Disaster at YOG Opening Ceremony as flag and name-bearers walked out of sync
August 15th, 2010 | 
Author: Singapore’s reputation as a neat, organized and efficient country lies in tatters yesterday as the much anticipated YOG Opening Ceremony, billed by the Straits Times as Singapore’s “BIGGEST” show turned out to be a NIGHTMARE to both the organizers and viewers alike.
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The most important section of all past Olympic Games’ opening ceremonies is the part where all the participating nations are introduced with their flags displayed for to see which are usually well choreographed and rehearsed with not a single mistake tolerated.
There were not one, but multiple screw-ups at this section of the YOG opening ceremony as the flag and name bearers appeared completely confused with the way they should be heading after making their appearances on stage leaving shell-shocked volunteers scurrying all over the place to direct them to their rightful locations.
The flag-bearers were supposed to follow right behind the ushers holding placards showing the name of the countries and they were to walk in alternate left and right to lie up in front of the podium.
In the snapshot below, the athlete carrying the Algeria flag appeared lost as to where to go and lingered on the stage long after his name-bearer (circled in red) had walked off:
Next, the athlete bearing the Azerbaijan flag walked in the opposite direction of his name-bearer:
Similarly, the Bosnian althlete seemed clueless on where he should be heading as well:
The Jordan althlete stood still staring at the crowd upon appearing on the stage, looked around and then turned and walked off in the opposite direction, prompting one frustrated volunteer (circled in red) to rush after him and in the process almost collided with the name-bearer of the next country:
As one netizen Benny Lim summed up the entire debacle succinctly:
“The projection introducing the different countries participating in the YOG was so bad (one side is brighter than the other – so I believe it’s made up of two projections). The athletes did not know which way to go. C’mon, this is the most important part of the opening. All I (as well as the rest of world) could see was the crew running about to pull back the athletics that went the wrong direction.”
It is absolutely unacceptable that the YOG committee can make such an elementary mistake in front of the world which displayed their lack of preparation for the event. Were there any rehearsals conducted for the athletes beforehand to instruct them on where to walk? Their nonchalant, cavalier and comical demeanour displayed on stage is an insult both to the host and the IOC.
After splurging nearly $400 million dollars of taxpayers’ monies on staging the YOG, such a sloppy, unmotivated, disgraceful, pathetic and atrocious performance at the opening ceremony calls for an immediate internal inquiry.
Contrary to showing what Singapore is “capable” of as proclaimed proudly by PAP minister Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, the YOG opening ceremony has managed to showcase the utter incompetence, impotence and ineptitude of the PAP regime to the rest of the world which brings to mind the escape of famed terrorist Mas Selamat Kasteri two years ago.
EDITORS’ NOTE:
Has your life been turned upside down by the YOG? Please share your views with us. We assure you that your identity will be kept strictly CONFIDENTIAL. We will be your UNCENSORED VOICE. We will publish your letter in FULL with ZERO editing, moderating or censoring. You do not have to suffer in silence! You have the RIGHT to speak up as a citizen of this country. Remember: you are a CITIZEN of Singapore, not a SLAVE of the PAP regime.
Our mailbox has been swarmed by letters from YOG volunteers for the last few days. Unless you specifically want us to publish your REAL NAME, we will use a pseudonym instead. Please understand that due to manpower constraints, we may not be able to publish your letters immediately and we will have to stagger them a few hours apart to ensure that they get maximum exposure.
Please keep your feedback coming! Singapore for SINGAPOREANS! Your interests always come FIRST.
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HA HA HA HA HA HA.
Wow,that joke cost half a billion dollars?
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I’m amused by how everything that goes wrong is the government’s fault on this screen.
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This kind of screwed ups could result from those involved were too busy counting how many millions they can get rather than seriously looking into ways to improve the event, supposed everything is being short cut and taken for granted.
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PLANNING, its all about PLANNING!
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I wish Singapore well. I want Singapore to do well. Whether we like PAP or not, Singapore must be at its best for the world to see.
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I cant help laughing at the comical YOG Opening, why cant the flag bearer simply follow the signage bearer ? Total Stupidity !
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must be some china man doing the planning lor, u noe la the gov like to outside to cheap china contractors
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World class government my ass. Can’t even do an opening without screwing up. Is that the best font the organizers can find for country names?
This is what happens when volunteers didn’t really volunteer. What a disgrace.
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Those name bearers very cute very sweet, but what’s the use? Stupid bimbos. Fuck PAP for disgracing Singapore. Fuck PAP!
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This is not more than a few screw up. Up to a quarter made this mistake.
