2010 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony

The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium hosted the opening ceremony and also hosted the closing ceremony of the Games

2010 Commonwealth Games

The opening ceremony of the 2010 Commonwealth Games was held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the main stadium of the event, in New Delhi, India. It began at 7:00 PM (IST) on 3 October 2010 ending at 10:00 PM (IST) displaying India's varied culture in a plethora of cultural showcases.

Guests of Honour

The Prince of Wales (representing Elizabeth II as Head of the Commonwealth) officially declared the Games open jointly with President of India Pratibha Patil.[1] Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of the host nation, India, attended the opening ceremony as well.

A total of three heads of state from outside India attended the opening ceremony; two from Commonwealth nations and one from a non-Commonwealth nation. The three head of states are Mohamed Nasheed, President of the Maldives, Marcus Stephen, President of Nauru and a multiple Commonwealth gold medallist, and Albert II, Prince of Monaco, a former Olympian, whose country Monaco is not a member of the Commonwealth.[2] Sir Anand Satyanand, the Governor General of New Zealand (the first of Indian descent), attended the ceremony as well.[3]

Alongside the Commonwealth president, attendees included International Olympic Committee president, Jacques Rogge. He was quoted as saying "I think India has set a good foundation stone for the Olympics bid and a successful Commonwealth Games can help India mount a serious bid for the Olympics."[4]

Programme

The opening ceremony featured aspects of India's heritage and culture in seven segments. It featured an aerostat costing U$8 million,[5] measuring 40×80x12 meters and manufactured in Oswestry, England.[6] The original plan was to have drummers on the aerostat, but the plan was cancelled.[6]

Rhythm of India

The countdown for the opening of commonwealth games start as the drums were being played, and fireworks exploded from the roof of the stadium. Various Drummers from Kerala, Manipur, Karnataka, Orissa, Punjab and Meghalaya played a symphony that aimed to be "uniquely Indian in character, yet global in appeal".

Swagatham

Hariharan led this segment, which created an amalgamation of Hindustani classical, Carnatic and folk music. The song was composed by A. R. Rahman, who also composed the official theme song of the games, and was performed by various artists along with Hariharan. Children from various Delhi schools participated in a simultaneous performance forming hands of an Indian woman in a pose of Namaste - a popular Indian salutation. Later, they separated and rearranged themselves in another formation representing the Indian flag colors of saffron, white and green while another group of children entered the stadium and covered the flag formations with a large white cloth. In a widely appreciated act, the children then made a mehndi - a traditional Indian art - on this large white piece of cloth in under 30 seconds on the spot.

Tree Of Knowledge

Pt. Birju Maharaj (Kathak), Guru Rajkumar Singhajit Singh-Charu Sija Mathur (Manipuri), Dr. Saroja Vaidyanathan (Bharatnatyam), Dr. Sonal Mansingh (Odissi), Bharati Shivaji (Mohiniattam) and Raja Reddy-Radha Reddy (Kuchipudi) choreographed 480 dancers bringing alive India's "Guru-Shishya Parampara" or the master-protege tradition on stage through classical dance recitals which also depicted four different seasons of India. The aerostat (the largest ever helium balloon built for such an event) formed the leaves of the Bodhi tree, while large strips elevated from the ground, made of silk and bamboo fibre form the tree trunk.

The Great Indian Journey

This segment will give a glimpse of the lives of the masses in India, as seen through a train window. Art director Omung Kumar created a 600-ft train of bamboo sticks for this. It portrayed a common man's life and every thing in it, such as the bangle shops, politicians campaigning, Bollywood, the cycle shop etc.

Finale

A.R. Rahman ended the programme with his rendition of "Jiyo Utho Bado Jeeto", the theme song of the Delhi games, and "Jai Ho".[7][8][9]

List of national flag bearers

Australia entered first as the host of the last games, and India entered last as the host. Excluding these two nations, the flag bearers entered by alphabetical order of their nations; Anguilla was the first (after Australia) and Zambia was the last (before India). Each flag bearer was preceded by a woman in traditional Indian dress, each reflecting a different part of the country, carrying a placard with the country's name.

