The opening ceremony for the

2018 Commonwealth Games The 2018 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXI Commonwealth Games and also known as Gold Coast 2018, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth that was held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, bet ...

took place on the evening of Wednesday 4 April in the

Carrara Stadium Carrara Stadium (also known as People First Stadium under naming rights) is a stadium on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, located in the suburb of Carrara, Queensland, Carrara. The stadium is primarily used for A ...

, Gold Coast. As mandated by the Commonwealth Games Charter, the proceedings of the ceremony combined the formal opening of the sporting event (including hoisting of the flags, parade of the athletes and welcome speeches) with an artistic performance to showcase the host nation's culture. The 2018 Games were formally opened by

Charles, Prince of Wales Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, a ...

Jack Morton Worldwide Jack Morton Worldwide is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Branding agency, brand experience agency. It is a subsidiary of The Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG). The company's current chairman and Chief Executive Officer, CE ...

was given the contract to produce the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The theme of the opening ceremony was ''Hello Earth'' and directed by David Zolkwer. The ceremony began at 20:00

AEST Australia uses three main time zones: Australian Eastern Standard Time (AEST; UTC+10:00), Australian Central Standard Time (ACST; UTC+09:30) and Australian Western Standard Time (AWST; UTC+08:00). Time is regulated by the individual states a ...

and lasted almost three hours. It was watched by an estimated worldwide television of 1.5 billion. The principal sections of the artistic display represented Australia's Indigenous culture, Gold Coast's

Surfers Paradise Surfing is a list of surface water sports, surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in Glossary of surfing, tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wind wave, wave of water, whic ...

, wildlife and theme parks. A medley of Australian classics were played live by the

Queensland Symphony Orchestra Queensland Symphony Orchestra (QSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra in the state of Queensland. The orchestra is based in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's building in South Bank. The Orchestra is funded by private corporations, the ...

, Queensland Youth Orchestra and Gold Coast Youth Orchestra during the parade of nations. Popular Australian recording artists such as

Christine Anu Maia Christine Anu (born on 15 March 1970) is an Australian singer-songwriter and actress of Torres Strait Islander origin. She gained popularity with the cover song release of the Warumpi Band's song " My Island Home" in 1995. Anu has been no ...

Delta Goodrem Delta Lea Goodrem Order of Australia, AM (born 9 November 1984) is an Australian singer, songwriter, television personality and actress based in Sydney. Goodrem signed a recording contract with Sony Music at the age of 15. Her debut studio album ...

, Katie Noonan and

Ricki-Lee Coulter Ricki-Lee Dawn Coulter (born 10 November 1985) is an Australian singer-songwriter, television and radio presenter. She was born in Auckland, New Zealand, raised in Gold Coast, Queensland, and began performing at age 15. Coulter rose to fame in ...

performed at the ceremony. The opening ceremony was seen as a tremendous success and worldwide praised.

Preparations

Three Australian companies: Specktak International, World Events, Dae Global and one American company

(JMW) submitted bids to the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games Corporation (GOLDOC) to produce the opening and closing ceremonies of the

in Gold Coast. On 27 December 2015, the GOLDOC announced they chose Jack Morton Worldwide to produce the ceremonies of the games. This sparked a controversy as the head of all the three Australian Companies Ric Birch, head of Spectak,

David Atkins David Atkins, OAM (born 12 December 1955) is an Australian dancer, choreographer, music-theatre director and producer. Career Stage and television Atkins began his performance career aged 12 with a role in the musical ''Mame''. As an adult ...

, head of Dae Global and Julie Brooks, head of World Events questioned to GOLDOC that why an American company (JMW) was chosen for the production of ceremonies which was going to happen in Australia. Ric Birch, who co-ordinated the ceremonies of the

1982 Commonwealth Games The 1982 Commonwealth Games were held in Brisbane, Australia, from 30 September to 9 October 1982. The Opening Ceremony was held at the QEII Stadium (named after Elizabeth II), in the Brisbane suburb of Nathan. The QEII Stadium was also the ...