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could it be that the athletes got nervous and forgot their directions? our local country name bearers got their directions right, so why can’t the flagbearers just follow them? perhaps it’s just nerves?
therr are some things we can blame the govt, but not everything.
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These are kids on stage, not adults.
I do not expect much out of them as they are just kids nore so from so many countries so lack of coordination will mean not a perfect show on stage.
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Everything that could go wrong went wrong; things that could never go wrong went wrong too!
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I was appalled when the ”nightmare” began! Everything was screwed up. Almost everyone was lost and didnt know what to do! Apparently the rehearsals didnt do any good did it?! Such embarrassment.
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ya now someone can say the volunteer deserve dog food lol
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All Singaporeans are proud of the inagural Games held here. The world is proud of Singapore.
Kids are kids. There will be mistakes from kids.
Nothing is perfect.
Great Singapore . . . keep it up! The world salutes you. Jacques said it all for the world to hear.
Opposition & envious foreigners will orever find fault.
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@I LOVE YOG
Well, a tree falling on my head is the PAP’s fault, flooding is the PAP’s fault, my grandmother get cancer also the PAP’s fault, i fall down also the PAP’s Fault, so it stands to reason that this is also the PAP’s fault. If the server for this website crashes, it will ALSO be the PAP’s fault. Definitely the job of the ISD who are all dogs of the PAP.
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Things could get worse if the biggest star of the YOG pulls out because of injury.
—————————————
Tom Daley, YOG’s undisputed star
Fri, Aug 13, 2010
my paper
http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest+News/Sports/Story/A1Story20100813-231850.html
—————————————-
Daley in doubt for Youth Olympics
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/2010-08-15-3093543028_x.htm
This YOG is slowly becoming a farce now.
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We can’t blame them, this whole show was choreographed by Mr.Bean
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This is the World’s 1st Class JOKE, hosted by world’s
First Class Singapore, for the FIRST YOG!!!!
See what you get paying millions $$$$$$ to these PAP FOOLS!!…….
…..HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!
WHAT A DISGRACE TO SINGAPORE!!!
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Act of GOD….HAHAHAHA!!
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Count, I LOVE YOG et al are the pro-pap/yog running dogs who are trying to discredit this site, cast all anti folks as loonies, and use ‘reductio ad absurdum’ to shame the anti folks (eg. your teeth fall off also PAP’s fault).
The fact is: the YOG is, by all the money spent and local media hype generated, comes up as nothing short of an abysmal failure. Hardcore supporters and apologists are in sheer denial.
Besides, if sites such as TR, TOC etc make you upset, do yourself a favor, go to the Straits Times, CNA sites etc, and don’t come back. You’ll find lots of happy news and pleasant feel-good vibes there, which are part and parcel of any dose of propaganda high.
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To be fair, i thought the opening ceremony was superbly well done, better than NDP except for a few hiccups like this one. But again be understanding also la, the flag bearers are foreigners themselves and they might not have understood the instructions given (i assume given in english) So they tend to be blur blur about it. How would you respond also if instuctions are given to you in japanese?
Saying that, i am not a PAP puppy and i am definately not in favour of PAP policies. But sometimes TEMASEK REVIEW really need to give credits for good job well done also.. not just bashing the govt, esp for trivial things like this.
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Just channel surfed over to see what is happening.
Schedule is still all screwed up. YOG 2 for example still reflecting taekwando when they are in fact playing a badminton match.
They seem to have some problems filling up the time. According to schedule, got 1 hr “no transmission” from 5 pm to 6pm.
The empty seats are so embarassing that they are doing everything they can to avoid showing the seats. As a result, the camera shows the match from “unconventional” angles which make it hard to follow what is happening.
Match officials and technical staff still outnumber audience in the few shots where you can see the empty seats.
On broadcast rights, the quality is so poor we probably have to pay people to screen it !
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As the saying goes: “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholders”. To the author who dared not even pen his name to the article written, he will never see anything beautiful in YOG, let alone a balanced view. The article can be just a pinch of salt.
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Traffic Police not on duty!!
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Stupid YOG……… what else to talk about.. Hope singapore will sink…
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hi, it is not a screw up. it is real show. accept it and lets move on (in the other direction…)
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Hey, weewee ballsachecrushednuts is right for once. The yog opening ceremony did show the whole world what the miws are capable off.
It showed the entire world that the miws are capable of making truly monumental screwups without feeling any embarassment whatsoever.
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@I LOVE YOG: August 15, 2010 at 2:42 pm
When the government of the Pro Alien Party insist that only their Ministers and other appointees are the only talented ones capable to chair and head each and every committee – of such YOG scale – and no other Singaporeans can do the job, surely any screw ups should rightfully and ultimately be the responsiblity of these Ministers from the Pro Alien Party and the Party itself ?
