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All Set For Hockey WC

Bhubaneswar: Pritam, the writer and composer of the Hockey World Cup 2023 song, called on Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here at Naveen Niwas.

Chief Minister presented him the Hockey Jersey and he was happy to receive the same.

Pritam is all set to enthrall the audience in the opening ceremony of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023 at Barabati Stadium.

In fact all the schools including private schools in Odisha will remain closed down tomorrow from 1 PM to facilitate the students to join FIH Men’s Hockey Opening.

As art, culture and heritage of Odisha will be showcased during the inaugural ceremony at Barabati Stadium on Wednesday, the schools will be closed after half-day so that students can witness the historic moment.  

The State Government has also announced the closing down of all technical education institutions tomorrow at 3 PM.

The Skill Development and Technical Education Department issued a circular to all concerned in this regard on Tuesday.

“In inviting a reference to the captioned subject I am directed to intimate that all Government and Private IT/Diploma/Technical/Professional Institutions functioning under the administrative control of the Skill Development & Technical Education Department shall remain closed after 3PM on 11.01.2023 (Wednesday) in order to enable students of such institutions to witness opening ceremony of FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023,” read the circular.

Earlier in the day, the Cuttack district administration had announced the closure of all Schools and Colleges in the district after 2 PM on Wednesday in view of the opening ceremony of the FIH Men’s Hockey World Cup 2023.

Bollywood actors Ranveer Singh and Disha Patani along with BLACK SWAN, the famous K-Pop band featuring Odisha’s Shreya Lenka will perform live during the opening ceremony.  Pritam, the writer and composer of the Hockey World Cup 2023 song, will take the stage and enthral the crowd with vocalists like Benny Dayal, Neeti Mohan, Lisa Mishra, Amit Mishra, Antara Mitra, Sreerama Chandra, Nakash Aziz and Shalmali Kholgade and Namita Meleka from Odisha.

Odissi guru Aruna Mohanty and National Award winner Shiamak Davar have choreographed the dance performances. The event will also feature many local Odia stars and performers.

When one arrives at the Biju Patnaik Airport in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, they are sure to be welcomed by beautiful sand art that depicts the mythologically-significant monuments of the erstwhile state.

This time, not only will the visitors traveling for the most-awaited FIH Odisha Hockey Men’s World Cup 2023 Bhubaneswar-Rourkela be treated to sand sculpture at the airport, but one can also witness the world’s largest hockey sculpture erected on the banks of the Mahanadi River at Cuttack, where the ‘celebration’ event is scheduled for on January 11 to mark the opening of the mega hockey event starting January 13.

Sudarshan Pattnaik has created a 105-feet long hockey stick, using 5000 hockey balls. The sand artist used over five tonnes of sand for the sculpture which also showcases the newly built Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela.

He said, “There is a festive atmosphere in every village you travel to in Odisha because of the World Cup. It is a very special event for the people of Odisha and there are celebrations everywhere. To welcome everyone to this beautiful state, we wanted to create something unique this time, that’s why we thought of using hockey balls and creating this installation.”

It took Sudarshan and his team of 15 students two full days to complete the installation and it will be up for display all of January 11 when thousands will throng the Barabati Stadium to catch a glimpse of Bollywood stars who will perform during the opening ceremony.

“During the previous World Cup, we had installed sand art at the Kalinga Hockey Stadium and the art work depicted the major monuments of Odisha like Konark. This time we have used the installation to welcome all the 16 participating teams to Odisha and we have created 16 national flags in the installation,” added an elated Shri Pattnaik about this unique creation.