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

, the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

and the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, called for a review of the decision to overlook three Australian companies to present the ceremonies at the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. GOLDOC's head of communications Marcus Taylor said that JMW is an international company which have been working in Australia since 1983 and have a range of experiences in producing the ceremonies of events as they have previously done for

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006, were an International sport, international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Melbourne ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and the

2014 Commonwealth Games The 2014 Commonwealth Games (), officially known as the XX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2014 (; ), were an international multi-sport event celebrated in the tradition of the Commonwealth Games as governed by the Commonwea ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. On 22 November 2017, the GOLDOC revealed some of the key artistic personnel working on the ceremonies of the games. The creative team for the opening and closing ceremonies consisted of a roster of renowned individuals. Leading the ceremonies team as Artistic Director and Project Director was David Zolkwer, Head of

Public Events. David previously led the teams for the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002, were an international multi-sport event for the members of the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth held in Manchester, England, ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and

. Australian singer Katie Noonan, winner of five

ARIA music awards The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards (commonly known informally as ARIA Music Awards, ARIA Awards, or simply the ARIAs) is an annual series of awards nights celebrating the Australian music industry, put on by the Austr ...

and former lead singer of

based band George, was given the role of the Music Director of the ceremonies. Katie said "I'm a fiercely proud Queensland musician; I think we make some of the best music in the world and indeed some of the best art in the world. There's some truly world class dance and music being made here, so it's a good time to focus on our (cultural) identity and realise that we're really good at what we do." She has served as the Artistic Director of the

Queensland Music Festival The Queensland Music Festival (QMF) is a series of musical events staged in a number of locations in Queensland, Australia, usually around late July, every second year. It is financially supported by the Queensland Government through Arts Queens ...

since 2015. Nathan M. Wright served as the Head of Choreography and Staging Director for the opening ceremony. Nathan is a highly respected choreographer and performer who has worked on large-scale events extensively, including choreography for the opening and closing ceremonies of both the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

and

Paralympics The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

2014 Winter Olympics The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

Sochi Sochi ( rus, Сочи, p=ˈsotɕɪ, a=Ru-Сочи.ogg, from – ''seaside'') is the largest Resort town, resort city in Russia. The city is situated on the Sochi (river), Sochi River, along the Black Sea in the North Caucasus of Souther ...

. The role of Executive Producer for the ceremonies was given to Merryn Hughes. Merryn has also served as the Executive Producer for the ceremonies of the

2015 Pacific Games The 15th Pacific Games, also known as Port Moresby 2015 or POM 2015, was held in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, from 4 to 18 July 2015. It was the fifteenth staging of the Pacific Games as well as the third to be hosted in Port Moresby. More tha ...

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

and the

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

2010 Winter Olympics The 2010 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XXI Olympic Winter Games () and also known as Vancouver 2010 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held from February 12 to 28, 2010 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with ...

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

Dignitaries in attendance

Proceedings

Countdown

The opening ceremony started with a countdown from 65000 years quickly to 10–1 seconds. When the countdown is finished, a very large firework exploded in the middle of the ground of the Carrara Stadium.

Hello Earth

Australian Actor Jack Thompson spoke about the history of Earth along with holding an illuminated globe. When he finished his narration, he then placed the globe in the ground which was covered with beach sand. The image of earth was projected on the ground showcasing the movement of winds, oceans, wind currents and large mass of land. A group of girls stood at the image projection of land and raised their right hands. The large mass of land immediately separated into seven continents. After the separation of land masses, a white

humpback whale The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the monotypic taxon, only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh u ...

"Migaloo" was shown swimming across the oceans and diving into the land of Australia.

Four Winds

World-renowned didgeridoo player William Barton played his instrument at the top of the Q1 tower. Hip-hop artist Mau Power from

Thursday Island Thursday Island, colloquially known as TI, or in the Kalaw Lagaw Ya, Kawrareg dialect, Waiben or Waibene, is an island of the Torres Strait Islands, an archipelago of at least 274 small islands in the Torres Strait. TI is located approximately ...

in the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, �zen̪ad̪ kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, ...

and Australian singer

sang the song " My Island Home" along with Four Winds Didgeridoo Orchestra. A group of dancers holding small glowing spheres danced along with the song. When the song finished, the dancers immediately stood adjacent to each other forming the shape of Australian land boundary. Christine Anu sang the same song at the

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

and in the opening ceremonies of the

2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was the last time that the Summer Paralympics were organized by two different Organ ...

Welcome of dignitaries

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. Camilla was raised in East Sussex and South Kensington i ...

