SINGAPORE: One of the highlights of every FDI Annual Dental World Congress is the Welcome Ceremony, traditionally held on the night of the first day of the congress. Officials from the FDI and the Singapore Dental Association welcomed the audience, which included the Singapore Minister of Health Khaw Boon Wan.

They symbolic change of FDI presidency took place at the Welcome Ceremony, where the presidential chain was passed from outgoing president, Dr Burton Conrod of Canada, to the incoming president, Dr Roberto Vianna of Brazil. Dr Vianna will officially start his term as president at FDI’s General Assembly B on Friday and he will serve as president until 2011.

The performances were structured into four segments: the Awakening, the River of Life, the Metamorphosis, and the Kaleidoscope. During the Awakening, large drums accompanied by laser lights and LED kites represented the Singapore Heartbeats, a musical extravaganza, depicting the sights, sounds and cultures of Singapore. The performances took the audience through Singapore’s history, starting with its beginnings as a trading post to its present status of being an cosmopolitan and thriving city. The Welcome Ceremony encompassed traditional and moderns settings and engaged technology in a delightful and entertaining atmosphere.

A video, provided by the Singapore Tourism Board, introduced audience to images from the forefathers and Singapore’s past and paid tribute to the Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, one of the most influential political figures in South-East Asia, who helped Singapore become an independent state.

The Singapore Heartbeats accompanied by pyrotechnics and confetti rain closed the ceremony in a grand finale.

(This article was published with permission of the FDI World Dental Federation.)