Attending The Opening Of The Paris Olympics, Prabowo Encourages The Indonesian Contingent

Prabowo Subianto (Photo: ANTARA)

JAKARTA - Prabowo Subianto watched the parade of the Indonesian contingent at the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics along the cinema River, Paris City, Friday night, July 26 local time.

Head of the Public Relations Bureau of the Secretariat General of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense Brigadier General TNI Edwin Adrian Sumantha when contacted in Jakarta, Saturday, explained that Defense Minister Prabowo witnessed the parade of the Indonesian contingent defile with SOE Minister Erick Thohir who is also a Member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Chairman of the Indonesian Olympic Committee (NOC Indonesia) Raja Sapta Oktohari, and a number of officials who accompanied Prabowo during his visit in Paris this week.

Before the opening ceremony began, French President Emmanuel Macron welcomed and welcomed world leaders at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, France. On that occasion, Defense Minister Prabowo was also present, "said the Head of the Public Relations Bureau of the Secretariat General of the Indonesian Ministry of Defense, who also accompanied Defense Minister Prabowo in Paris.

The Minister of Defense (Menhan) of the Republic of Indonesia and the Elected President wore a gray suit and black cap, welcomed by President Macron and French First Lady Brigitte Macron, when the elected president arrived at the Elysee Palace.

After attending the banquet at the Elysee Palace, Defense Minister Prabowo along with a group of state leaders and invited guests continued to shift to the banks of the Sea River to witness the series of opening ceremonies of the Paris Olympics, which for the first time was held outside the stadium. A total of 85 ships were deployed by organizers to transport athletes from more than 200 countries during the Paris Olympic defile parade on the River Sea.

On board, as many as 14 representatives of the Indonesian contingent at the Paris Olympics including Chef de Mission (CdM) Anindya Bakrie, judo Maryam March Maharani athlete, cycling athlete Bernard Benjamin van Aert, and two swimmers Azzahra Permatahani and Joe Aditya waved the red and white flag and waved towards the stands during the parade.

When the Indonesian contingent group passed by, Prabowo immediately stood up and waved at them. Defense Minister Prabowo also seemed to smile and applaud while watching the parade of the Indonesian contingent's defile.

Quoted from ANTARA, Prabowo still chose to sit in the stands and watch the parade of the Indonesian contingent, even though it was raining in Paris at that time.

At the Paris Olympics, a total of 29 Indonesian athletes will compete in 12 sports including swimming, bicycle racing, athletics, judo, badminton, archery, artistic gymnastics, weightlifting, wave surfing, rowing, and rock climbing.