutes - so ended the Opening Ceremony of the 24th World Championships of Magic. An overload of Chinese culture just in case we could possibly forget we were in Beijing.