Chariot rides

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This page may contain plot details relating to Sunrise on the Reaping or unintentionally spoil elements of the book.

The chariot rides, also known as the Tribute Parade or opening ceremonies, marked the beginning of the Hunger Games' annual festivities. Tributes were required to ride chariots in a procession through the Capitol starting at the Remake Center and ending outside the President's mansion in the City Circle, before finally pulling into the Training Center. This was a chance for the tributes to make an impression on sponsors, which could be crucial to their survival in the arena. This was also the first time the Capitol audience would see the tributes in person, and it would give them an idea of what to expect from each district's competitors.

To show their approval, the audience would cheer for the tributes they liked, sometimes even throwing small objects in admiration (in her first parade, Katniss Everdeen caught a rose thrown by an audience member).^[1] To make a good impression, most tributes would smile and wave and appear friendly, but other tactics could be employed: for the 75th Hunger Games, Katniss and Peeta were instructed to appear aloof and uncompromising, as if the entire event was beneath them; this also made quite an impression on the audience.

The chariots were typically decorated to reflect the traits of each district's industry, and it was required that the districts enter the procession in numerical order, starting with District 1 and finishing with District 12.

History[]

25th Hunger Games[]

For the 25 Hunger Games, or the first Quarter Quell, the chariot rides were introduced.^[2]

50th Hunger Games[]

Thanks to the errors of their prep team, District 12 was late in joining the procession. All of the other Districts' chariots were tricked out, some looking menacing and others elegant, with District 12 looking rickety by comparison. The horses driving the chariot were poorly trained and nervous from the go. The tributes were met with jeers from a drunken crowd. When someone in the crowd tossed a firework, it panicked the already unstable horses, resulting in them racing through the crowd and the other chariots until they overturned. Haymitch Abernathy was badly rattled by the experience, but Louella McCoy was killed.^[3]

Incitatus Loomy was the parade master responsible for the affair. As punishment for the disastrous scene, he was killed by being fed a plate of poisoned oysters.^[4]

Chariot costumes[]

Main article: Chariot costumes

Chariot Rides — The tributes in procession.

In addition to the chariots being decorated to reflect each district's industry, the tributes themselves were outfitted in costumes that performed the same task. These costumes were typically the first outfit that a tribute's stylist would design for them, and they could take innumerable forms, depending on the stylist's skill level, techniques, and what kind of image they wanted to project.