Should anyone else be blamed ?
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I am not a volunteer. But I know some people who are, and here is a note she posted on facebook for her friends.
there’s been so much heat going around online about the YOG. i’m not here to post something intellectually challenging to the arguments against it, or to examine the budget, or to side against anyone. this is how i feel.
i auditioned to be a sports presenter for YOG, hoping for a chance to be one of the voices at this first ever youth olympic games. i’ve always liked hosting, and learning sports presentation would take whatever i know to a different level, in a different perspective. hundreds of us auditioned. slightly over 100 of us will be heard during games time. this is after months of training, meetings, research and practice.
so yes even though my darling friends doth mocketh me and OH YEAH OH YEAH plus make me do the dance.. repeatedly (haha ugh i still love you guys), many are my true friends who have stuck by me, given me hugs, understood my schedule, sent me care SMSes, listened to my misgivings, given me strepsils, volunteered to take notes for me, let me stay over their houses to be closer to the hosting venues. thanks guys <3 for rehearsals and meetings, i unfortunately have missed my cousin's wedding, been unable to visit my uncle who had two heart attacks, gone from coaching debate to meetings in the sun, watched youtube videos on sport commentary rather than of my favourite music, am going to miss the entire first week of year 2 in law school, have juggled my overseas outreach project commitments, missed gatherings, and too much more to name. some of us who are Muslim sports presenters will also be fasting through our sports during games time. so will the many Muslim athletes. that means self-discipline, faith, and on a practical level: no water. some of our events run through the time we can break fast. i'm not listing this for personal sympathy, this is a fraction of what so many of us have done to make sure we are ready for the games.
being a willing volunteer for YOG, i can objectively say that yes some times are frustrating. sometimes we wait around for very long before we really get to do our jobs, sometimes people don't treat us professionally, sometimes we pay for $26.60 cab rides home from NTU (where the village is located) because rehearsals end late. of course we don't get paid, we're volunteers. some of us have hosting backgrounds, and charge pretty decent rates when we get gigs. no, we don't get paid for YOG. you know what we get? we get to meet athletes from parts of the world i haven't even heard of before, interview and be inspired by real olympians, learn from the dedicated professional (thank you Mark, i appreciate you), and work towards developing a skill. some of us may never get to host on such a huge platform again. for some, this will be the big break to achieve even more. i would take all that over cash, thanks.
so many people are bitching about the number of volunteers required in YOG, but do people know that 70 000 volunteers are needed for the London olympics? anyone want to google how many volunteers Singapore has? (clue: not as many.)
i've been fortunate to know some of the behind the scenes, some of the people who sacrifice and work around the clock. they define dedication. SYOGOC is teeming with people past office hours and on Sundays. organization may not be perfect, tension may run high, but these are real people who have given up many things to see these games through. so have some of us volunteers. when the average person on the street, or the complaining youth blogger creates groups like "I hate the Youth Olympic Games" or posts ranty articles about wasting their time – it stings. and i am rejecting that hate group invitation. ridiculous.
i've never been a sports person, i'm not more deathly patriotic than the other twenty year old. this is not a comment on the "hardware" e.g the budget for YOG, the infrastructure, the volunteerism, or the publicity. this is for the real athletes, officials, workforce, volunteers who care, and actual people involved. please, young people all over the world trained so hard, and fought harder to qualify for these games. on the fields of play, young people from all walks of life, underdeveloped, developing, and developed countries are equal in their fight to bring home the gold. for some, this is the first time they get to travel.
don't put them down. don't sneer at their opportunity. don't crush their dreams.
this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, for these girls and boys to achieve something big on an international platform for the world to know their name. it is also a once in a lifetime opportunity for us Singaporeans to welcome this sporting event into our daily lives. when will such a momentous occasion happen again? there is nothing you can do to turn the budget around at this point, why not make sure it was money well spent? there ARE many young Singaporeans who would love to be a professional athlete. do we SERIOUSLY wonder/question why we haven't achieved very much in the global sporting arena? is there really a swelling of nationwide pride when Team Singapore competes? would you pay for a ticket to watch our athletes on the track, in the pool, in the courts? would you stand up and scream your lungs out for them to set a record? if you're a parent, would you support your child and nurture his talent? i got to talk to many people who are part of Team Singapore during the S.E.A Games. they are so dedicated to their sport and lead insane training scheduled lives. i applaud them. i wish the public cared more.
the village opened today, and the games will begin very soon. please, let's look beyond ourselves and think of the bigger community. go out there to support the athletes. they have come from all over the world to be here and create history. be proud of the young people representing us. listen to their stories. watch their glory. imagine if you were given a chance five years ago to represent your country on an international sporting platform at such a young age. how would you have felt?
to take a line from my script at the official opening of the youth olympic village today:"… My name is Nadia A. Samdin. I'm one of the Sports Presenters for the games, and i am very, very proud to be Singaporean and hosting the first, ever, Youth Olympic Games!"
