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ISSUE 19 | NOV 2014 |
29
The opening
and closing
ceremonies
Opening and Closing Ceremonies are
one of life’s tougher parties to stage.
Everyone is watching and you can bet
more than half want you to fail. You
have to straddle the line. It cannot be
too pompous and serious, nor too
camp and glitzy. Scotland had the
added pressure of an independence
referendum coming up. Despite the
two sides agreeing not to politicise
the event, the games couldn’t help
but put the nation’s heritage on
display.
The organisers decided to throw
every Scottish cliché they could
find into the mix, perhaps deciding
that which some would take as
patriotism, others could enjoy as a
wee bit of winking self-mockery. Both
ceremonies were particularly kitsch,
with The Loch Ness Monster, Susan
Boyle and Rod Stewart all making an
appearance.
The British Prime Minister was left
swooning with the performance by
Stewart, tweeting: “Stunning opening
ceremony for the Commonwealth
Games – and Rod Stewart! Perfect
start to Glasgow 2014.”
Others were less thrilled. Alex Massie,
a Scottish political commentator
said it was “Kitsch. Bizarre. Mental.
Mortifying. Redeemed by cute-but-
vicious ankle-biting dugs. Everything
an opening ceremony should be”.
One pro-independence observer
gave this withering summary: “I’m
now much, much less certain that we
should be an independent country.”
Take-aways for the Gold Coast: No
one will ever be happy with opening
and closing ceremonies. So don’t try
to please everyone. Get out there and
have fun.
The sport
The quality
of the sport
on offer was
what you
would expect. Given the absence
of the traditional giants of athletics,
there was still much to get excited
about. One statistic that confirms
the high quality of the event is that
140 Commonwealth records were
broken in Glasgow. There were many
highlights, but as usual, human
drama makes extraordinary sporting
feats even more fascinating. Lynsey
Sharp’s silver in the 800 metres is said
to have created the biggest roar of
the tournament. The Scottish runner
has faced a nightmare year in the
lead up to the Games and was even in
hospital the night before the race.
“Even right up to this morning I was
in hospital in the village until 5:30. I
haven’t slept at all. I was throwing up
all night. I had a drip in my arm,” she
said, not long after the race.
One of the biggest upsets was New
Zealand’s 17-12 loss to South Africa
in the final of the Rugby Sevens
Competition. It was the first time in
16 years that the All Blacks had not
won the Commonwealth Gold. In
all but two of their matches did the
Springboks fail to score more than
35 points, using an aggressive style
of Rugby that left their opponents
bewildered.
For real high-wattage star power,
you just needed to watch the 4x100
metres relay. Champion sprinter
Usain Bolt had finally made it to a
Commonwealth Games, and showed
the Hampton Park crowd just what
fast is.
Despite reportedly questioning the
relevance of the competition (more
on that below), he seemed genuinely
delighted with his gold.
“It means a lot,” said Bolt. “It was the
only thing missing from my collection.
I missed a couple of Games because
of injuries and different problems, so
I am happy to be here. Even though
I was cold, the reception has been
warm.”
The Women’s Hockey Final saw more
than its fair share of chewed nails,
after an equalising goal in the final 10
seconds sent the game to penalties,
which the Hockeyroos won. More
Australian drama could be found in
the hurdles, where Sally Pearson rose
above the Eric Hollingsworth scandal
by taking gold.
Finally, 4.6 million watched the
televised Men’s 200 metres
Breaststroke as unfancied Ross
Murdoch beat his rival Michael
Jamieson for the first time in his
career. For the Scots watching across
the world, it was a glorious sight to
have two world-class sportsmen
representing their country.
Take-aways for the Gold Coast: if you
provide the venues, the athletes will
provide the drama. You are the vase,
they are the flowers.
Making it
Relevant
The standard
criticism of the Commonwealth
Games is they are pointless at best,
an echo of the shameful colonialist
past at worst. They go on to argue
that without the presence of the
world heavyweights Russia, China
and the USA, the gold medals being
handed out are slightly de-based.
Elite sport is about being the best,
and how can you take a competition
seriously when the best are not even
watching your global event?
It is hard to counter-argue this fact.
Yes, the Games are limited in ways
that the Olympics aren’t. England can
win double the medals in first place
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