Opening ceremony of European Universities Games Zagreb - Rijeka 2016 / Ceremonija otvaranja Europskih sveučilišnih igara Zagreb - Rijeka 2016. (c) HRT - Hrvatska radiotelevizija / Croatian radiotelevision ***** The EUG 2016 Opening Ceremony took place on Wednesday, July 13, 2016 at 21.00 with a live TV broadcast by the national TV broadcaster (Croatian Radiotelevision - HRT), and a duration of 120 minutes. The tickets for the opening ceremony were free, but without them it was not possible to enter the event area – the athletics stadium of the Sports Park Mladost in Zagreb. Directed by Krešimir Dolenčić, the ceremony started with an introduction of host cities. Zagreb was depicted as the city of universities, parks, museums, art and sporting success, while Rijeka was depicted as the city of naval tradition, torpedoes, rock and roll, good vibrations and the world’s second largest carnival. Croatian singer Damir Kedžo and the University of Zagreb’s choir Concordia discors performed the official song of the Games– As long as heart believes. Over five thousand participants walked the athletic track at Mladost Stadium, entering the track in alphabetical order by the name of the country they came from. The hosts occasionally made interesting remarks about the 403 universities participating in the Games. The hosts walked at the tail of the parade – Croatian students came from 16 universities from Zagreb, Osijek, Karlovac, Rijeka, Split, Pula, Vukovar and Dubrovnik. Before the oaths were taken, the attendees were addressed by the president of the European Universities Games Zagreb – Rijeka 2016 Zrinko Čustonja, the Rector of the University of Zagreb Damir Boras, the president of the European University Sports Association Adam Roczek and the Croatian Prime Minister Tihomir Orešković.