A royal welcome to the Jamboree

Prince William and the Duke of Kent graced 40,000 Scouts at the Opening Ceremony of the 21st World Scout Jamboree

Here we go! The 21st World Scout Jamboree has begun on 28th July 2007 with a splendid and spectacular Opening Ceremony.

The participants were led to the Arena by knights on horseback followed by the subcamps mascots and fairy tale maidens. Then, the 40,000 Scouts from 158 countries gradually filled the Arena.

At 1.30, fireworks got the show under way, followed by dances introducing four countries of the UK. Prince William, with the Duke of Kent, received a loud cheer when they walked through the throng of Scouts. They took special places to observe the Ceremony.

A trip around the World

The UK Chief Scout Peter Duncan arrived in a London taxi driven all the way from the previous Jamboree in Thailand, but as he knew he would be delayed from the long travel, the World Scout flag was brought by parachutists landing at Hylands Park. The raising of the WOSM flag was followed by the parade of the national flags of all participating countries. The biggest cheer was when the flags of the two largest contingents, the UK and the USA, appeared one after another. Then a song about the Scout Brotherhood was chanted, while all the scouts were turning their neckerchiefs above their heads.

And when the energy was high, the Jamboree director Bill Cockcroft and the World Scout Committee Chairman Herman Hui greeted the participants emphasizing the Scout Unity and Brotherhood.

After that the Scout Promise and Law were recited by two young participants, Dan from the UK and Hannah from Morocco. Then Peter Duncan counted down for the opening of the Jamboree: the Jamboree song launched a fiesta atmosphere and dancing in a huge melting pot.