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Dear Spore Comrades,
I’ve always been a proud & loyal Sporean & will always continue to be 1.
First of all, let me congratulate Spore on her hosting of the 1st Youth Olympic Games in the world.
Having said so, I couldn’t help but felt rather extremely disappointed with the Singapore 2010 YOG Opening Ceremony on 14 Aug 2010.
My family & I watched the Opening show on TV at our hm. Particular, my eyes were glued to the Tv, as I was very keen to see how the event turned out, especially so as I was also present during the Combined Rehearsal on 07 Aug 2010.
Why did the Flag Bearer & Sign Bearer Screw-Up happen?
I mean, hadn’t the Flag Bearers been told beforehand clearly wat to do, who to follow, where to walk??
I don’t expect the event to be failproof, but at least, it must be safe to fail. Comeon, this is a world event mann…2 billion viewers watching wroldwide….How can this happen?? And happened so many times on world stage??!!
Having cooled down for past 18 hrs (after watching YOG Opening on TV), the impt lessons MUST BE LEARNT. In my opinion, maybe the problems could be attributed to:
1. No Prior or Insufficent Comms & Rehearsal to all 204 Flag Bearers.
(Or maybe there was, but just that most Flag Bearers don’t understand English? But how did Beijing 2008 do it then?? I still think it’s due to lack of rehearsal for Flag Bearers.)
2. Too Short Airtime for Countries’ Flag Dignity
The Stage was just too short, resulting in Sign Bearers and Flag Bearers having to turn left or right, almost immediately after walking pass the Overhead Archway. After passing under the Archway, Flag Bearers (as part of normal human behaviour) naturally did not follow their Sign Bearers to turn left or right, as they somehow felt the airtime was just too short for them to showcase the dignity, honour & pride of their country flags. Don’t u think so??
(Don’t forget, during Beijing 2008, both Sign & Flag Bearers walk a very long distance forward STRAIGHT, before they were made to turn left into the Central Football Field. Nothing went wrong, as every movement just seemed so natural & rightful.)
3. Monkey See Monkey Do
Many Flag Bearers turned the wrong way because they just followed the Flag Bearer in front of him/ her. They totally forgot that the left and right turns were supposed to be alternately executed by 2 consecutive Flag bearers. Maybe due to sheer nervousness (comeon, dun forget whole world is watching them after all! Of cse, understandable),the Flag Bearers just behaved slightly abnormal (by suffering a temporary mental block) and adopted a Monkey-See-Monkey-Do, without having to think too much. But surely, the Applied Behavourial Science Dept (APSD) should have been called in months ago to offer their Human Factor Engineering expertise comments?? Isn’t the Chairman of Spore 2010 YOG Opening Ceremony from Army?? He surely should have thought of it to make use of the resources from the military to the country’s advantage.
4. Last min Change
From what I observed during 4th Combined Rehearsal (07 Aug 2010), each Flag Bearer had much more airtime than the Actual Day. They walked a far longer distance straight out, after passing the Overhead Arch. I thought the timing, distance and airtime duration was on 07 Aug were then more natural. Maybe,this was how things could go very wrong if Organiser failed to anticipate natural human behaviour under realism.
5. Systematic Error
If only less than 1% of the Flag Bearers out of the 204 countries made the same mistake, then probably the Flag Bearers are at fault (i.e, isolated human error). But this was obviously not the case. I had the impression, more than 1/3 of the Flag Bearers were blur like Sotong!!! The planning of this very CRUCIAL segment of YOG opening was just too important to be overlooked. Worse, I wonder if the Chairman Opening had thought this particular segment was too No-Brainer an activity (i.e., maybe he thought, “Aiyah, the Flag Bearers can’t be so stupid right?? Just follow the Sign Bearers la!!! So easy!!) to be given too much emphasis or energy. Even so this is a no-brainer activity, this Chairman (probably a No-Brainer himself), failed to realise this no-brainer segment is too CRUCIAL to fail. The countries’s flags dignities are at stake; Spore’s reputation is at stake.
