Opening Ceremony of 2017 Islamic Solidarity Games

700 volunteer performers fill the stage as Eldar Mansurov’s “Yalli” is played. They hold reflective hexagons to create a series of shapes. They are joined by 10 male dancers from the Azerbaijan State Ensemble, who perform with 7-metre-long silks. The cast form a crescent moon and star. The cast form the Baku 2017 logo. The cast flip their hexagons to reveal the flag of Azerbaijan. In the Islamic calendar, a crescent moon marks the start of each new month. These Games signal a fresh chapter in the long history of Islamic solidarity and cooperation.