They ticked the box for inclusion and diversity but yes, I don’t think that was the best showcase to the world. I felt a little underwhelmed, I guess its what happens when a regional town gets the games and not the city of the state. When you compare Sydney 2000 Olympics and 2006 Comm Games, the technology, lighting and creativity definitely blew us out of the water at the time. Gold Coast in comparison was very simple and nowhere near as memorable in my opinion…
I imagine they will be bring out all of the big musical acts for the Closing Ceremony!
Great coverage by 7 though!
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I am very impressed with the opening ceremony. The female stadium announcer did a wonderful job too.
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I couldn’t disagree more. The announcer was not great. And those guys announcing the nations 
what was that?
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Interesting. Olympic Games Opening Ceremony is still iconic and have many memories from it. I cannot recall one thing I saw at the Melbourne Comm Games, to be honest.
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The live telecast finished at 11.11pm AEST.
Trying to make the opening ceremony more casual than the Olympic Games?
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Flying tram
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Now that you mention it. Yes.
If you rattled off a few more, I’m sure i’d remember them, but I can’t recall them without being prompted.
Have a flick through and compare it to what you just saw 
Even the fireworks at the end 12 years ago seemed more impressive!
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There were parts that felt like an over the top high school production, but it’s the commonwealth games, not the olympics.It started off a bit rough, but got better towards the end.
Just looking at the Melbourne Games, yes they were on a different level. But I’m sure a lot more money was invested into them coming off the back of Sydney.
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I just looked that up funnily enough. The games for Melbourne cost 1.1 billion. Gold Coast is expected to have cost $2billion
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If true… then wow!! Really?
The stadium announcer was actually radio announcer Bern Young - from the ABC Gold Coast breakfast program.
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Slightly off-topic, but (maybe because I’m sorta biased) I thought Sydney’s 2000 opening ceremony was alright, but Beijing was the best Olympics opening ceremony this century.
Tonight’s opening ceremony, on the other hand (As far as Commonwealth Games opening ceremonies are concerned), wasn’t as exciting as Melbourne 2006, but it wasn’t too bad either. Seven did a good job (rare for them to do so these days).
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Biggest tick for me was Bruce McAvaney calling the flag bearing with Tamsyn Manou.
Stark contrast to Basil Zempilas and Pyeongchang 2018!
Joh Griggs and Nathan Templeton did really good jobs tonight, as well as Hamish during post coverage.
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Do you think so?
While Ricki-Lee sang about a “technicolour love” all I saw were a bunch of young hot thin white people. When Katie Noonan sang we are Australian, I’m pretty sure the singers that joined her on stage were mostly caucasian. Same story with the kids holding the paddle boards bringing out the athletes. For a games that incorporates the para-sports into the main program, I didn’t see a single non-abled body person feature anywhere in the ceremony. Less relevant, but I saw a comment on Twitter pointing out the lack of inclusion with the “Ladies and Gentleman, boys and girls” announcement.
Sure, there was a heavy focus on Indigenous culture, but when it came down to the actual opportunities for inclusion, showing the world how diverse we are in more of the ‘everyday roles’ and where it actually counted, I personally don’t think it ticked any boxes. I’d love to be proved wrong with some screen caps, but most of the comments of the people I was watching with, and what I saw on Twitter, were the opposite of this sentiment.
All sang in one voice.
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It’s very strange to hear the hosts and commentators keep referring to “Carrara Stadium” when the name hasn’t been used since the Brisbane Bears played there in the late 80s/early 90s. I’m guessing they aren’t allowed to use the official name “Metricon Stadium” for some sort of contractual reason?
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Will have been a stipulation of hosting rights contract that all stadiums are “clean”, from usual sponsors, Billboards and other signage that is usually at the ground.
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DAY 1
THURSDAY 5 APRIL 2018
Get ready for a gold rush on night one
Can our Aussies scoop the pool? Champions Mack Horton, the Campbell sisters and Emma McKeon lead the charge
The race is on for the first medals of the Games in Triathlon
Our Women’s Hockey and Netball teams take centre stage
FIRST COMMONWEALTH CHAMPIONS CROWNED
SNAPSHOT: The race is on for the first medals of the Commonwealth Games in Triathlon, plus medal action in Swimming (incl. Women’s 4x100m Freestyle, Men’s 400m Freestyle), Track Cycling (incl. Team Pursuit), Gymnastics (Men’s Team Final), and the Aussie Diamonds get their Netball campaign underway.
AUSSIE HEADLINERS: Olympic Champions Mack Horton and Cate and Bronte Campbell, Emma McKeon (Swimming); Men’s and Women’s Team Pursuit (Track Cycling); Jake Birtwhistle, Ashleigh Gentle, Charlotte McShane (Triathlon) - check start lists for all the Aussies and late changes
AUSSIE TEAM EVENTS: Women’s Hockey AUS vs Canada (4.30pm AEST); Netball AUS vs Northern Ireland (8.30pm AEST)
INTERNATIONAL WATCH: Alistair and Jonathan Brownlee (Triathlon- England); Adam Peaty (Swimming- England)
MEDAL EVENTS: 19
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