The idea to take selfies at the opening ceremony of the Nanjing Youth Olympic Games was from International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Thomas Bach, according to the ceremony's director.

"President Bach made an interesting request. He suggested this form of behavioral art that is very popular with young people. To me, this shows that President Bach really understands what young people like," Chen Weiya, chief director of the opening ceremony revealed.

"He suggested the idea yesterday when he arrived in Nanjing. Such a creative idea needs to be approved and then put into practice. For this minor detail the whole team had to work until the very last minute before the opening ceremony."

"It was perfectly delivered. It was a risk. We had to make a quick decision about who to take a picture of. We had to think how to give the athletes access and capture it in photos. It seems like a little detail but it took a lot of work."

It was raining steadily throughout the first part of the ceremony, creating challenging conditions for the performers, however there were no mishaps or major changes to the program and the showers did not dampen the enthusiasm of the huge crowd.

"I know the weather was not that good; it had been raining since 7 pm, so all of us here were watching the sky and were nervous at all times. But it proved that nothing could hold the ceremony back. In fact, I think the weather actually added a romantic touch to the ceremony," Chen added.

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