GONGFU warrior girls dressed like Tinkerbell and wielding bamboo sticks. Dancers descending from the sky. Asian-inspired music featuring hypnotic Korean drums and Sanskrit lyrics.

These - and more - are what you can expect to see at the Asian Youth Games (AYG) ceremony following the opening by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on June 29.

The curtain-raiser at the Singapore Indoor Stadium and the July 7 closing ceremony are estimated by organisers to cost slightly less than $1 million.

'I am confident we will put on a good show,' AYG organising committee co-chairman Sum Chee Wah said, after joining the media in a sneak preview of the show at Nan Hua High School yesterday.

Some 1,400 students from 20 schools - most were selected by virtue of being Singapore Youth Festival award winners - have been practising hard since last November.

Mrs Jessie Ho-Tan, creative and production team head for the opening ceremony, said inspiration was taken from last year's Beijing Olympics curtain-raiser.

Three mass displays will form the backbone of the show, which will open with a gymnastics and orchestral performance, singing of the Games theme song, Asia's Youth, Our Future, and pyrotechnics.

The soundtrack for the performances was composed by renowned music arranger Iskandar Ismail.

After the show, in a novel move, the Games' 1,300 athletes from 45 countries will march into the arena from the stands for the nations parade. This is unlike typical Games such as the Olympics, where athletes march in from outside the stadium and thus miss the performances.

There will be a full preview of the show on June 27, with Education Minister Ng Eng Hen as the guest of honour.

Read the full story in The Straits Times on Saturday.

jwang@sph.com.sg