Bhubaneswar, July 5: It was a spectacle at Kalinga Stadium, the venue for the Asian Athletics Championship, as a houseful crowd witnessed the grand inauguration ceremony of the continent's biggest athletics event this evening.

The state capital has left no stone unturned to make the event a grand success and residents have also responded with a sold-out arena to welcome the athletes at the inauguration ceremony. Spectators in the stadium cheered on the athletes during the ceremonial march past, but the scene outside was quite different.

The atmosphere outside was electric as hundreds of youngsters gathered to get a taste of the event.

"I couldn't get a ticket for the inaugural ceremony despite trying for three days. But this was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, which I did not want to miss. So, I decided to come to the stadium during the event so that I could hear what was going on inside and enjoy the buzz," said Nirmal Hota, a 24-year-old resident of Acharya Vihar.

The biggest crowd had assembled near the LED screen to witness live telecast of the inaugural ceremony. Even those who could not get close enough to the giant screen, did not miss out the event. They made comfortable seating arrangements in the vicinity and began to live stream the event using their smartphones, while simultaneously lending their voices to the loud cheers coming from the stadium. Several such groups of youngsters were seen around the stadium.

"I came to know that Shankar, Ehsan and Loy would perform at the inaugural event. I am a huge fan of the musicians and I never miss a chance to their live performance. However, I couldn't get a ticket and missed their live act. But I tried my best to at least come to the stadium and hear them," said Ankita, a resident of Nayapalli.

The assembled crowd broke into a spontaneous dance as the Bollywood music composer trio began their performance of Rangabati, the traditional Sambalpuri folk song.

" Rangabati is a song that is close to all our hearts. It is one of the best songs ever composed in our language and it would be foolish to miss a public performance of it, especially when it is Shankar who is going to sing it," said 32-year-old Mamata Mishra, a spectator, who had come from Sambalpur for the event.

Earlier, the original singers of Rangabati, Jitendra Haripal and Krishna Patel, along with music director Prabhudutta Pradhan, refused to allow a public performance of the song during the inaugural session of the event.

However, after a brief discussion with officials of the state government, they allowed Shankar to sing the song at today's event.

Another attraction for the enthusiasts outside the stadium was the fireworks.

"I came here at 3pm just to listen to Rangabati by Shankar and the fireworks at the end of the inaugural ceremony. It is an opportunity for all to witness a grand ceremony in Bhubaneswar and I could not have missed it anyway," said Patia resident Ayan Mohanty.