6. High Board of Inquiry (HBOI)??
In my humble but very serious opinion, I think an URGENT HBOI (of the President Level) needs to be convened IMMEDIATELY to inquire as to the true causes for the SCREW UP in the flag bearing segment. The whole Spore’s brand name and reputation is seriously at stake, and can ill-afford another MISTAKE during YOG Closing Ceremony. Unfortunately, 1 or 2 heads might need to be hanged (but before that, I thank you on behalf of all Sporeans for the hardwork and effort), REGARDLESS of RACE, LANGUAGE or RELIGION. Remember someone ever sang the wrong lyrics for National Anthem om NDP 2009 (he later publicly apologised for his grave mistake)? Remember again how someone passed the wrong Firing Command during a particular NDP (forgot which yr, but the Parade Comd shouted 2 instead of 3 firing commands, and even shouted the word, “shit”, when he immediately realised his grave mistake)?? How many times must we make the same mistake??
The true lessons must be learnt, please. Let’s not let history repeat itself for YOG Closing Ceremony, and the entire YOG event, for that matter. Btw, can anyone update what actually happened to the stupid American Sean Kingston?? He wasn’t on stage, with the other 4 YOG singers, who were supposed to represent the 5 continents (5 Olympic Rings). Didn’t come becos on MC, too fat, or becos of $$$ (I heard from LianHe WanBao it’s due to $$$ issues)??. I don’t care, for big events like this, at least must show respect to the whole world. No bloody manners and dignity for the whole world. Better wake up his idea. The whole world should ban him from working in any companies and maybe his country should be banned from next YOG/ Olympics as punishment.
I sincerely wish Spore success for entire YOG 2010.
Majulah Spore!!! WE CAN!!!
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After watching about 10 mins, it is quite obvious many of these are not serious atheletes. Many appear to be kids overjoyed at having a free, all expense paid holiday to Singapore.
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well-said. i agree wholeheartedly with Benedict (or is it Nadia?).
rather than complain/write government-bashing articles just for the sake of criticising what you do not like… why not offer constructive feedback?
i really see no point in this unnecessary hype about the bad things that had happened during the OC. surely, there must be some good points about the YOG that all of us can learn from?
please be more objective about your writing.
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Finagle’s law strikes “Anything that can go wrong, will—at the worst possible moment”
And to benedict, well, yes, some people will be proud of it etc etc…and we are not going to aim at them. We are just aiming at the one who screw the budget up…who “entice” students to “volunteer”.
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Benedict:
August 15, 2010 at 4:57 pm
I am sure there are GOOD PEOPLE AROUND working their dedicated contribution. Would it not be correct that it is the little mind we-know-it-all-and-only-we-know bunker mentality and a load of obvious incompetence that screwed things up the implementation?.
Catering for volunteers as if they are physically and mentality incapable of resolving their own physiological needs is one glaring example. They should pay them a simple costs-of-living allowance for food and transport and let them free of distractions of food worries to contain hunger and thirst to organise things better than starving them without proper meals. IT IS STILL NOT TOO LATE TO CHANGE.
Why that stubborn mentality of denial and stumbled failure? Recognise contributions and respect efforts whether voluntary or coerced. The budget overblown was an absolute mind-boggling disaster. Which business organisation survives with that kind of budget blowout? IT IS CRISIS MANAGEMENT BEHIND CLOSED DOOR is the impression that blowout leaves, whether you agree or not.
There is no parallel in any Olympic events of this scale of monumental failure. There has to be a lot of deep hard, cold, blunt and brutal introspection and soul-searching why things go badly wrong to this astronomical extent. Huge money spent for this little result to project damage to our image as the nation that works better than the clock.
Had they been aggressive and successful marketing with big sponsors, do we need to worry about little money spending on food for volunteers to make it work all well, beautifully and smoothly.
Something has gone disastrously wrong to have magnified this extent of falling over – not the hardworking guys and girls we do NOT see behind the scene including many volunteers.
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Viviene & Co. will announce very soon that we are dealing with kids and mistakes are bound to happen when dealing with kids.
ONLY that it cost us taxpayers Half a BILLION and wasted time,productivity and ending up a laughing Stork for all the world to see.
Well PM lee and MM,you wanted a rebel in your camp to show tolerance and ability to nurture,you got it.He has turned out worse than those that were pro PAP he is out to prove he is better than all of you at our cost.
BUYERS BEWARE
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Lau kah kwee kor!!!
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It must be due to different languages thus they could not communicate well causing this accident. Hey, if you’re so smart, try setting up a FLAWLESS opening ceremony in two and a half years! You suck! At least we are WAY better than other countries even though our country is small! We are already winners and you are a sore loser! GO SINGAPORE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I feel so ashamed that we have such a Singaporean! If you are so displeased with Singapore than leave!!!!
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Benedict:
August 15, 2010 at 4:57 pm
That fellow must be elite or YPAP. His father a YPAP or MP or civil servant? Damn hypocrite. Fuck out PAP!
