[Playback] 7th Military World Games kicks off in Wuhan

The 7th Military World Games opened in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province on Friday, October 18, 2019.

The 7th Military World Games opened in the city of Wuhan in Hubei Province on Friday, October 18, 2019. [Photo: screen shot from CGTN]

China's President Xi Jinping attended the ceremony and announced the opening of the Games.

In a stadium that seated nearly 60,000 spectators in the Wuhan Sports Center, the opening ceremony started with the parade of 109 delegations amid huge cheers. The biggest roar from the crowd was reserved for the 553-strong Chinese team, led out by flag bearer and retired professional basketball player Wang Zhizhi.

Over the next nine days, a record 9,308 soldiers, including 67 world and Olympic champions, will compete in 27 sports for 329 gold medals.

At the end of the opening ceremony that lasted for about two and a half hours, six bearers relayed the torch before retired basketball player Liu Yudong lit the cauldron.

The flame was first lit in east China's Nanchang, the birthplace of China's armed forces (known as the PLA), in August this year.

Defense department and military leaders from 42 nations were invited to attend the opening ceremony.

(Story includes material sourced from Xinhua.)