, President of the

Commonwealth Games Federation The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), currently known as Commonwealth Sport, is the international organisation responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games, and is the governing body ...

Louise Martin, Chairman of GOLDOC

Peter Beattie Peter Douglas Beattie (born 18 November 1952) is an Australian former politician who served as the 36th Premier of Queensland, in office from 1998 to 2007. He was the state leader of the Labor Party from 1996 to 2007. Beattie was born in Syd ...

and President of Commonwealth Games Australia Sam Coffa entered the stadium and welcomed with a huge applause by the audience. Afterwards, the Australian anthem was performed in a completely unusual way. The first part of the anthem was sung through an edited video in which ordinary people were in their homes or anywhere else in the country. The second part was sung with a live vision of the

with the public singing. Along the

Australian flag The national flag of Australia is based on the British Blue Ensign—a blue field with the Union Jack in the upper hoist quarter—augmented with a large white seven-pointed star (the Commonwealth Star) and a representation of the Southern C ...

,the Australian Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag were hoisted in the stadium. When the stadia were broadcast live, the Australian coat of arms was projected on the sand stadium's ground.

Totem ceremony

After the history of Earth segment, the traditional

totem A totem (from or ''doodem'') is a spirit being, sacred object, or symbol that serves as an emblem of a group of people, such as a family, clan, lineage (anthropology), lineage, or tribe, such as in the Anishinaabe clan system. While the word ...

ceremony was showcased. This part of the ceremony represented the moment of reconnecting and regeneration. It showcased a ritual in which the ceremonial knowledge of the totemic system was passed down from past ancestors and elders, through present elders, to the future elders. Performers from the

Bangarra Dance Theatre Bangarra Dance Theatre is an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander dance company focused on contemporary dance. It was founded by African American dancer and choreographer Carole Y. Johnson, Gumbaynggirr man Rob Bryant, and South African-bor ...

and performers from the Bangarra's "Rekindling" programme performed a dance with shields. Rekindling is an intensive dance-based education program for Aboriginal and/or

Torres Strait Islander Torres Strait Islanders ( ) are the Indigenous Melanesians, Melanesian people of the Torres Strait Islands, which are part of the state of Queensland, Australia. Ethnically distinct from the Aboriginal Australians, Aboriginal peoples of the res ...

secondary students. After the dance performance, a large firework exploded in the middle of the stadium's ground.

Surfer’s Paradise

After the Totem ceremony segment, the

scene was shown. A group of people wearing swimsuits gathered into the stadium along with props such as umbrellas, deck chairs, and beach towels. The image of the scenery of beach was projected onto the stadium's ground. Australian singer

performed the song "Technicolor Love" and the people wearing swimsuits danced on the song.

Parade of Nations

Following tradition, the host of the previous games,

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

entered first, followed by the rest of the

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an countries competing. Following this, all countries paraded in alphabetical order from their respective regions. After the European countries entered, countries from Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Caribbean, and lastly Oceania marched in. The host nation of Australia entered last. The Parade of Nations track, designed by

Cairns Cairns (; ) is a city in the Cairns Region, Queensland, Australia, on the tropical north east coast of Far North Queensland. In the , Cairns had a population of 153,181 people. The city was founded in 1876 and named after William Cairns, Sir W ...

based Torres Strait Islander visual artist Brian Robinson, was a specially commissioned artwork drawing on indigenous and local culture and mythology, featuring stars, surfboards, sea animals and shells. The young Surf Lifesavers of Australia, popularly called as the "

Nippers Nippers are young surf lifesaving, surf lifesavers, usually aged between 5 and 14 years old, in clubs across Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Unlike senior surf lifesavers, the majority of them do not patrol the beaches. The focus for ...

", escorted the athletes carrying a surfboard bearing the country name. After the parade of Commonwealth Nations, Australian singer Katie Noonan sang "You’re Welcome Here" with playing a piano backed by the Gold Coast Choir. She was also the musical director of the opening and closing ceremonies of the games.

Smoking ceremony

Contemporary aboriginal artist Luther Cora performed a traditional smoking ceremony with his family. The smoking ceremony is an ancient and enduring custom still practiced widely among many Indigenous Australians. It involved burning various native plants to produce smoke. It was mentioned in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' that the meaning of the ceremony was to cleanse oneself by bathing in the smoke and connect with each other and with the land. It was also about connecting with good spirits.