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@I LOVE YOG
well, if i m not wrong, the flag bearer should have been well informed by the organizer, you can allow such thing during rehearsal but not the actual show, all this should have been settled during rehearsal, am i right?
so if something like this still goes wrong, who is to blame but the organizer, and who is the organizer? at the back stage, before the flag bearer even go on to the stage, someone should have reinforce this information to them to follow the placard bearer, why isn’t this been done?
sigh. no eye see.
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Benedict or Nadia or whatever your name really is, thank you for sharing your experiences with us. We all KNOW how hard you volunteers work, and I’m truly happy for you that the yog helped you to fulfill your dreams. I truly hope that one day you will be able to land a job as a fulltime compere or Master of Ceremonies in a major events organizing company.
Unfortunately, you don’t seem to understand the true issues here. No one here is slamming the volunteers. Who we ARE slamming are the government who always claim that they are made up of elite scholars and are thus better than ordinary locals in everything, and the syogoc for all the screw-ups. What we are all demanding answers for are the following:
HOW did the budget for the yog balloon so wildly out of control?
WHERE did all the extra money come from, since the mcys claims that it doesn’t have enough to give truly needy families an extra $100/- per month?
WHAT was the money really spent on, since the only construction works involved were renovations to existing facilities?
WHY weren’t the volunteers provided with decent meals?
WHY were schoolchildren forced to stand in the hot sun or rain to welcome the torch relay instead of studying in class or doing their homework or even allowed to play after school?
WHY are locals being bullied and forced to make way for yog vehicles with threats of fines and other such?
WHY doesn’t the government put the money to much better use by setting up self-help poverty alleviation programs for the truly needy or by improving the country’s hopelessly inadequate drainage system instead of squandering it on an event that is now proving itself to be an embarassing failure?
For all the pro-government whiners out there, please answer all the above questions instead of condemning the critics for raising valid issues. I have provided facts reported by others. Here’s your chance now to rebut all the criticisms with facts of your own.
By the way, Benedict or Nadia, are you male or female? The reason why I’m asking is because Benedict is a male name (it’s the full form of the middle name of my former teacher Obi-wan Ben Kenobi) while Nadia is a girl’s name.
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Spend $400 million yet Ka lung ka po!
What will happen if PAP Gov only take out $200 million for this YOG?
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for those who support the YOG and wants to read all the good points, sweet writings, etc please refer to your ST or media controlled by the government, thanks! you’re wasting your time trying to defend something that’s clear cut screw ups. FTW TR.
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Nadia A. Samdin,
Just to let you know, please serve NS before you proclaim that you are proud of being Singaporean.
To sum it up, not everybody in Singapore is as cheap as you. We have our pride and dignity as human beings. We DO NOT readily, willingly, and WHOLEHEARTEDLY accept and endorse heavy handed propaganda from the Government.
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couldnt finish wat Nadia wrote..(FRAT – fcuk reading all that) but viewed her facebook — i defintely hit it.
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wat do they expect out of 3rd class citizen? FT better than 3rd class citizen ?
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This is what happens when volunteers didn’t really volunteer. What a disgrace.
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The atheletes weren’t told where to go, because they weren’t here for rehearsals.
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the atheletes weren’t here for rehearsals how would they know where to go?
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Frankly, I did enjoy the show.
It’s like watching Charlie Chaplin and the
Keystone Cops all over again!
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Well, they can do better, better and betterest…
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Nadia A. Samdin
a lawyer mai siao siao
future elite leh
Benedict what career
That’s right we are not criticizing volunteers we salute them
takes a great deal of courage to be volunteer as we know they always do “sai kang” jobs.
SAF = “Any volunteers or I start to arrow someone” rings the bell
But the PAPayas are taking huge advantage of volunteers
“living at the expense of others”.
may the PAP policy still haven’t hit hard enough for them to wake up. Raise GST to 50% and you will see the impact.
Grandson of the old man is coming back soon to take over as PM.
he is almost the replica of the old man himself. Rule with an iron fist.
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Well it’s over. I wouldn’t blame PAP for this mistake.
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Benedict:
August 15, 2010 at 4:57 pm
Thank you.
Three cheers for our heros who put in personal sacrifice to make Singapore proud.
Three resounding boos for the armchair critics who are above personal sacrifices. Critics who are bent on belittling all our heros, just to achieve their dark selfish motives. Critics who are unhappy and cynical people with no qualms to diminish the joys of innocent children and contribution of selfless volunteers.
Ignore these very unhappy and disturbed cynics. They are blinded by irrepressible hate and irrational anger. They are negative people. They are deconstructive influences. Nothing positive and helpful will ever come from them.
