1997

The Eighth Pan Arab Games, An Outlook -The Eighth Pan Arab Games were inaugurated Saturday by president Elias Hrawi, who said “From the Camille Chamoun Sports City, I declare the Pan Arab Games open”. -Spectators who were barred from entering the stadium because of over-capacity were pushed back by security provoking scuffles. At 6.30 p.m, the stadium was already packed. Its seating capacity is 50,000 and tickets distributed exceeded 150,000. -Crowds lucky to have seats inside the stadium cheered warmly the Arab teams, as they filed one after another past the VIP section. Only 19 Arab member attended with Iraq,