Hoisting of the CGF flag

The Commonwealth Games flag was brought into the stadium by six athletes namely Dominican high jumper Brendan Williams, South African para swimmer Natalie Du Toit (para-sport representative), New Zealand professional racing cyclist

Alison Shanks Alison Shanks (born 13 December 1982) is a retired New Zealand professional racing cyclist, specialising in the individual pursuit and team pursuit in track cycling and individual time trial in road bicycle racing. Prior to that she was an Ota ...

, Canadian high jumper

Nicole Forrester Nicole Wendy Forrester (born 17 November 1976) is a Canadians, Canadian high jumper. She was born in Aurora, Ontario. Her personal best jump is 1.97 metres, achieved in July 2007 in Thessaloniki. Education and career Forrester completed her Ba ...

, retired Scottish rugby union player Colin Gregor and Scottish women's hockey player Rhona Toft. The six athletes were also appointed to the CGF Athlete Advisory Commission on 3 April 2018. Australian singer

John Farnham John Peter Farnham (born 1 July 1949) is a British-born Australian singer. Farnham was a teen pop idol from 1967 until the mid-1970s, billed as Johnny Farnham. He has since forged a career as an adult contemporary singer.McFarlane (1999). Enc ...

's song "

You're the Voice "You're the Voice" is a song recorded by Australian singer John Farnham released in 1986. It became an immediate hit in Australia as well as several European countries including the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was released as a single in Sept ...

" was played when the athletes entered into the stadium with the flag. John Farnham performed the same song at the

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

Oath

Australian lawn bowls athlete Karen Murphy took the athlete's oath, while Australian netball coach Lisa Alexander took the coaches oath and athletics official Desmond Johnston took the officials oath.

Speeches

Chairman of GOLDOC The Hon.

AC gave a speech about the games and welcomed the athletes. After him, President of the CGF

Dame ''Dame'' is a traditionally British honorific title given to women who have been admitted to certain orders of chivalry. It is the female equivalent of ''Sir'', the title used by knights. Baronet, Baronetesses Suo jure, in their own right also u ...

Louise Martin gave a speech about the games. She started her speech by telling about her own experiences when she was an athlete representing Scotland at the 1962 Commonwealth Games in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

. She also stated that the 2018 Commonwealth Games were the first International Multi Sport Event to have equal medal opportunities for both men and women and the first Games to include a Reconciliation Action Plan, respecting and recognising the first nation peoples of the entire Commonwealth. Further she added that the games were the largest fully inclusive para-sport medal events programme ever at a Commonwealth Games; the largest at any international sports event.

Queen's Baton and opening of the games

The

Queen's baton The King's Baton Relay is a relay around the world held prior to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games. The baton carries a message from the Head of the Commonwealth, currently King Charles III. The relay traditionally begins at Buckingham P ...

, which contained the message letter written by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

at the

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

, was brought into the stadium in the kombi van by Australian former swimmer Susie O’Neill AM. She then went to the centre of the stadium. Images and videos of popular Gold Coast attractions were projected on the ground of the stadium such as feeding lorikeets, skydiving, dreaming in the ocean, walking in the treetops, and riding the rollercoaster. After that, she handed over the baton to Australian former cyclist Brad McGee OAM, who took it to Australian wheelchair racer Kurt Fearnley AO. Kurt after parading it around the stadium, handed over to Australian netballer Liz Ellis AO, who then took it to Australian hockey player Brent Livermore OAM. Finally, Brent handed the baton over to Australian hurdler Sally Pearson OAM. She received a large applause from the audience as she lives in Gold Coast. She went to the dais along with the baton and hand it over to Louise Martin. Louise removed the Queen's message from the baton and handed to

HRH Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

. Charles read out the message and declared the competition officially open.

In the end

Australian singer-songwriter

performed her song " Welcome to Earth". After her performance, a large number of people gathered at the stadium and Sigur-Rossy music was played. A large white whale Migaloo shaped balloon was brought into the stadium. Images of Antarctica and the Great Barrier Reef were projected on the whale shaped balloon. The artwork was designed by Delvene Cockatoo-Collins, the artist who also designed the medals for the Games. Australian singer Ruel sang his song "Golden Years" and fireworks exploded on the roof of the stadium. Delta Goodrem's " Together We Are One" remix version single was played after Ruel's performance and a large number of fireworks exploded on the roof of the Carrara stadium and also near

The Star Gold Coast The Star Gold Coast (formerly Jupiters Hotel and Casino) is an integrated resort located in the suburb of Broadbeach, Queensland, Broadbeach on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia. The casino, which was Queensland's ...

hotel.

