| Young people aged between 14
and 17, who are Scouts in their home countries, have travelled
from all over the world to be here. And now 40,000 people from across the campsite have converged for the Opening Ceremony, the official start of the Jamboree. The arena is full of Scouts as far as the eye can see. “From day one, even before the Jamboree had started, there was an electric atmosphere, one that you wouldn’t get anywhere else.” |
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Just a Perfect Day
For the Scouts, everyone was awake early ready for the day’s activities – a day packed full of shared adventure, discovery about the world, and service projects. As evening approaches, the Scouts return to their Subcamps which provide a focus for the early evening activities combined with an international melting pot. “Not until you have been do you fully understand the sheer scale and the adrenaline that is constantly pumping through you.” Celebrating 100 years of Scouting Scouts greet sunrise on August 1st to the sound of the kudu horn in a linked series of Centenary Celebrations around the world, The day continues with an international street party, as new friends are made, different cultures are shared and valued, and a world at peace starts to seem achievable. “People were cheering and singing as they were walking around and everyone was saying ‘Hello’ to you. There seemed to be no communication barrier.” |
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Farewell All too quickly, the 10 days of the Jamboree are coming to an end, and it is time to reflect and look back on what has taken place at the Closing Ceremony. “This was probably the saddest time of all, was we knew this was the last time that we would all be here together for the same reason. It was around then that it hit me what had happened, and that I would never again be able to experience this indescribable adventure of a lifetime.” |
(The quotes on this webpage are from Scouts who participated in the 19th World Scout Jamboree in Chile in 1999)
Click here to find out more about the Activities at the Jamboree.