Tim Laine was the proud bearer of the Guernsey flag in the opening ceremony.

THE message was loud and clear during Saturday’s opening ceremony of the 13th NatWest Island Games – have fun.

In among the all-singing, all-dancing extravaganza with added pyrotechnics and comedy in the Wiklof Holding Arena in Mariehamn, Jorgen Pettersson, the chairman of the International Island Games Association, emphasised the reason why thousands of people had made the trip to Aland for this week.

Simply, make friends and enjoy yourselves.

‘Just by being here, we are all winners,’ he said in his opening address.

He had already spoken of the way the Games, despite being a sporting competition, built an important part of island life and foundations for the future by working together.

‘You are a traveller and as such you have looked above the trees in the forest and seen the blue skies and decided to go there,’ said Mr Pettersson.

The IIGA chairman was one of three officials to speak during the two-hour ceremony.

He was sandwiched by Dick Ekstrom, chairman of the 2009 organising committee, and Roger Nordlund, speaker of the Aland parliament, who opened the Games.

Ekstrom had signed off with the same message.

‘I wish you the very best of luck, but most of all I wish you fun and games.’

View a gallery of photos from the ceremony here.