Cyclist Ross Edgar carried Scotland's flag in the opening ceremony
The flag bearer for the Kenyan team was World steeplechase champion Ezekiel Kemboi
Table tennis star Feng Tianwei carried the Singaporean flag
Marcus Stephen, winner of seven Commonwealth Games gold medals, attended the ceremony in his position as President of Nauru
Order Nation Flag bearer Sport Total Athletes
1  Australia (AUS) McMahon, SharelleSharelle McMahon[10] Netball 377
2  Anguilla (ANG) Bryan, RonnieRonnie Bryan Cycling12
3  Antigua and Barbuda (ANT) Grayman, JamesJames Grayman[11] Athletics17
4  Bahamas (BAH) Knowles, ValentinoValentino Knowles[12] Athletics24
5  Bangladesh (BAN) Khan, Asif HossainAsif Hossain Khan[13] Shooting70
6  Barbados (BAR) Browne, LaurelLaurel Browne Netball39
7  Belize (BIZ) Martinez, KainaKaina Martinez[14] Athletics9
8  Bermuda (BER) Aitken, KieraKiera Aitken Swimming14
9  Botswana (BOT) Montsho, AmantleAmantle Montsho Athletics49
10  British Virgin Islands (IVB) Chapman, JosephJoseph Chapman[15] Squash2
11  Brunei (BRU) Ahad, AmpuanAmpuan Ahad Lawn bowls12
12  Cameroon (CMR) Mamba, HugoHugo Mamba[16] Athletics20
13  Canada (CAN) Pereira, KenKen Pereira[17] Field Hockey251
14  Cayman Islands (CAY) Fraser, ShauneShaune Fraser Swimming17
15  Cook Islands (COK) Kenny, MataMata Kenny Lawn bowls31
16  Cyprus (CYP) Georgallas, IrodotosIrodotos Georgallas Gymnastics56
17  Dominica (DMA) Williams, BrendanBrendan Williams Athletics15
18  England (ENG) Robertson, NathanNathan Robertson[18] Badminton365
19  Falkland Islands (FAI) Clark, Douglas JamesDouglas James Clark Badminton15
20  Ghana (GHA) Zakari, AzizAziz Zakari Athletics64
21  Gibraltar (GIB) Bensadon, ColinColin Bensadon Swimming17
22  Grenada (GRN) Batholomew, ImrodImrod Batholomew Boxing10
23  Guernsey (GUE) Jory, PeterPeter Jory[19] Shooting43
24  Guyana (GUY) Forde, ClevelandCleveland Forde Athletics34
25  Isle of Man (IOM) Roche, AndrewAndrew Roche Cycling33
26  Jamaica (JAM) Forbes, SimoneSimone Forbes[20] Netball48
27  Jersey (JER) Bisson, KarinaKarina Bisson[21] Lawn bowls33
28  Kenya (KEN) Kemboi, EzekielEzekiel Kemboi Athletics136
29  Kiribati (KIR) Katoatau, DavidDavid Katoatau Weightlifting17
30  Lesotho (LES) Tsoaeli, SelloaneSelloane Tsoaeli Athletics10
31  Malawi (MAW) Waya, MaryMary Waya Netball43
32  Malaysia (MAS) Ahmad, Siti ZalinaSiti Zalina Ahmad[22] Lawn bowls203
33  Maldives (MDV) Mohamed, MueenaMueena Mohamed [23] Table Tennis 28
