This handheld footage covers the closing ceremony of the 16th World Deaf Games for the Deaf hosted in Christchurch 7-17 January 1989. The closing ceremony held on Tuesday 17th January 1989 begins with an athlete parade into the stadium, and concludes with speeches to congratulate the athletes and the Deaf Sports Federation of New Zealand. The President of CISS Jerald Jordan thanked the people of Christchurch for their warm welcome and said that the games were valuable in enhancing society’s understanding about Deaf people and their potential.
About the 16th World Deaf Games for the Deaf:
- 4000 people attended the opening ceremony, with 1400 athletes and officials. The biggest cheer was saved for the 113 members of the New Zealand team in black and white who marched in last.
- The largest team of 230 was from the USA,
- The all-male Kuwait team, wearing traditional dress at the opening ceremony, made their first appearance at the Games.
- The Games were formally opened by David Caygill, Minister of Finance,
- Two hours later, the first sport to take place since the opening of the Games was football between Holland and New Zealand.
