The Isle of Wight team at the Island Games opening ceremony in Aland on Saturday night.
THE 13th Natwest Island Games in Aland opened in brilliant evening sunshine at the Wiklof Holding Arena on Saturday night.
More than 3,000 athletes were welcomed by the people of Aland in a two-hour ceremony, with the games opened officially by the speaker of Aland's parliament, Roger Nordlund.
All the teams, including the IW's 150-strong delegation - led by flag-bearer and sailor Richard Gray - were given a huge cheer by the 5,000 strong crowd, as dancing, music, comedy and a karate demonstration were laid on for entertainment.
And, despite the late-night sun, the ceremony ended with a bang as fireworks went off around the arena.
Before the ceremony, the IW team played frisbee with foam seat cushions given to them by organisers and held mock 100m sprint races down the track, before posing for a team photograph.
Table tennis player Lee Orton is making his Island Games debut. He said: "I am really looking forward to the experience and if we where we are staying is anything to go by, this week will be fantastic!"
Dick Ekstrom, chairman of the Aland 2009 organising committee, told athletes during the speeches: "I wish you all luck but most of all, I wish you fun and games."
The action starts today for IW pistol shooters Anthony Elgar and Matt Reed, for the sailing team and for the men's and women's football teams, who start their group stages against Rhodes and the Isle of Man respectively.