LET THE GAMES BEGIN
OPENING CEREMONY COVERAGE
GOLDEN girl Sally Pearson played a starring role as the Gold Coast finally welcomed the world to its biggest ever party with a dazzling Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony last night.
The Olympic and world champion hurdler, who was overlooked for the flag- bearer role in favour of hockey veteran Mark Knowles, had the honour of handing the Queen’s Baton to Prince Charles as the Coast’s big moment finally arrived.
The Glitter Strip dazzled on the world stage as stars, real and imagined, lit up Carrara Stadium for the Games opening ceremony.
A “starfield” of 7000 LED lights created a perfect night sky inside the stadium as stars including Pearson and pop princesses Delta Goodrem and Ricki- Lee Coulter shone on an overcast and breezy evening.
Hundreds of spectators trying to get to the stadium had earlier been left stranded without buses in an apparent transport bungle.
More than a decade after the State Government launched its bid for the Games, Queensland’s biggest- ever event finally began in front of a 35,000- strong crowd, including Prince Charles and wife Camilla, and an estimated 1.5 billion television viewers worldwide.
The 140- minute spectacular on a central sandy stage featured more than 2500 performers, 4500 athletes and almost 50 tonnes of special effects equipment.
Aboriginal themes dominated the ceremony on a day when indigenous protesters blocked the Queen’s Baton on the Southport Spit on its final relay journey to Carrara.
The ceremony featured a didgeridoo orchestra, dramatic performance by the acclaimed Bangarra dancers and a traditional smoking ceremony.
In a fun- filled contrast to the dramatic but deeply spiritual indigenous scenes, the centre of the stadium was transformed into a mock Surfers Paradise beach complete with umbrellas, deck chairs, beach toy- playing kids, a surf school, sunbathers, lifesavers and even beach showers.
Countries were called into the stadium by lifeguards in a genuine Gold Coast patrol tower, and the athletes marched in to iconic anthems by Australian artists including INXS, Midnight Oil, John Farnham and Olivia- Newton John, performed by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and Queensland Youth Orchestra.
A huge roar from the crowd signalled the arrival of the Australian team to the strains of Evie, by 1970s Aussie rock legend Stevie Wright.
In another moving moment, images of everyday Queenslanders singing the national anthem – including Great Barrier Reef divers, CWA ladies from Warwick, a new Brisbane mum with her newborn child, and Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary workers – were beamed on to the stadium’s big screens.
In a golden moment before she goes for Games gold in the 100m hurdles next week, Pearson handed the baton to Prince Charles as the crowd erupted.
Prince Charles said it was fitting that the Commonwealth Games were known as the “Friendly Games ... as one of the world’s friendliest countries has invited us into their homes for this momentous sporting event”.