Gamesbids Livechat: Opening Ceremony Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

[Bear]

what a weird (but in a good way) ceremony, really fun and enjoyable. loved the contrast between the chaotic segments and the emotional ending to the main artistic segment with the bull

well done, birmingham

[yoshi]

Well that was fun, if weird. Good to see the city centre feature at the end. Nice sequence with Max and the baton too, always good to see a baton run with some genuine danger . Denise completely the right choice for the final runner too. I hope wherever they put the bull in the end is nice and prominent, it's seriously impressive and it'll be a very good landmark for Birmingham. Bring on the games

[Rob2012]

15 minutes ago, Ikarus360 said:

First ceremony which truly feels pre-2020 now.

Yes, unexpectedly cathartic and not a little emotional watching that.

[Alexjc]

 Wow,

That was really enjoyable!!!

The Commonwealth got it's mojo back.

And yes I get the symbolism of the first sizable event that has made it past the Global Pandemic.

I think these Game could end up being the best so far...

[Victorian]

Loved the car display forming the union jack. Great subtle tribute to Prince Philip and acknowledgment of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Also loved that Prince Charles drove himself into the stadium- classic! The national anthem was amazing! The dancing on the water was also well done. The Bull was also magnificent following on from Matilda, the flying tram, and Migaloo. The ‘QBR steps’ were also quite clever too. The team signs being unique was also a nice touch. 

 

Would have liked to see more of the British pomp like marching bands. Surprised too because I saw Sweat Caroline and Mr Blue Sky in rehearsal clips but no feature in the actual ceremony. Think the CGF needs to get an anthem for the flag raising. The English flag didn’t raised nor did Australia as host of the previous and next Commonwealth Games. Duran Duran were underwhelming. 

 

Was better than Gold Coast’s probably not as good as Glasgow and London’s though. 

[Victorian]

24 minutes ago, Victorian said:

Loved the car display forming the union jack. Great subtle tribute to Prince Philip and acknowledgment of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee. Also loved that Prince Charles drove himself into the stadium- classic! The national anthem was amazing! The dancing on the water was also well done. The Bull was also magnificent following on from Matilda, the flying tram, and Migaloo. The ‘QBR steps’ were also quite clever too. The team signs being unique was also a nice touch. 

 

Would have liked to see more of the British pomp like marching bands. Surprised too because I saw Sweat Caroline and Mr Blue Sky in rehearsal clips but no feature in the actual ceremony. Think the CGF needs to get an anthem for the flag raising. The English flag didn’t raised nor did Australia as host of the previous and next Commonwealth Games. Duran Duran were underwhelming. 

 

Was better than Gold Coast’s probably not as good as Glasgow and London’s though. 

Hear My Voice was also a lovely song 

[BigVic]

Good job Brum. No "Imagine" and Fencing 1976. Felt like a normal ceremony after the letdowns of Tokyo and Beijing

[TorchbearerSydney]

I really enjoyed that- thought it had heart, creativity, humour and spectacle....such an interesting contrast to the beach resort ceremony of the Gold Coast (which was great too).

They invested a lot in that ceremony too- in staging, props, performers, fireworks, and the ceremony was better for it.

I guess Victoria26 next time will be another interesting contrast- the Australian countryside, the Goldrush, the Chinese and Rebellion....

[Olympian1010]

I quite enjoyed the ceremony as well. Mechanical bull was by far the highlight, though I did really like the whimsical hot air balloon segement as well. Also, shoutout to the athletes who really brought some energy to the parade of nations.

[Australian Kiwi]

6 hours ago, JMarkSnow2012 said:

Blimey, almost a Barcelona 1992 vibe with those giant puppets

Evening the score for Birmingham 1992?

Like Melbourne 2006 using an Atlanta 1996 ramp for the athletes. 

[Australian Kiwi]

This has been a great Ceremony from what I've seen. As others have said it is genuinely a better production/ more engaging than recent Olympic ceremonies (Rio, PyeongChang, Tokyo, Beijing 22). I can see a strong influence from London 2012 - but this is a good thing (not to mention a better concept than what Glasgow put up in 2014 - a World Vision advertisement). 

Probably my favourite CWG ceremony since Melbourne and Manchester. 

[Australian Kiwi]

4 hours ago, Ikarus360 said:

Very anticlimatic entrance of the Queen's Baton if you ask me.

It always tends to be. But what else can you do? 
Even though the form of the baton has taken the look of an Olympic torch since the 1970s, I at least respect that the Commonwealth Games has stuck by its own, authentic tradition and not mimicked the Olympic torch like all the other tier-2 multisport events have. 

[Australian Kiwi]

3 hours ago, Victorian said:

 

 

Was better than Gold Coast’s probably not as good as Glasgow and London’s though. 

Clearly not on par with London - but I thought it was vastly better than Glasgow (and I say that as someone with Scottish heritage and a healthy distrust of the English!)

Also thought it to be relatively better than Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Taking Manchester 2002, London 2012 and Birmingham 2022 on balance I think its safe to say that the poms know how to put on an outstanding show. Well done. 

[Australian Kiwi]

1 hour ago, TorchbearerSydney said:

I really enjoyed that- thought it had heart, creativity, humour and spectacle....such an interesting contrast to the beach resort ceremony of the Gold Coast (which was great too).

