The Asian Games 2018 kicked off in Jakarta, Indonesia last week. One of the performers for the opening ceremony was Indonesian-French superstar Anggun.
Opening ceremony performance
Anggun took the stage with a spectacular performance of the song “Pemuda” (“Youth”) at the Gelora Bung Karno Main Stadium. The stage for the opening ceremony was inspired by Indonesian geography. As a result, the staging was quite the sight. She stood in heavy vegetation on a cliff-like structure. In addition, the backdrop was a massive waterfall which lucked stunning on screen. Furthermore, Anggun was dressed in a gold dress and she wore a tiara-like headpiece. Above all, Anggun sung beautifully. The vocals were spot on and elevated the performance even more.
Needless to say, the performance was visually impressive and on par with an Olympic opening ceremony. However, that’s no surprise: the Asian Games are the second largest multi-sport event. Sport enthusiasts will be able to follow the event until September 2nd. A fun fact is that this year’s Asian Games marks the first time the event has been co-hosted by two cities – Jakarta and Palembang – since it started in 1951.
Anggun at Eurovision
The French broadcaster internally selected Anggun to represent them at Eurovision Song Contest 2012. She embarked on a big promotion tour to showcase her entry, “Echo (You and I)” ahead of the contest. However, it failed to make a splash with the televoters and juries. Ultimately, she finished in 22nd place, scoring only 21 points. Seems like her already well-established career hasn’t suffered from the poor result, though.
Are you impressed by Anggun’s performance of “Pemuda”? Would you like to see her return to Eurovision? Let us know in the comments below or on social media @ESCXTRA.