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Dun worry lah… no one is watching really…
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oh my, what world class performance! soon we’ll hear that these are all “honest mistakes”, although “what happened was very bad”, “let’s move on”. the only thing they cant say is “go see your MP”!
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Sigh must be the DBS FTs at work.
They screwed up our banking system, now this.
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Devagi:
August 15, 2010 at 4:39 pm
As the saying goes: “Beauty is in the eyes of the beholders”. To the author who dared not even pen his name to the article written, he will never see anything beautiful in YOG, let alone a balanced view. The article can be just a pinch of salt.
——————————–
It is plain for all to see that there was a big screw-up.
Only bootlickers would see it with a pinch of salt.
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“standup sikapore” or “screwup sikapore” which song better
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Never mind still got closing to make back
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Only had a short glimpse of the opening event when I mistakenly switched on to watch the 9.30 news. From the short minutes I watched out of curosity, there were mainly mistakes; I think the author missed out on Russian flag-bearer continued walking straight not knowing to follow his sign bearer or what to do next. Understandably these are just kids, but on TV, just a couple of dry runs/rehearsals would have prevented such simple errors. My view is that the whole thing just have an amateurish event, which shouldn’t be so considering it is an international meet and we blew SO MUCH money on it. To the organisers, bad show so far.
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Those who volunteerily volunteered for YOG just want a better resume. If not, there are hundreds of other causes in Singapore more worthwhile to spend your time for.
YOG volunteers (minus those being forced ones), please accept my sincere : F**k You! And stop complaining about us complaining. YOG is a PAP event, not Singapore. Do you think we will make it easy for PAP lackeys?
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Dear Nadia/Benedict, you are a loser who requires your government to spend $400million in order for you to do something substantial. A true winner will achieve something on their own without wasting hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ money.
Your morally bankrupt PAP regime doesn’t even lift a hand to help the destitute in the country and that is why a majority of Singaporeans are unhappy at the time and money spent on the games so that a minority of losers like you can have some thrills.
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Well, let’s see what will be the response from the minister in charge if anybody bothers questioning him…
IT IS AN HONEST MISTAKE..
WHAT TO DO, IT HAPPENED..
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Ushers were too robotics and stick to their steps and totally ignored the flag bearers behind them who may not have attended the intensive rehearsal.
the flag bearers also kinda dumb if they cant follow instruction before go up stage.
i tot the entire scene was a mess…the bearers were like lost children looking for direction LOL
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spelling is also wrong…..country name spelling…..
we are number 1 in these kind of things……
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In contrast to the criticism, most students are not forced to participat in the torch relay. I am in charge of one class in Singapore Polytechnic. We were asked to find 5 students from each class, and when I asked my own class, there were 20 students have volunteered to join the torch relay party in the campus. No coerce forces was used. And of course there are many classes do not have representatives in the torch relay party anyway. But I think they have enough students for the big party.
Note, I am not a supporters of PAP, I am a liberal who do not side any party, but the Truth and do what is good for Singapore.
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I hope most of us don’t try to find little flaws just simply we are against PAP way of managing economic policy in Singapore. Let’s have a common goal despite a disparity or differences in political views.
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NADIA A SAIDIN WITH HER ANGMOH BF LEH!
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc4/hs232.snc4/38938_10150223675550077_873190076_13820865_211130_n.jpg
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@ Terence: i volunteered myself with my friend and its not for beautifying up the resumes. please know your facts properly or throw your own face down the drain. I just volunteered for the fun of it and its supposedly the first inaugural YOG despite how unsucessful it is. i can send you my resume and it doesn’t even have a category or any statement that points to the volunteering event i goes to.
i presume you have NEVER volunteered for any events to experience being even a volunteer. other than those so-called volunteering events forced by the school under CIP Programmes.
theres no link to being a PAP lackey. in fact im pretty unhappy with how the government works right now. if you want to know, you get to make new friends as you volunteer. and you know more of the outside world eg. disabled sports day. did you even know theres something called a disabled sports day? I went in 2002 if im not wrong. one of the sponsors was HP and it was held in NIE.
so yes. everyone STOP INSULTING THE VOLUNTEERS. and dont act like you know what they are thinking. or what they call smart alecs
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@ Indignant NSF:
u are pretty insulting at your posts towards Nadia seriously. ya i know NS forced all the NSFs to help out in the YOG. my volunteer-in-charge are also all NSFs and has to work around the clock daily. i also has friends that overnight in ops room for their duty almost everyday
but how you know Nadia is a guy or a girl. fine ask YOUR GIRLFRIEND to go join NS before you ask some other strangers to. shes just stating her own opinions and you flame her out of no reason? your own anger you can flame to your supervisor if you dare to.
and you say nobody is singaporean unless he/she joined NS? go find your grandma. ask her go for NS NOW. find anyone over the age of 50 and do that to them. you wont even be born if not for your mum. so your mum dont join NS means shes not proud of being singaporean? your ancestors too?
seriously, to those who post here. please really take care of what you even say about the volunteers. im also volunteering and i just get pissed off or frustrated when you defame us for no reason just because we wanted to volunteer in the YOG!
