2011 World Champs Opening Ceremony

Prior to 2011, opening ceremonies at ITF World Championships were usually held part way through the tournament, often late in the evening, and they were long affairs. The 2011 organising team took a very different approach.

The opening ceremony of the 2011 ITF World Championships was held on the first morning of the event, immediately before competition got under way. It ran for approximately one hour and delivered a powerful mix of New Zealand culture alongside Taekwon-Do demonstrations from local Wellington children.

A change that set a new standard

This streamlined format helped set the tone for the championships from the outset. Rather than interrupting the flow of competition later in the week, the ceremony brought everyone together at the very beginning, creating a strong sense of occasion and shared purpose.

Preserving an important moment

The footage featured here was uncovered by Mr Lourantos, discovered among archived tapes containing the original live stream recordings of the event. While the video quality reflects the limitations of the original tape, the content itself is a valuable and worthy record of an important moment in ITF history.

The retrieval and editing of this footage was a joint project between ITFNZ Inc and TKD Coaching, undertaken to help preserve and share this piece of Taekwon-Do history.

Watch the full video

You can view the complete opening ceremony footage here:
2011 World Champs Opening Ceremony – Full Video