Critics divided on Commonwealth Games 2018 opening ceremony
AN AMAZING spectacle for the ages or international embarrassment? Reaction has been split on Wednesday night’s Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.
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STUNNING spectacle or international embarrassment? Reaction has been split on Wednesday night’s Commonwealth Games opening ceremony.
While many believed the music soundtrack and special effects were world class, others criticised elements of the ceremony for being too tacky, political or downright weird.
Radio broadcaster Alan Jones let rip yesterday, slamming the focus on the nation’s indigenous history, describing it as “rubbish and an insult to all Australians”.
“This was an opportunity to celebrate Australia, to celebrate Queensland … not this other apologetic, ingratiating, knee-bending rubbish,” Jones told his listeners.
Social media was predictably harsh, with many viewers left bewildered by an opening sequence pondering the existence of “aliens on cosmic beaches”, repeated appearances of Migaloo – an albino whale rarely sighted on the Gold Coast – and the conspicuous absence of official Games mascot Borobi. But proud Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said the opening ceremony was the best he had ever seen and told the critics to “get a life”.
“What do you do, when you’ve got the best opening ceremony in Commonwealth Games history and then people say it’s boring,” he said.
“I was in Glasgow (for the 2014 Games), I watched tapes of the other ones, and it’s seldom I’m wrong.”
The criticism came as director of music, Brisbane-based singer-songwriter Katie Noonan, was under fire for putting herself at the centre of the production.
The Courier-Mail understands backstage tensions were raised ahead of the night, with some members of the production claiming Noonan capitalised on her role to boost her own profile.
One source, who declined to be named, said they felt “Katie treated it like it was the Katie Noonan Show”.
“She was in all of the intros and outros for athletes and she insisted on her moment at the piano,” the source said.
The opening ceremony saw the likes of Christine Anu, Ricki-Lee Coulter and Delta Goodrem perform anthemic vocals with dancers, fireworks and stunning light projections around them.
But when it came to Noonan’s song, titled You’re Welcome Here, she sat at a white piano in an all-white suit and bright red shoes, with the bells and whistles stripped back as she performed an acoustic rendition of a series of iconic tunes, including I Still Call Australia Home.
“Katie is musical director and she puts herself on stage singing the big moment,” another production source said.
Noonan did not reply to calls seeking comment.
Meanwhile, the woman whose backside stole the show in a wardrobe slip-up was a volunteer from a community dance group, sources said.
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