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Dr Vivian Balakrishnan will get an award next month for his excellent work.
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Singapore can get experience from mistakes, others will excuse us as we are still long way to be a 1st world country to others eye.
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I didn’t really watch the opening either TV or live but I saw some clips over the internet.
I agree with many people…such mistakes are really unacceptable espcially when the whole world was watching the event.
Have we been too complacent? Have we led everything to chance?
I remembered quite clearly sometime in 1970 or around that time when Singapore hosted the Head of Commonwelath Meeting at the then old Singapore Polytechnic at Shenton Way, it was a event to be remembered. It was perfectly organized even though Singapore was just developing and we had very poor infranstructure to support. I remembered what my brother told me. He was a student there.
To ensure everything was in tip-top conditions, Mr. LKY drove himself and made a surprise checks on the facilities like a day or two before the event. I believed those organizers must have really shit their pants off. The results were nothing more than a resounding success. Whether this was really true or not I don’t know but I believe it was true because my brother personally saw Mr. LKY drove to the Polytechnic to inspect the meeting site.
So, what had happened to the YOG opening in particular and the events in general. So many catastrophes after catatrophes. Did our PM or DPMs or President do the same…inspect the facilities or just leave to the minister. Or worst did the minister just leave it to the senior parliamentry sect to take care of the event and sit back and relax and say to himself, everything should be fine? This should be investiaged and proper procedures put in place to prevent another occurence of the embarassing situation olympic in magnitude.
My conclusion, the younger gereation cannot live up to the standard of our father or our grandfather’s generation. We need to wake up and make up.
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I am totally ashamed of those who have been posting negative and irresponsible comments about the YOG, the organising committee and PAP on the website.
Do be objective and rationale in making your observations and posting any writeups. There are bound to be hiccups and unforseen circumstances in organising an international event on such a massive scale, for the first time. There is no committee or government who can ensure 100% perfect implementation despite 100% planning. The important thing is how we react and deal with the circumstances when things do not go as intended. I must say that the YOG committee has reacted to the situations well and professionally so far. Everyone of us have as much a part to play in portraying a positive image of Singapore to the world as the government for this YOG! You are the ones who have marred the reputation and the image of Singapore with your irresponsible and biased remarks!
Why is there a need to bring in PAP in almost every post of yours? Does PAP equates to the government? I am appalled at your ignorance if you think it is. And why is there a need to bring in the politics for this YOG? You have totally contradicted the fundamental YOG values of Friendship, Excellence and Respect with your irresponsible comments!
If you are a Singaporean, I am ashamed that you are. If you are a non-Singaporean, you have no right to make such comments at our government and country!
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all people in the government service & GLCs [ paid by public funds ] sucks up to the political party in power; that is why most people equate all non-pte issues to PAP.
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all people in the government service, GLCs & other Not-for-Profit Org [ paid by public funds ] sucks up to the political party in power; that is why most people now equate all non-pte issues to PAP.
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Since 1965; the government introduced laws, rules, regulations that are not forgiving. Those who deviate will be penalised, blacklisted, fined or jailed. Our politicians even claim superior world class performance and demand very superior renumerations. These same politicians taught us to perform world class, accept nothing less.
So now when these highly paid & bonused people make mistakes; you are asking us to forgive them ? Live n let live ?
I lost my job to a cheaper foreigner, used up a big portion of my savings before I found a much lower pay job; I was told that I was not good enough for the competition and hence should suffer as such.
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As an educator, I just want to put things right:
There are many students and teachers in my school and others schools who are excited about the YOG and being a part of it in any way.
There was no need to force us to participate. In fact, many of the students came forward voluntarily to be torch bearers or are proud that they are selected; many are eager to watch the YOG events as live spectators or over the TV telecast.
And so what if every school has to send students to watch the YOG events? Isn’t this the best opportunity to educate our students in real-life on YOG and raise their international and multi-cultural awareness? What is there to complain about playing this small part for our country (not the government, not PAP)?
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@I LOVE SINGAPORE, I LOVE YOG:
August 22, 2010 at 2:40 pm
I am ashamed of you… WOOF !!!! WOOF!!!!!!!
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