Live - Commonwealth Games 2018 opening ceremony: Australian traditions honoured

The Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 are set to commence from today, with the opening ceremony taking place at the Carrara Stadium in Gold Coast today evening. A strong Indian contingent is in the Australian city and will be aiming to better the country’s previous showings at the Games. At the previous edition of Commonwealth Games in Glasgow the Indian medal tally stood at 64 – 15 gold, 30 silver and 19 bronze. Follow live update of Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 opening ceremony here.

15:56 hrs IST: The totem ceremony has now come to an end and Prince Charles and his wife Camilla are now walking towards the centre of the stadium where a stage is set up.

15:50 hrs IST: The ceremony is now being graced by a totem ceremony, being done in the backdrop of a shining white light to give it an effect both beautiful and spooky.

15:46 hrs IST: Fans are now treated to a traditional didgeridoo performance which is also accompanied by a rap song from Mau Power. They are now being joined by Christine Anu, who famously performed at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

15:42 hrs IST: Continuing with the Earth theme, the ceremony takes the viewers on a brief tour of the planet as a whole.

15:38 hrs IST: The narrator who stands in the middle of the arena holding a small lit-up globe, shares a wonderful message of unity.

15:35 hrs IST: The theme for the ceremony is “hello earth”. A beautiful light show followed by some dazzling blue fireworks get the ceremony started.

15:30 hrs IST: The clock counts down in the stadium and we are officially underway with the ceremony!

15:25 hrs IST: PV Sindhu will be one of the main gold medal hopes for India in the Commonwealth Games. But does that put the young shuttler under pressure? Check out her thoughts here.

15:20 hrs IST: The opening ceremony will begin shortly. The organisers will hope it goes off without a glitch, given that they have already been left red-faced due to an official programme of the event listing England as a part of Africa.

15:05 hrs IST: For many athletes, the wait for a medal in the Commonwealth Games can be a long and agonising one. However, one Australian boxer is already guaranteed a medal!

14:55 hrs IST: A number of Indian athletes are being billed as strong contenders for gold medals in Gold Coast. Take a look at our list of India’s best bets for the top prizes.

14:45 hrs IST: For Hindustan Times’ coverage of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, click here.

14:35 hrs IST: Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, are in Australia in Commonwealth Games. They have, however, faced a demonstration organised by a coalition of indigenous rights groups under the banner of “Stolenwealth Games”. Protesters are expected to demonstrate outside Carrara Stadium during the opening ceremony.

14:20 IST: Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018. The opening ceremony starts in about an hour. PV Sindhu will lead out the Indian contingent today.

This time, 218-strong Indian contingent is billed to be among the top nations in Gold Coast, with strong performances in the last four editions.

Australia are staging the Games for a fifth time, with Gold Coast seeing off competition from Hambantota in Sri Lanka to be named as the host venue.

A total of 71 Commonwealth nations and territories will be represented in Gold Coast, with beach volleyball and women’s rugby sevens making their debuts.