2012 Pekan Olahraga Nasional or 2012 National Sports Week was a multi-sport event in Indonesia which was held in Riau from 9–20 September 2012.[2][3][4] The previous edition was held in East Kalimantan. Thousands of athletes, officials, and journalists all across of Indonesian provinces participated to the game.
Host selection
Riau won the selection of 2012 Pekan Olahraga Nasional host.
365 days before PON will be started, there is an inauguration of 2012 PON countdown timer. The celebration brought in some famous Indonesian singers, like Iwan Fals, Geisha, Lyla, etc.[5]
The timer is located in the heart of Pekanbaru city, at Jalan Cut Nyak Dien between two iconic buildings, Menara Lancang Kuning and Soeman HS Library. This timer is the very first countdown timer for Pekan Olahraga Nasional events.[6]
The opening ceremony was scheduled 9 September 2012 but moved to 11 September due to President's schedule. Fireworks attraction started the ceremony, followed by some traditional dances. Judika (Indonesian Idol finalist) sang the theme song of the 2012 PON, Selamat Datang Sang Juara (Welcome the Champions). The athletes' parade then started, Aceh paraded first in the athletes' parade. The parade is organized by alphabetical order, the last team to parade is the veteran athletes from the first PON in Surakarta.
Then, 8 former national athletes brought the Pekan Olahraga Nasional Flag to the stadium, which is hoisted and followed by a singer singing the PON theme. After the hoisting of the PON flag, Barry Agustini took the Athlete's Oath, while Jefrizal took the Judge's Oath. The last section of the ceremony was the lighting of the PON cauldron. The torch was brought by former athlete Titi Syarif Sudibyo. The torch was passed to Amril Nurman, 5 times PON gold medalist in badminton from Riau. Amril Nurman brought the torch in a replica of Lancang Kuning, which moved through the stadium floor. Amril then passed the torch to a man riding a white horse. The man depicts Tuanku Tambusai, famous hero from Riau. The cauldron was lighted by Zaini Bachtiar, using a spear shaped torch which was thrown to the cauldron. The spear didn't reach the cauldron, but the cauldron is still lit.[11]
