Sri Lanka's Prime Minister to declare open Champions Trophy

Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe will declare open the ICC Champions Trophy Sri Lanka 2002 in a vibrant and colourful opening ceremony at 1:30 p.m. (0730 GMT) on Thursday, 12th September at the R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium.

The opening, which is scheduled prior to the first match of the tournament where hosts Sri Lanka take on Pakistan, will feature a multi-faceted display of Sri Lankan culture, with colourfully clad elephants, more than a thousand dancers, two hundred drummers, and one hundred flag-bearers.

The theme song for the tournament will be sung by the popular Sri Lankan band "Wildfire."

Mr. Malcolm Gray, President of the International Cricket Council, will hand over the trophy to the Prime Minister, who will then officially declare the tournament open.

Media contacts:

Mark Harrison

Media Manager

ICC Champions Trophy Sri Lanka 2002

(94) 77-730337

Niresh Eliatamby

Media Manager

Board of Control for Cricket in Sri Lanka

(94) 77-418848