2008 Commonwealth Youth Games

Opening ceremony

The spectacular Opening Ceremony included several performances showcasing Indian culture and tradition. There was also a unique show set up by the Indian Air Force. Abhinav Bindra, India's gold medal winner at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics, was the final Youth Baton Runner, who poured the water collected from different countries into a kalash. The "Fountain of Youth" was later formed from this water. Veteran actress Hema Malini performed a beautiful prayer dance. Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan also performed during the event. Singers Sunidhi Chauhan and Shankar Mahadevan sang the theme song. There was also a performance by the Indian actress Urmila Matondkar. The President of India, Pratibha Patil, declared the Games open. The entire event was choreographed by Shiamak Davar. Various schools from Pune participated in the event.

Closing ceremony

The Closing Ceremony of the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games included the presence of several dignitaries and Bollywood stars. The ceremonies began with a special dog show organised by the military of India. This was followed by the official ceremony, when the Secretary of the Commonwealth Games Federation declared the Games closed. The cultural part included musical performances by some of the finest singers from India, such as Shaan, Kunal Ganjawala, and Shiamak Davar, the choreographer of the event. A few select schools were selected to perform in the closing ceremony, like Kamalnayan Bajaj and St. Ursula's. These dances were also choreographed by Shiamak Davar's group. Various indigenous cultures from Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western India were shown by Diya Mirza, Neha Dhupia, and Malaika Arora. Bollywood actor Ritesh Deshmukh also performed with them during the event. Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty also performed during the event. The "Fountain of Youth" which was created during the Opening Ceremony was slowly lowered and a "Garden of Youth" was formed. The "Garden of Youth" will remain outside the stadium as a part of the legacy. The hand over ceremony included a seven-minute show from the Isle of Man, who will host the games in 2011. The official mascot of the 2008 Games, Jiggr said good bye to the competitors of the youth Games, after which the mascot for the Delhi 2010 Games, Shera, welcomed all to Delhi. The closing ceremonies were ended with fireworks.

The logo of the Games reflect the heritage of Pune and Maharashtra. The seal features the city's name 'Pune' in both English script and Devanagari/Sanskrit script. The seal itself is derived from the Maratha seal of the Maratha king, Shivaji. It is a fusion of the traditional Pune culture and modernity.[4]

The name of the official mascot of the 2008 Commonwealth Youth Games is "Jigrr". The mascot is a tiger, the national animal of India. Jigrr is the younger brother of 'Shera', the mascot of 2010 Commonwealth Games. Jigrr the name, is an amalgam of the word 'Jigar', which implies courage in Hindi language and also the sound of tiger roar 'grrr...'[5]