National Youth Games: Delta to showcase rich culture during opening ceremony

The 8th National Youth Games' Local Organising Committee (LOC) has pledged to highlight Delta State's rich history during the games' opening ceremony tomorrow.

Tagged Asaba 2024, Delta State is set to organise the next edition of the games subsequent to organising the seventh in 2023.Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba will host this edition from September 9 to September 19.

The inaugural ceremony tomorrow, according to Chief Solomon Ogba, Chairman of the LOC, will showcase a number of aspects, most notably the people's rich cultural heritage.

"On Wednesday, we will showcase a few of the rich traditions that Delta State possesses." You all know that music and sports go hand in hand. There will be some of our best musicians present to excite the young athletes and visitors on Wednesday,” Ogba stated.

Over 5,000 athletes from different states of the federation are taking part in the Games.
As they expressed gratitude to Delta State Governor Rt. Hon. Sheriff Oborevwori for his commitment to continuing Asaba's hosting of the Games, traders in Asaba and the surrounding areas expressed excitement about the economic opportunities the event brings.

In anticipation of the contingents' arrival, a few vendors had already set up shop inside and outside the Stephen Keshi Stadium since Friday, September 7, and over the weekend.

As we await the arrival of the state's contingents, as you can see, we are already setting up, and the stadium atmosphere is already bursting with various companies," said a trader going by the name Ugochi. "As you may know, commerce is all about numbers. Imagine the potential for business and turnover that this gathering of more than 5,000 athletes and officials for roughly ten days brings. This is in addition to the thousands of onlookers that the competition will draw each day.

He went on, "It's a good time for small businesses because of the atmosphere of the games; onemay be able to make more in these ten days than they do in four or five months in a corner shop."
"A wide range of products are sold here, including food items, sachet water, drinks, clothing, shoes, electronics, gadgets, devices and accessories, random fashion items, home goods, antiquities, and more.

"A lot of these vendors were here for the National Sports Festival and the most recent Youth Games, and they are returning because business was strong." We have been praying that the state will be able to host the Youth Games once more, and we are extremely appreciative of the Governor's dedication to hosting the event, which has brought with it new economic opportunities.

"A company's value chain is lengthy. To stock up for the next day, for example, food vendors go to the larger markets every day. The larger marketplaces' participants will also be going to the villages to buy more because there are over 10,000 visitors who have to be fed for the ten days of the event, besides the normal residents of Asaba. I imagine that some of us will be getting supplies of food stuff from other local governments outside Delta North even. This is exactly how sports connects with the community to benefit the people. That is why we are grateful to Governor Sheriff.”