An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event. [1] Opening ceremonies at significant events such as the Olympic Games, FIFA World Cup, and the Rugby World Cup might involve thousands of participants and be watched worldwide. Such tournaments often also include a closing ceremony at the end of the event. [2]
A ribbon cutting is a ceremonial event to mark the opening of a new business or a newly renovated business location. It typically involves cutting a ribbon with giant scissors, speeches and presentations by local officials and business owners, and tours of the new facilities. Members of the local community often attend the event, the local chapter of the chamber of commerce, the media, and other guests. It is seen as a celebration of the business and the community it serves.
The ritual originated in the ancient ceremony to open the Cloth Fair at Bartholomew the Great, London. Since 1133, the Lord Mayor of London would open the fair each year by ceremonially cutting a piece of cloth. [3]
In the case of physical establishments, its grand opening might be preceded by a "soft opening" or "soft launch" in which the establishment begins to operate with little promotion to allow testing of operations, procedures, and facilities.
A ceremony is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion.
Parx Casino and Racing is a Thoroughbred horse racing venue and the largest casino gaming complex in Pennsylvania. Parx is located in Bensalem Township in Bucks County, northeast of the city of Philadelphia. Owned and operated by Greenwood Gaming and Entertainment, Inc., Parx features 24-hour gaming with over 3,200 slot machines, 188 live table games, a poker room with 48 poker tables, live racing and simulcast action, sports betting, several dining options and bars, and the Xcite Center. Parx also offers online gambling and online sports betting along with off-track betting at two locations.
Groundbreaking, also known as cutting, sod-cutting, turning the first sod, or sod-turning ceremony is a traditional ceremony in many cultures that celebrates the first day of construction for a building or other project. Such ceremonies are often attended by dignitaries such as politicians and businesspeople.
McMahon Stadium is a Canadian football stadium in Calgary, Alberta. The stadium is owned by the University of Calgary and operated by the McMahon Stadium Society.
The Seoul Olympic Stadium, a.k.a “Jamsil Olympic Stadium", is a multi-purpose stadium in Seoul, South Korea. It is the main stadium built for the 1988 Summer Olympics and the 10th Asian Games in 1986. It is the centrepiece of the Seoul Sports Complex in the Songpa District, in the southeast of the city south of the Han River. It is the largest stadium in South Korea.
Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys is a stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Originally built in 1927 for the 1929 International Exposition in the city, it was renovated in 1989 to be the main stadium for the 1992 Summer Olympics and 1992 Summer Paralympics. It is the home stadium of FC Barcelona for the 2023–24 season due to the renovation of their regular ground, Camp Nou.
Sapporo Dome is a stadium located in Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan, and is primarily used for association football. It is the home field of the association football club Hokkaido Consadole Sapporo, and was also home to the baseball team Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters through the 2022 Nippon Professional Baseball season. It was a football venue for the 2020 Summer Olympics, was the venue for the opening ceremony of the 2017 Asian Winter Games, and was used for two matches of the 2019 Rugby World Cup. The stadium was previously a venue of the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The dome will be used as the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2030 Winter Olympics if Sapporo is successful in their bid.
Williamsburg Pottery Factory is a large, multi-structure retail outlet store located in Lightfoot, Virginia, about 6 miles (9.7 km) west of Williamsburg. It was founded in 1938 by James E. Maloney as a small pottery workshop. The Williamsburg Pottery Factory now markets itself as one of Virginia's largest tourist attractions. Referred to by the locals as "the Pottery", the 200-acre (0.81 km2) attraction offers a selection of locally handmade articles, as well as imports from 20 countries. Williamsburg Pottery was once famous for its "bare bones" appearance; however, it underwent a multimillion-dollar redevelopment that reshaped its look in the spring of 2012.
The Colonial Theatre is located in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania, at 227 Bridge Street. Built in 1903, the "Colonial Opera House" became a preeminent venue for movies, traveling shows and live entertainment throughout the 20th century. The three-screen venue consists of the original 658-seat ‘vaudeville house’ and two newer additional theatres in the adjacent National Bank of Phoenixville building (c.1925).
Dedication often refers to various religious and secular ceremonies and practices such as:
The Utah Olympic Park is a winter sports park built for the 2002 Winter Olympics, and is located in Summit County northwest of Park City, Utah, United States. During the 2002 games the park hosted the bobsleigh, skeleton, luge, ski jumping, and Nordic combined events. It still serves a training center for Olympic and development level athletes.
A soft launch, also known as a soft opening, is a preview release of a product or service to a limited audience prior to the general public. Soft-launching a product is sometimes used to gather data or customer feedback, prior to making it widely available during an official release or grand opening. A company may also choose a soft launch to test the functionality of a product, allowing adjustments to be made before a wider release and marketing efforts are implemented.
The Hollywood Casino at The Meadows, formerly The Meadows Racetrack and Casino, originally (1963) just The Meadows horse-racing track, is a Standardbred harness-racing track and slot-machine casino which is located in North Strabane Township, Pennsylvania, United States, about 25 miles (40 km) southwest of Pittsburgh. After 44 years as a racetrack, the casino was added in 2007. The real estate has been owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties since 2016, with the business operations owned by Penn Entertainment since 2018, including a long term lease agreement to Gaming and Leisure Properties.
The 2002 Winter Olympic Games were held in and around Salt Lake City, United States from February 8 to 24, 2002, and the Paralympics from March 7 to 16, 2002. The sporting events were held in ten competitive venues, while non-competitive events, such as the opening ceremony, were held in six other venues. Three venues were also created for training purposes. All Olympic venues were scattered throughout Northern Utah and the Wasatch Front.
Neta Rivkin is a retired Israeli individual rhythmic gymnast.
Inter&Co Stadium is a soccer-specific stadium in downtown Orlando, Florida. The stadium is located along West Church Street in the Parramore neighborhood west of Downtown Orlando. It is the home of Orlando City SC, which entered Major League Soccer (MLS) as an expansion franchise in 2015, and their National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) affiliate club, the Orlando Pride. The stadium was completed in time for Orlando City's home opener of the 2017 season on March 5 and it became the first ever venue to permanently host MLS, NWSL, and USL teams all in the same location that year. Originally known as Orlando City Stadium, on June 4, 2019, it was announced that Exploria Resorts had acquired naming rights to the stadium. On January 18, 2024, Inter&Co secured the naming rights to the stadium.
The national colours of Serbia are red, blue and white. The flag of Serbia, being commonly called the "tricolour" was adopted in 1835 and in various modifications has been used ever since.
Moody Center is a multi-purpose arena on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin (UT) in Austin, Texas. The arena, which replaces the Frank Erwin Center, stands on a former parking lot located immediately south of UT's soccer/track and field venue, Mike A. Myers Stadium. The arena seating capacity totals over 15,000 seats.
The Recreation Park Complex is located in Chehalis, Washington in the city's South Market district near the Green Hill School. The venue, also known as the Chehalis Sports Complex, contains four distinct parks within its borders, providing recreation for athletics, walking, swimming, and playground activities.