They invested a lot in that ceremony too- in staging, props, performers, fireworks, and the ceremony was better for it.

I guess Victoria26 next time will be another interesting contrast- the Australian countryside, the Goldrush, the Chinese and Rebellion....

Yes - these themes are certainly ones to watch and frankly what I thought was missing in 2006. I've always thought that the Gold Rush would have been a huge element of Melbourne's 1996 ceremony. 

[TorchbearerSydney]

Q: Yes - these themes are certainly ones to watch and frankly what I thought was missing in 2006. I've always thought that the Gold Rush would have been a huge element of Melbourne's 1996 ceremony.

 

I was at the Melbourne Ceremony, it had scale, it was lavish, but it managed somehow to have no story to tell.

The Goldrush is a biggie, which led to the Marvellous Melbourne era, when Melbourne was the richest city on Earth...yet no mention. Melbourne had a World Expo, was Australian Capital 1901-27, hosted an Olympics- no mention.

The fireworks were spectacular though- and I still felt I got my moneys worth.

[PikyoK]

I thought the ceremony was good! I loved the dancing, fireworks and representation of Birmingham's industry and multiculturalism. The fireworks at the end was spectacular. Enjoyable ceremony.

[Australian Kiwi]

I've had more time to think about it since watching it this morning - I've got to say its probably the best Commonwealth ceremony ever on balance. I'd also go as far as saying that it could hold its own against many of the recent Olympic ceremonies. It was emotional, and it had heart. I also dare say it had a more coherent and clearly executed narrative compared to London 2012. 

Birmingham 2022 is a case in point in an excellent ceremony that is bold without being obnoxiously over the top.

[JMarkSnow2012]

6 hours ago, Australian Kiwi said:

Evening the score for Birmingham 1992?

Like Melbourne 2006 using an Atlanta 1996 ramp for the athletes. 

Yes, I did wonder that myself at some random point during the athletes' parade!

[JMarkSnow2012]

5 hours ago, TorchbearerSydney said:

The Goldrush is a biggie, which led to the Marvellous Melbourne era, when Melbourne was the richest city on Earth...yet no mention. Melbourne had a World Expo, was Australian Capital 1901-27, hosted an Olympics- no mention.

Understandable though, given that it was pretty much all downhill for Melbourne (and up to the skies for Sydney) after 1956 ...

[TorchbearerSydney]

Q: Understandable though, given that it was pretty much all downhill for Melbourne (and up to the skies for Sydney) after 1956 ...

 

Melbourne is a much more liveable, and affordable city than city. It has much better public institutions like galleries and museums, better public transport and urban amenity. It will be Australia's largest city with five years.

Sydney is becoming a grid locked city run by property developers...

[TorchbearerSydney]

than Sydney..

Not to mention its sporting infrastructure and events.

[JMarkSnow2012]

6 hours ago, Australian Kiwi said:

Clearly not on par with London - but I thought it was vastly better than Glasgow (and I say that as someone with Scottish heritage and a healthy distrust of the English!)

Also thought it to be relatively better than Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020. Taking Manchester 2002, London 2012 and Birmingham 2022 on balance I think its safe to say that the poms know how to put on an outstanding show. Well done. 

I agree about the Glasgow comparison- much though I loved the wee doggies.

29 minutes ago, Australian Kiwi said:

I've had more time to think about it since watching it this morning - I've got to say its probably the best Commonwealth ceremony ever on balance. I'd also go as far as saying that it could hold its own against many of the recent Olympic ceremonies. It was emotional, and it had heart. I also dare say it had a more coherent and clearly executed narrative compared to London 2012. 

Birmingham 2022 is a case in point in an excellent ceremony that is bold without being obnoxiously over the top.

Certainly up in the Top 3- but I'd suggest that one reason why it appeared to have "a more coherent and clearly executed narrative compared to London 2012" was because the commentators were told what the narrative was, and encouraged to explain everything. 2012 had two elegant parallel timelines, of world-changing progress seen through different generations living in Britain (as in "This is for everyone"), and of stages in the lives of parents & childen (as in "Inspire a Generation"), but spectators were left to figure that out for themselves.

[JMarkSnow2012]

7 minutes ago, TorchbearerSydney said:

Melbourne is a much more liveable, and affordable city than city. It has much better public institutions like galleries and museums, better public transport and urban amenity. It will be Australia's largest city with five years.

Sydney is becoming a grid locked city run by property developers...

Urban areas get to be "much more liveable, and affordable" by being less attractive to capitalists than to politicians

[Sir Rols]

Finally caught up with it.

Nice to see a ceremony again that didn’t forget to be entertaining, showcased some memorable visuals and theatre, kept the music mostly upbeat and lively, and had it’s solemn moments but didn’t let those overshadow the levity.

Pay attention IOC, see how these things are so much better when they’re joyous.

[Rob2012]

That's exactly it (I've run out of reactions for today otherwise I'd give that a big LIKE).

It feels like the IOC has disappeared too far up its own bum when it comes to these things.

And Birmingham has just wiped away any excuses in one stroke - you don't need an enormous budget to do this, and you can make solemn points about human rights, homophobia or whatever else you choose to use the platform for without sacrificing the entertainment.

So...next time we see an overly solemn ceremony, we know it's a dreary choice of the organisers.