The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-08-15
GAMES
FORMALLY Open
King Albert Presents Stadium to
Olympic Committee at
Thrilling Ceremony.
AMERICANS PROMINENT
Three Hundred Athletes Carry
Stars and Stripes in Parade
Around Oval.
tsy Associated Press. )


Stadium was opened today. 1t was a
formal ceremony, staged with a set
ting of flags, banners and fluttering
pennants against background of
white stone, cement and wood, with
royalty, officialdom, diplomacy, fame
and fashion participating in the pro-
gram or represented in the boxes. But
the thousands of spectators packed
about the huge oval centered their in
terest in the actual contestants-ath-
letes from nearly 80 nations-who par
AIDED the arena and tomorrow will be-
gin their tests of strength and skill.
The spectators were as cosmopolitan
as the mass of contestants and in the
rank of the athletes were citizens of
all countries whose flags, flying from
official, diplomatic or consular boxes,
made the scene a colorful hodepodge
like warship decked out with all her
pennants.
Two flags, the German and Austrian,
which Sew over aGae stadium in the
Sixth Olympiad at Stockholm. were
missing and these countries, barred
from participating in the meet as
were all enemies of the entente powers
in the war, had no representation
either in the arena or in the diplo-
matte boxes. The Russian. flag, also
was missing.
The formal ceremonies of opening
the stadium included addresses by the
king of the Belgians, who officially
presented the stadium to Baron Pierre
de Coubertni, president of the Inter-
national Olympic committee and by a
gian or Antwerp city government and
Belgian Olympic committees. There !
was also tremendously impressive |
singing by a Belgian choral society.
The cheering was continuous as the |
athletes, filing in from the open space |
just back of the stadium, where they l
had formed, nation by nation, swung
into the arena headed by the members /
of the International Olympic commit |
tee. They marched in alphabetical or |
der, though the Belgians, alphabetical !
ly first in the list, took last place |
as hosts. This brought I
Australia first in line behind the Of
fetal committee.
Each group was preceded by it's :
flags, and generally speaking, each |
group of nationals was Uniformly |
in athletic togs, but in !
suits of uniform cut and color. Some |
however, were in army or navy uni
forms. AS they swung by the royal |
box, where King Albert, Prince Leo |
pold and a group of government Off
cials were standing, they saluted the |
king Some of the athletes paid SINH
lar courtesy to the ambassadors or
ministers of their nations, who had |
boxes all around the arena.
Whether it was represented by $50 l
att 4 as was France, or only a /
ffrr- h nj To-
eac.. lation participating seemed to /
have its special clique of partisans in
the stands. Where possible, the spec
tators of one nationality had grouped I
together. All of the tourists, who
for weeks, have been pouring into Bel
gium, seemed to be there.
Tn American athletes, about 500
strong, We're cheered frequently, not
only by their compatriots in the
stands, but by the throngs who recog-
lized that the group marching be-
1ind the stars and stripes were among
he strong contenders for victory in
he Seventh Olympiad.
1t seemed that there were thousands
If Americans in the stands. Every
soldier from the Army of Occupation
IN the Rhine who could possibly Sc
cure leave was there in khaki. Blue
Jackets from the cruiser Frederick,
sailors from the American merchant
and passenger liners in the harbor and
hundreds upon hundreds of tourists
;welled the delegation from across the
Atlantic until. in some parts of the
stadium, at least, it seemed to be a
regular American crowd. The Bel
yians, of course. and also the French
md English appeared to be out in
orce.
A glance at the list of nations par
icipating in this Olympiad gives an
dea of the cosmopolitan character of
he athletes and crowd: Australia,
Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Chill,
United states. Finland. France. Great I
Britain, Greece, Holland, British In
liza, Italy. Japan, Luxembourg. Swe- (
len, Switzerland and Czechoslovakia.
OF these, Brazil. China. Egypt. {
spain and British India did not par !
icipate at Stockholm in 1912. q