Commonwealth Games opening ceremony delivers welcome dose of sporting innocence
Nobody can argue with any conviction that the Commonwealth Games represent the apogee of athletic endeavour. This is a spectacle where the lawn bowls team from Niue, a tiny lump of coral in the south Pacific, is captained by the nation’s 54-year-old premier, and where the delegation from Norfolk Island features a sixth-generation descendant of the mutiny on HMS Bounty.
It is roughly what a repertory theatre production of the Olympics might look like.
Pole vaulters from the Isle of Man, swimmers from St Helena, beach volleyballers from Tuvalu: it is the strangest of smorgasbords here in Birmingham, a tutorial in the last vestiges of empire. And yet this opening ceremony felt, in its eccentric way, like a timely expression of sporting purity.
For here were 5,000 athletes congregating solely for the Corinthian enterprise of it all, conscious that in 11 days’ time, their names might never be heard again.
If this sounds utopian, then that is because idealism in sport has taken a battering of late. Across the Atlantic, Donald Trump was hosting a golf series glorifying £40 million signing-on fees and £100,000 cheques for last-place finishes. Up the M6, Cristiano Ronaldo was sulking about having to abase himself at Manchester United for another season on £360,000 a week.
It all looks profoundly ugly when juxtaposed with the story of Cyrille Tchatchet, the weightlifter competing for England after eight years of homelessness and depression, or the struggle of Tayamika Chang’anamuno, dropped from the three-strong Malawi swim team because her federation could only afford plane tickets for two.
There is an appetite this summer for sport uncorrupted by money or greed. It is a key reason why the Lionesses have been so rapturously embraced en route to their European final at Wembley on Sunday. Many of their players have gone through years of being ignored or undervalued. Some in the Women’s Super League are still scraping by on £25,000 a year. But they have, without a trace of hubris or conceit, contributed to a moment of true national euphoria.
The Commonwealths promise to deliver a similarly escapist rush. At a time when everybody is dreading an avalanche of financial calamity, there is a certain joyous diversion to be found in watching sprinters from Kiribati or boxers from Papua New Guinea. It might be tempting to scoff that it is all inconsequential, that there are more pressing issues, but that is precisely the point. These Games revel in being a theatre of the gloriously absurd.
Even Thursday night’s ceremony at the Alexander Stadium, where athletes paraded around a giant mechanical bull signifying this proud industrial city, followed some bizarre scripting. What other event could possibly fit Malala Yousafzai and Lenny Henry on the same bill? Steven Knight, the Peaky Blinders creator and artistic mastermind behind this show, also found a novel way of introducing the Prince of Wales, arranging for him to arrive in his own blue Aston Martin – the same DB6 model that he received from the Queen on his 21st birthday.
It is a less gas-guzzling machine these days, Charles having converted the car into an eco-friendly model that runs on ethanol made from cheese and wine. There was much of this earnest messaging on display in Birmingham.
Tom Daley, involved in the baton relay despite not being an active competitor, explained how he wanted to use his appearance to draw attention to homophobia across the Commonwealth.
You do wonder if such activism is doomed to fail on such a stage. There are countries involved here whose values never have, and never will, align with Daley’s. Take Eswatini, formerly Swaziland, a nation whose absolute monarch, King Mswati III, has 15 wives and empowers himself to choose more from an annual parade of virgins. But its 12 athletes were still cheered as vociferously as any other.
Naturally, Australia, the traditional powerhouse, is still approaching its task with the utmost seriousness. In swimming, they have even prioritised the Commonwealths above the worlds, so determined are they to marmalise English opposition in the pool. This win-at-all-costs mindset filters through to their health protocols: it was only a last-minute dispensation that enabled their athletes to join this ceremony at all. Horrified by the hosts’ new-found laissez-faire attitude to the pandemic, they continue to mandate that all competitors wear masks, both inside and out.
No such strictures were in force for anybody else. This was a ceremony that prioritised a party ambience, the voice of the host, Birmingham comedian Shazia Mirza, frequently lost against the relentless, booming soundtrack.