34  Malta (MLT) Madyson, RebeccaRebecca Madyson Shooting22
35  Mauritius (MRI) Colin, Louis RicharnoLouis Richarno Colin Boxing55
36  Montserrat (MNT) Semper, PeterPeter Semper Athletics5
37  Mozambique (MOZ) Couto, KurtKurt Couto Athletics10
38  Namibia (NAM) Uutoni, JafetJafet Uutoni Boxing30
39  Nauru (NRU) Detenamo, ItteItte Detenamo Weightlifting6
40  New Zealand (NZL) van Dyk, IreneIrene van Dyk[24] Netball192
41  Nigeria (NGR) Obiora, FaithFaith Obiora Table Tennis101
42  Niue (NIU) Viliamu, NaritaNarita Viliamu Weightlifting24
43  Norfolk Island (NFI) Gray, DuncanDuncan Gray Squash22
44  Northern Ireland (NIR) Montgomery, MarkMark Montgomery[25] Wrestling80
45  Pakistan (PAK) Ali Shah, MohammadMohammad Ali Shah[26] Chef de mission54
46  Papua New Guinea (PNG) Stubbings, BarbaraBarbara Stubbings Squash79
47  Rwanda (RWA) Dieudonne, DisiDisi Dieudonne Athletics22
48  Samoa (SAM) Dieudonne, Ele OpelogeEle Opeloge Dieudonne Weightlifting53
49  Scotland (SCO) Edgar, RossRoss Edgar[27] Cycling191
50  Seychelles (SEY) Malcouzane, SteveSteve Malcouzane Badminton26
51  Sierra Leone (SLE) Kargbo, MichaelaMichaela Kargbo Athletics31
52  Singapore (SIN) Tian Wei, FengFeng Tian Wei[28] Table Tennis68
53  Solomon Islands (SOL) Leong, MichaelMichael Leong Tennis12
54  South Africa (RSA) van der Burgh, CameronCameron van der Burgh[29] Swimming113
55  Sri Lanka (SRI) Vidanage, ChinthanaChinthana Vidanage[30] Weightlifting94
56  Saint Helena (SHN) Yon, RicoRico Yon Shooting4
57  Saint Kitts and Nevis (SKN) Liburd, TanikaTanika Liburd Athletics7
58  Saint Lucia (LCA) Spencer, LavernLavern Spencer Athletics13
59  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Bentick, JamesJames Bentick Squash14
60  Swaziland (SWZ) Mdluli, SiphesihleSiphesihle Mdluli Athletics11
61  Tanzania (TAN) Ramadhani, SamsonSamson Ramadhani[31] Athletics40
62  The Gambia (GAM) Shonoboi, FannyFanny Shonoboi Athletics17
63  Tonga (TON) Fa, UaineUaine Fa Boxing22
64  Trinidad and Tobago (TRI) Borel-Brown, CleopatraCleopatra Borel-Brown Athletics82
65  Turks and Caicos Islands (TCI) Williams, DelanoDelano Williams Athletics8
66  Tuvalu (TUV) Tuau, LapuaLapua Tuau Weightlifting3
67  Uganda (UGA) Mugula, GanziGanzi Mugula[32] Swimming65
68  Vanuatu (VAN) Shing, YoshnaYoshna Shing Table Tennis14
69  Wales (WAL) Davies, DavidDavid Davies[33] Swimming175
70  Zambia (ZAM) Nachula, RachelRachel Nachula Athletics22
71  India (IND) Bindra, AbhinavAbhinav Bindra[34] Shooting495