Music

Katie Noonan, winner of five

, was Musical Director of the opening ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games. The soundtrack was produced by Michael Tan, who was appointed the role of Musical Arranger and Composer. The ceremony featured the performances of singers, orchestras and songs of Australia in order to give an exposure of

Australian music The music of Australia has an extensive history made of music societies. Indigenous Australian music forms a significant part of the unique heritage of a 40,000- to 60,000-year history which produced the iconic didgeridoo. Contemporary fusions o ...

around the world and to showcase the culture of Australia. In the Four Winds segment, Australian singer

and Torres Strait rapper Mau Power covered the song " My Island Home" which was one of the hit songs in Australia in 1995. Australian pop singer

sang "Technicolor Love" during the Surfer's Paradise segment in order to showcase the fun thriving beach life of Gold Coast. During the parade of nations, an orchestral medley of Australian classics were played by the members of the

, Queensland Youth Orchestra and Gold Coast Youth Orchestra which were led by conductor John Foreman. The songs played by the orchestras were

INXS INXS (a phonetic play on "in excess") were an Australian rock band, formed as the Farriss Brothers in 1977 in Sydney. The founding members were bassist Garry Gary Beers, main composer and keyboardist Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, gu ...

's " Need You Tonight",

Men at Work Men at Work are an Australian rock band that was formed in Melbourne, 1979. They were best known for breakthrough hits such as " Down Under", " Who Can It Be Now?", " Be Good Johnny", " Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and ...

's " Down Under", The Church's "

Under The Milky Way "Under the Milky Way" is a single by Australian alternative rock band the Church, released on 15 February 1988, and appears on their fifth studio album ''Starfish''. The song was written by bass guitarist and lead vocalist Steve Kilbey and h ...

Little River Band Little River Band (LRB) are a rock band formed in Melbourne, Australia, in March 1975. The band achieved commercial success in both Australia and the United States. They have sold more than 30 million records; six studio albums reached the top ...

's "

Reminiscing "Reminiscing" is a song by Australian soft rock music group Little River Band, released in June 1978 as the second single from their fourth studio album '' Sleeper Catcher''. The song was written by the band's rhythm guitarist Graeham Goble, a ...

Alex Lloyd Alexander Lloyd (Birth name, né Wasiliev; born 19 September 1974) is an Australian singer and songwriter. Four of his albums, ''Black the Sun'', ''Watching Angels Mend'', ''Distant Light (Alex Lloyd album), Distant Light'' and ''Alex Lloyd (al ...

's " Amazing’’,

The Divinyls Divinyls () were an Australian rock band that were formed in Sydney in 1980. The band primarily consisted of vocalist Chrissy Amphlett and guitarist Mark McEntee. Amphlett garnered widespread attention for performing on stage in a school uni ...

’ " I Touch Myself",

Kylie Minogue Kylie Ann Minogue (; born 28 May 1968) is an Australian singer, songwriter, and actress. Frequently referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Princess of Pop", she has achieved recognition in both the music industry and fas ...

's " Can’t Get You Out of My Head",

Australian Crawl Australian Crawl (often called Aussie Crawl or The Crawl by fans) were an Australian rock band founded by James Reyne (lead vocals/piano/harmonica), Brad Robinson (rhythm guitar), Paul Williams ( bass), Simon Binks (lead guitar) and David ...

's " Reckless" and

Stevie Wright Stephen Carlton Wright (20 December 1947 – 27 December 2015) was an Australian singer, songwriter, and musician. Called Australia's first international pop star, he is best known for being the lead singer of the Easybeats, who are widely rega ...

's " Evie". Katie Noonan performed a song "You’re Welcome Here" after the parade of nations. " You’re The Voice", recorded by Australian singer

and one of the biggest hits in 1986 in Australia was played by the orchestra when the CGF flag was brought into the stadium. Australian pop singer

, winner of nine ARIA music awards, performed the official theme song of the opening ceremony " Welcome to Earth".

Reviews

The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...

