The first full day of World Scout Jamboree came to an end last night with the phenomenal opening ceremony. There were about 50 000 people who attended the ceremony and also of course all the people who tuned into watch the livestream!

The Global Ambassadors had the incredible possibility to carry the flags in the opening ceremony. It was indeed a once-in-a-lifetime type of experience! We headed to the AT&T stadium at around 4:30pm and right after that we were brought backstage!

We were divided into two seperate groups; the right and the left side of the stage. Soon we were already walking around with the flag poles, waiting for the big moment! I started getting chills as soon as the music started and when the realization hit me that it was really going to happen! We started walking down the hill with the flags and it felt insane! There were thousands of people cheering for us, cheering for the flags. It was the feeling of unity and peace coming together to kick off the World Scout Jamboree!

We walked around the audience with the flags dancing in the air and it felt amazing. I had to keep checking whether I still had my uniform’s hat, Väiski, on because it felt like it was gone due to the constant chills I kept getting.

After walking around a bit it was time to go upto the platform where we waved the flags in the air. I run upto it and started waving the Finnish flag. The stadium was filled with cheers and roars from my fellow Finns. I felt so proud to be Finnish, it was the peak of my patriotism!

After we were done with the flags, we grabbed some dinner backstage and just hung out for awhile. Then we got out leaders to pick us up to check out the rest of the ceremony. Now all of the ceremony that I saw was absolutely stunning. The performances were so much fun and everyone at the stadium was just having a great time.

The opening ceremony was something I was really looking forward to and it ended up being one of the greatest experiences of my life.

I’d suggest everyone to try and take every chance they get. If you ever get a similar opportunity, do it! It’ll be worth it, I promise!