Spectators' response

In the opening ceremony the head of organizing committee faced embarrassment, when he was booed by the spectators at the start of his welcome speech to 60,000 spectators in the opening ceremony. The atmosphere otherwise for the teams and officials was fine, especially when they offered warm applause to the neighbouring Pakistan squad, with whom it has tense relationships. Sri Lanka also got a loud applause. The head finished his speech in five minutes and then handed over to Michael Fennell, the Chief of the Commonwealth Games Federation.[36]

Baton Procession

Boxer Vijender Singh carried the Queen's Baton into Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, at the Opening Ceremonies.[37][38] The baton was passed to boxer Mary Kom, 5-time world champion.[37][38] It was then passed to Samresh Jung, who was named best competitor of the 2006 Melbourne Games.[37][38] It was then passed to Sushil Kumar, world champion wrestler.[37][38] The final baton bearer, Indian wrestler Sushil Kumar, handed the Queen's Baton to The Prince of Wales.[37][39]

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ↑ ANTHONY HUBBARD - Sunday Star Times. "At Her Majesty's service". Stuff.co.nz. Archived from the original on 8 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  2. ↑ "Four heads of state to attend CWG opener". New Delhi: NDTV. 1 October 2010. Archived from the original on 5 October 2010. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  3. ↑ "Biography of The Right Honourable Sir Anand Satyanand" (biography). Government of New Zealand. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  4. ↑ "Games good foundation for Olympic bid by India: Rogge". New Delhi: Times of India. 4 October 2010. Retrieved 4 October 2010.
  5. ↑ Beckett, Paul (4 October 2010). "The Aerostat: Tech Marvel or Stage Prop? - India Real Time - WSJ". Blogs.wsj.com. Archived from the original on 6 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  6. 1 2 "Controversy-hit aerostat lights up Games ceremony". Hindustan Times. 4 October 2010. Archived from the original on 6 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  7. ↑ “”. "commonwealth games 2010 opening ceremony A.R.Rahman". YouTube. Archived from the original on 7 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  8. ↑ "A R Rahman's grand finale with 'Jeeyo, Utho'". Times of India. 3 October 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  9. ↑ "Rahman brings CWG ceremony to electrifying climax". Sify. Archived from the original on 6 October 2010. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  10. ↑ "McMahon named Australian team flagbearer". News.smh.com.au. 1 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  11. ↑ "ABNOC announces 2010 Commonwealth Games team | Antigua Observer Newspaper". Antiguaobserver.com. 25 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  12. ↑ "The Tribune". Tribune242.com. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  13. ↑ "CW GAMES OPENINGRatna to carry Bangladesh flag | Sport". bdnews24.com. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  14. ↑ "The Reporter - Sports". Reporter.bz. 24 February 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  15. ↑ "Tahesia arrives in Delhi, foresees great Commonwealth Games « Virgin Islands News Online". Virginislandsnewsonline.com. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  16. ↑
  17. ↑ "Canada's Flag Bearer for 2010 Commonwealth Games "an inspired choice" - Corporate". Commonwealthgames.ca. 18 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  18. ↑ "Robertson is England flag bearer in CWG". Indianexpress.com. 1 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  19. ↑ "BBC Sport - Peter Jory 'honoured' to be Guernsey's flag bearer". BBC News. 1 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  20. ↑ "Forbes to carry Jamaica's Flag at Opening Ceremony in Delhi". TrackAlerts. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  21. ↑ Gouyette, Lauren (1 October 2010). "‘Tears of joy’ for Jersey flag bearer » Sport". This Is Jersey. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  22. ↑ "Malaysian lawn bowls star Siti Zalina Ahmad excited about being Commonwealth Games flag-bearer". Thesportscampus.com. 1 October 2010. Archived from the original on 4 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  23. ↑ Presenters: Sue Barker (2010-10-03). 2010 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony (TV broadcast). BBC. Retrieved 3 October 2010.
  24. ↑ Updated at 10:04pm on 3 October 2010 (3 October 2010). "Radio New Zealand : News : Commonwealth Games 2010 : Van Dyk named flag-bearer for NZ Games team". Radionz.co.nz. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  25. ↑ (UKPA) (30 September 2010). "The Press Association: Montgomery to lead Northern Ireland". Google.com. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  26. ↑ "Pak CWG contingent hit by controversy". Thenews.com.pk. 3 October 2010. Archived from the original on 6 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  27. ↑ "BBC Sport - Cyclist Ross Edgar carries Scotland flag at Delhi Games". BBC News. 1 October 2010. Archived from the original on 4 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  28. ↑ "55 Singapore athletes set for Commonwealth Games debut « Red Sports. Always Game". Redsports.sg. Archived from the original on 27 September 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  29. ↑ The Associated Press (1 October 2010). "South Africa names flag bearer replacement". Cbc.ca. Archived from the original on 3 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  30. ↑ http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2010/08/29/sri-lanka-to-send-90-athletes-to-commonwealth-games/
  31. ↑ "Tanzania team for Delhi opening ceremony". Daily News. 2 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  32. ↑ "Daily Monitor: - Mugula named Commonwealth Games team captain:". Monitor.co.ug. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  33. ↑ "BBC Sport - Commonwealth Games 2010: David Davies Wales flagbearer". BBC News. 2 October 2010. Archived from the original on 5 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  34. ↑ "Bindra to be the flag bearer, confusion over torch bearers names". Sify.com. 1 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  35. ↑ "Pak CWG contingent hit by controversy", The News, 3 October 2010
  36. ↑ "Sport | Spectators boo chief organiser at opening ceremony". Dawn.Com. 3 October 2010. Archived from the original on 14 October 2010. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
  37. 1 2 3 4 5 CBC, 2010 Commonwealth Games, Opening Ceremonies, airdate 3 October 2010, 9:00am-12:30pm (Eastern), circa 2h20m mark, CBC Television main network
  38. 1 2 3 4 "CWG Opening ceremony: Live Blog", Geetika Rustagi, 3 October 2010 . Retrieved 5 October 2010.
  39. ↑ Sify Sports, "India begins medal chase after CWG opening ceremony", ANI, 4 October 2010 . Retrieved 5 October 2010.

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