Review of the YOG Opening Ceremony Speech by President Jacques Rogge, President IOC
Link to the Opening Ceremony Speech By President Jacques Rogge, President, IOC: http://www.singapore2010.sg/public/sg2010/en/en_news/en_official_speech/en_20100815_opening_ceremony_speech_by_president_jacques_rogge_president_ioc.html
Link to excerpt of speech: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BUQyjNDdH8
Time: 6:35 to 7:20
Singapore Skyline as an impressive backdrop for the YOG held at Marina Bay Floating Platform.
14 August 2010, a crowd strength of 27, 000 congregated from all around the world gathered at the Marina Bay floating platform for the 2010 inaugural YOG Opening Ceremony held in Singapore for the first time in history.
President of the IOC, Jacques Rogge, standing alongside Singapore Prime Minister, Lee Kuan Yew amongst the strong crowd.
Among the audience stood tall Jacques Rogges, the President of the IOC. After the traditional “Parade of Nations” which involved participating athletes marching into the stadium, country by country, he took the stage to deliver his opening speech.
In his speech, President Jacques adhered closely to the ‘Five Canons of Rhetoric’, and in my view, was able to deliver a stunning and captivating speech that was able to engage the large-scale audience. Following which, I will move on to address how President Jacques was able to deliver such a speech relevant to the YOG according to the model of the ‘Five Canons of Rhetoric’ .
Invention
Keeping in mind that the speech is prepared for an epideictic(ceremonial) occasion, and to cater to a large-scale audience coming from all around the world, Jacques main subject matter in his speech is to acknowlege and promote the success of the games. I ascertain that this is a good move, in analyzing the audience, one would know that the audience composed of: mainly Singaporeans who take pride in being the HOST of such a prestigious event, volunteers who had placed much effort in ORGANIZING the event, and athletes coming from all around the world who are PART of the event; thus by promoting the success of the organizing committee and assuring the athletes of the benefits, he is able to better engage the audiences and allow them to relate to his speech and accept what he has to say.
Style
“You are our future, and we want to help you take that future into your own hands.” There was a tinge of motivational style to his speech to encourage the athletes to perform to the best of their abilities and achieve greater heights during the competitions. He used big words such as ‘indebted’, ‘remarkable’, especially so to cater to emotional appeal of the large crowd, and to showcase the brevity of the YOG. Also, Jacues adopted a vigorous style based on pathos. He was both eloquent and emotional in his speech, yet was able to bring his message across in a clear manner.
Arrangement
Jacques constructed his speech in an orderly and precise manner to suit to the ceremonial occasion and to set a proper framework for the vast audience so that his message could be brought across clearly. He started off his speech by formally introducing the occasion and vision behind the event. He then moved on to give credit to the host country, volunteers, and sponsors for the possibility and success of the YOG. After which he addressed the stars of the YOG, the athletes themselves, and emphasized on fairplay and the true meaning of sportsmanship. He concluded his speech by thanking his audience and wishing them fun, and proceeded to handover the stage to the President of Singapore to open the games officially.
Memory
Jacques kept the creative vision of the YOG(Youth Olympic Games) firmly in mind and was able to bring across the vision ” ..young people around the world have a chance to participate in a global forum that combines sport, education and culture.” to his audience.
Delivery
To get an insight on his delivery, you might want to watch the youtube video timed between 6:35 to 7:20 for an excerpt of President Jacques’ speech. In my view, the delivery of his speech was a disappointment, and poorly administered. His tone was monotonous and unlively, and he did not manage to convey any interest through his voice. This was probably because he had to address the audience in English, which was not his mother tongue (he is Belgian). Also, he did not make any simple gestures to bring across his point which led to it being slightly dull and boring.
Well, I didn’t attend the opening ceremony personally but only watched the video of it. So for those who did, care to share your opinions or thoughts?(:
Brightest Little Firefly In Her Jar 
I do agree that his tone was monotonous and that he had to somehow read off his script. I guess some formal speech has to be unlively since its formal? Its quite inevitable to a certain extent.. may he could smile more or show some form of facial expression so as to sound not so dead.
It is a formal event and I guess his script is same for all olympic events he attended. But it is a pity since it is the youth Olympic event, he could have made it sound more livelier. But we should be thankful that he made such speech in our country and it is a honor.
I was there for the closing and the opening and Rogge does not speak english as his first language so judging him like he does is a bit unfair, however he is boring and monotonous, that i can assure you. It is a big, grand and important event and he is probably to busy trying to be calm and not screw things up to worry about making things lively.
I was a volunteer during the YOG and was personally present to witness the opening ceremony. I totally agree with you that the president of the IOC delivered his speech poorly. Although this was a ceremonic event, it was the YOUTH olympic games and he should have complemented it with a more lively speech and added some spirit into it. Instead his speech was totally dull and boring. But oh well this was probably his 101th time delivering speeches therefore he does not find it any interesting anymore