'' said "Gold Coast finally welcomed the world to its biggest ever party with a dazzling Commonwealth Games opening ceremony". ''

The New Daily ''The New Daily'' is an online Australian newspaper founded in 2013, and owned by Industry Super Holdings, which represents industry superannuation funds. History ''The New Daily'' was started by AustralianSuper, Cbus and Industry Super Ho ...

'' said the opening ceremony had "wowed" the fans on the Gold Coast. The '' Gold Coast Bulletin'' called the opening ceremony as "dazzling" and "welcomed the world to its biggest ever party". ''

The West Australian ''The West Australian'' is the only locally edited daily newspaper published in Perth, Western Australia. It is owned by Seven West Media (SWM), as is the state's other major newspaper, ''The Sunday Times''. It is the second-oldest continuousl ...

'' said that the "Spirits gone high" in the Gold Coast after the opening ceremony. The SBS called the ceremony as "dazzling" and the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

said that the opening ceremony had "signaled great start for the 2018 Commonwealth Games". Foreign reaction was overwhelmingly positive. The

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

said the 2018 Commonwealth Games started with a "colorful" and "spectacular" opening ceremony. The ''

London Evening Standard The ''London Standard'', formerly the ''Evening Standard'' (1904–2024) and originally ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), is a long-established regional newspaper published weekly and distributed free of charge in London, England. It is print ...

'' said the games began with a "spectacular opening ceremony paying tribute to region's Aboriginal history." ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'' reported "Gold Coast Commonwealth Games began with every symbol of

Australiana Australiana is anything pertaining to Australian culture, society, geography and ecology, especially if it is endemic to Australia or has reached iconic status. It includes people, places, flora, fauna and events of Australian origins. Austr ...

". The ''

Firstpost Firstpost is an Indian news website owned by Network18 Group, which also runs CNN-News18 and CNBC TV18. It has posted misinformation on multiple occasions. The Network 18 group was originally owned by Raghav Bahl. In January 2012, the gro ...

'' said "Opening ceremony of Commonwealth Games 2018 celebrates indigenous culture, beaches and diversity". ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

'' provided live updates of the ceremony in their official website and at the end commented "What a spectacular welcome Gold Coast has given to the participating teams!". ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' said "...the opening ceremony of the XXI Commonwealth Games on Wednesday night was painted with colour and gaiety....". They also commented "The pageant showcased the Australian tradition and culture in all its glory". The

CNN Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable ne ...

reported "Commonwealth Games' opening ceremony celebrates Australia's Indigenous culture". However, the CNN also commented that the Commonwealth Games are regarded as an enduring reminder of British imperialism. As it was raining for few minutes at the beginning of the opening ceremony, the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part of Torstar's Daily News Brands (Torstar), Daily News Brands division. ...

'' noticed and commented "Commonwealth Games begin after rain drenches spectators at Gold Coast opening ceremony".

Technical aspects

Norwest productions was the official audio supplier for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games. A large optocore fibre network was used for site-wide signal distribution by the company. Stagekings, a

Sutherland Shire Sutherland Shire is a local government area (LGA) in the southern region of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Sutherland Shire is located approximately south-southwest of the Sydney CBD, and comprises an area of . As at the ...

company provided the sets and staging for the opening ceremony. The company constructed most of the structures, from the speech stages, flag stages, the sand centre-piece, the sand surround (compete with smoke effect and light ring), the parade path, mobile lifeguard tower, the beach showers, lecterns, the Royal Box, Migaloo's buggy, even the glowing globe that Jack Thompson used to open the show.

based Torres Strait Islander visual artist Brian Robinson designed the Parade Track in the Carrara stadium.

Controversy

Some 15,000 tickets for the event had the wrong day printed on them (Thursday), instead of the correct date (Wednesday).

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, Sports, Queensland, Australia

Opening Ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

Commonwealth Games opening ceremonies Ceremonies in Australia Articles containing video clips

Preparations

Dignitaries in attendance

Proceedings

Countdown

Hello Earth

Four Winds

Welcome of dignitaries

Totem ceremony

Surfer’s Paradise

Parade of Nations

Smoking ceremony

Hoisting of the CGF flag

Oath

Speeches

Queen's Baton and opening of the games

In the end

Music

Reviews

Technical aspects

Controversy

See also

References

External links