Sometimes, the efforts at symbolism looked more than slightly forced. What was the role of Stella and the Dreamers, the central protagonists, supposed to be? Did we really need to hear that Stella and her cohort “recognise that this is Birmingham’s time for transformation” or that they “heal the hurt as the bull is revealed as a symbol of light and love”? At the Commonwealths, it pays not to ask too many questions. Little about these Games makes much intrinsic sense. It is a stubborn relic of an imperial past, to which most of its audience are happily oblivious. But it is, fundamentally, a source of innocent distraction. It would take a hard-hearted soul, at this of all moments, to deny anyone that pleasure.
Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony: As it happened
10:31 PM
Duran Duran finishing with Ordinary World
The air has gone out of Simon Le Bon's quiff over the decades, like a collapsed souffle.
And that brings the entertainment to the close. Let the Games begin!
10:26 PM
Duran Duran are closing the show
Sounds like a medley of their greatest hits starting with Save a Prayer and Planet Earth.
10:23 PM
The passing of the torch featuring Tom Daley, Max Whitlock and Denise Lewis
10:19 PM
The passing of the torch
The Baton passes from Tom Daley to hockey player Alex Danson, table tennis player Kim Daybell, boxer Galal Yafai, gymnast Max Whitlock, and former heptathlete Denise Lewis.
Daley ran ahead of a group of flags which symbolised the commonwealth nations in which homosexuality is still illegal.
10:02 PM
Team England
10:00 PM
Team Wales
09:59 PM
Team Scotland's arrival
09:51 PM
The nations emerging now: starting with Northern Ireland
09:41 PM
Mark Cavendish the flag bearer for the Isle of Man
It's my third Commonwealth Games, the first two I couldn't even come to the opening ceremony. My kids are at home watching. We're just a small island and everyone knows each other, it's super nice.
09:35 PM
Some of tonight's entertainment
The Birmingham Royal Ballet and Brummie dance group Critical Mass bring to life a dance that signifies the restoration of the city's iconic library and its famous canals. #B2022 pic.twitter.com/idheA3sS52
— Birmingham 2022 (@birminghamcg22) July 28, 2022
09:33 PM
Team India: One of the biggest cheers of the night
09:31 PM
Team Tonga
09:28 PM
Team New Zealand
09:27 PM
Team South Africa
09:19 PM
Australia topped the medal table last time out
09:17 PM
Ghana's arrival
09:17 PM
Team Samoa
09:14 PM
One of the key messages of tonight's ceremony
💬"As we watch incredible athletes of the Commonwealth Games, each child deserves the chance to reach their full potential and pursue their wildest dreams."
A very special and poignant address from @Malala at the Opening Ceremony.#B2022 | #CommonwealthSport pic.twitter.com/b2s7OuxZQv— Birmingham 2022 (@birminghamcg22) July 28, 2022
09:13 PM
We are now on to the African countries
I never knew Malawi had the lowest high-point of any country in the world.
09:09 PM
Some news via Kate Rowan:
A number of commercial flights had to go into a holding pattern before landing at Birmingham International Airport this evening due to the Red Arrows’ fly over. One of the flights impacted was coming from Dublin. The Republic of Ireland is not part of the Commonwealth, so the captain was caught off guard thinking the Games did not start until tomorrow.
09:04 PM
There's team Scotland
4️⃣ Villages
1️⃣ Team Scotland 💙🏴 pic.twitter.com/Z3KHZEJZEv— Team Scotland (@Team_Scotland) July 28, 2022
08:56 PM
Sir Lenny Henry takes the floor now
It looks like we will soon be transitioning to the athletes assembly shortly.
We start with nations of Oceania.
08:46 PM
The bull features again
This sequence featured the giant animal and female dancers breaking free of chains, to represent "emancipation from oppression".
08:38 PM
The athletes are preparing to come out
The @birminghamcg22 Commonwealth Games is underway! 🙌
Good luck to all the athletes taking part in the games, but first, time to sit back and enjoy the opening ceremony 🎆📸#B2022 | @DCMS | @LottoGoodCauses pic.twitter.com/aopdw6sY2s— UK Sport (@uk_sport) July 28, 2022
08:36 PM
We now move on to the Industrial Revolution
A celebration of Birmingham's history of manufacturing.
A series of floats are on parade displaying some of the objects that were first manufactured in the city.
08:26 PM
Prince Charles arriving in an Aston Martin
08:23 PM
More of the pomp...
