The Grand Ballroom of the Magellan Sutera Hotel hosted the Opening Ceremony of
the Eco-Challenge Sabah 2000 last night as 76 teams from 26 nations were
welcomed to Sabah and the island of Borneo. The event, which included a fine
sit-down dinner, was hosted by Sabah Tourism and officiated by The Chief
Minister of Sabah, YAB Datuk Seri Panglima Haji Osu Haji Sukam.
A red carpet led into the opulent Grand Ballroom, where team captains marched
in carrying their country's flag and were introduced to the cheering crowd of
local media, event organizers, race management, and volunteers. The host
country Malaysian teams, Team Sabah 2000 and Team Toyota 2020, received loud
and appreciative applause from everyone.
Executive Producer and Race Director Mark Burnett spoke, marvelling at the
amazing growth of the event since its inception in Utah in 1995. He thanked
Sabah Tourism, the Chief Minister, the event sponsors, but mostly he
thanked "the brave athletes who have come here, especially all the new teams
who are experiencing Eco-Challenge for the first time."
Burnett specifically mentioned a number of teams to watch: Team Salomon/Eco-Internet
,
Team Spie, Team Red Bull-Playstation, and Team Nokia Adventure. Then he had all four members of Team
Fairydown Fleet CookieTime, stand for the entire audience to see. "They are
the team to beat," he said.
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