08:22 PM
Some historical figures featuring in the opening ceremony
Composer Edward Elgar, as well as Enlightenment figures Joseph Priestly, Josiah Wedgwood and Matthew Boulton - members of the famous Lunar Society. There was also a nod to Samuel Johnson, compiler of the first ever English dictionary.
08:15 PM
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall are in the arena
The national anthem has just been sung by a performer standing in the back of a old Land Rover.
08:12 PM
Now we have a procession of cars
Residents of the west midlands are driving 72 cars into the stadium as a symbol of Birmingham's role as the centre of the British car industry. Or what's left of it...
08:08 PM
The concept here is houses from across the Commonwealth floating to Birmingham
There are 72 houses to represent the 72 nations involved.
08:03 PM
The ceremony proper has begun
It begins will a call to gather by a man with an African sakara drum.
07:56 PM
More from Denise Lewis
Diversity and inclusivity are at the heart of Team England and what the Commonwealth Games represents. To have that as the new normal is the way forward.
07:47 PM
Where are the events being held?
The revamped Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr hosts tonight's ceremony and the athletics. Other events are spread around the West Midlands including swimming at the purpose-built Sandwell Aquatics Centre. Some cycling events will be held at the Lee Valley VeloPark in London.
07:37 PM
The Commonwealth Games mascot Perry the Bull
07:36 PM
Max Whitlock on missing the Games
I'm absolutely gutted to miss a home games. I needed to take 10 months off after Tokyo - if Tokyo had been when it should have been in 2020 then I would have been fine.
07:29 PM
Denise Lewis on the volunteers
Over 40,000 volunteers wanted to be part of this and that says a lot. It just tells me how popular these games are and how many people from the region want to be associated. It's their legacy as well, not just the athletes competing.
07:28 PM
'And who will you be supporting then?'
07:11 PM
The crowd are already in their seats
07:09 PM
A celebration of Birmingham to begin with
A healthy dollop of Cillian Murphy and Peaky Blinders as you can imagine. A place of "industry and innovation" says BBC presenter Clare Balding on the second city, before Lenny Henry rhapsodises about carrying the torch through the city centre.
07:02 PM
The television coverage is just starting on BBC
Eyes down for the title sequence: canals (tick), Ozzy Osbourne (tick), Lenny Henry (tick), a bull (tick)...
06:56 PM
England's official flag bearers this evening
Tom Daley (Diving)
Kim Daybell (Para Table Tennis)
Max Whitlock (Gymnastics)
Galal Yafai (Boxing)
Alex Danson (Hockey)
06:46 PM
The Prince of Wales meets members of Jamaica's team
03:55 PM
The eyes of the world are on Birmingham
Good evening and welcome to our live coverage of the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony from Birmingham.
As you might expect, proceedings this evening a distinctly local flavour, with Peaky Blinders creator Steven Knight producing the show, and bands such as Duran Duran and Black Sabbath featuring.
Over the next 11 days more than 5,000 athletes from 72 nations will compete in 280 events across 19 sports. Cyclist Laura Kenny and swimmer Adam Peaty will be some of the main attractions for the home crowd, as will recently crowned 100m world champion Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce of Jamaica.
Games organisers say they are on track for record ticket sales for a Commonwealth Games.
We're on track as we sit here today to be the largest Commonwealth Games in the UK, certainly in terms of ticket sales," said the local organising committee's chief executive Ian Reid
"We've just recently overtaken the last edition (on the Gold Coast) and I believe this morning's report put us pretty close to 1.3 million tickets sold and in the next couple of days we should have overtaken Glasgow (2014)'s ticket sales as well.
"There's definitely a huge appetite in the city. We have one of the largest sports programmes, so not every session is sold out, but history would tell us that there will be a huge uptake in tickets during the event itself both online and through multiple box offices.
"So we are very much hoping we will be at capacity or near capacity for the majority of sports."
The host nation's medal hopes were dealt a blow on Wednesday when sprinter Dina Asher-Smith withdrew from the Games.
Asher-Smith had broken her British record to finish fourth in the World 100m final last week and won a bronze medal in the 200m.
But the 26-year-old pulled up during the 4x100m relay with a hamstring injury which has forced her to miss out.
