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From the official literature: “The radical Victorian preacher George Dawson wanted to create a new and better type of Birmingham,” he declares. “He believed in universal access to education and culture, and that Birmingham should be home to the largest collection of Shakespearean plays in the world.
“This led to the creation of the first Shakespeare Memorial Room in 1864 to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth. The Shakespeare collection was housed in Birmingham’s first free public library, in what is now known as the Chamberlain Square
“However, in 1879, the building was destroyed in a fire, along with most of its collection. Today, there is only one Shakespeare First Folio in public ownership and it is housed in the new Library of Birmingham, now the largest public library in the UK.
“Stella and The Dreamers are welcomed to Birmingham, and so begins their journey of discovery into the city’s past and present. We see new talent such as parkour artists and stunt cyclists, followed by giant puppets representing famous literary figures, musicians and scientists from history.
“Our adopted Brummie, Charlie Chaplin, is full of mischief and plays many tricks on him along his journey. Suddenly, he accidentally sets the library on fire. Stella and The Dreamers rush to contain and eventually put out the flames with the its fragments
Oh no! One of the Charlie Chaplins has accidentally set fire to a replica of Birmingham’s first free public library, which famously housed a massive Shakespeare collection. Do not you worry! Stella and her companions are on hand to put out the flames with their shards.
To be clear, your reporter has not been taking hallucinogenic drugs; I’m simply reporting on the typically absurd opening ceremony of an important Games.
Updated at 8.24pm BST
Back to Stella and her dreamers: Leaving their homes with their pastel suitcases in tow, our heroine and her companions jump into assorted jeeps and motor through the arena to meet various local and adopted luminaries : a giant puppet Edward Elgar and the end of Charlie. Chaplins among others.
National Anthem: Mezzo-soprano and Birmingham Conservatoire graduate Samantha Oxborough gives a stirring rendition of God Save The Queen accompanied by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and a 700-strong choir from 15 different West Midlands choirs. Cue: A flyover of the red arrows.
What is this? Representing each of the 72 competing nations and territories, a similar number of houses from around the world materialize above the stadium in the form of special effects. Following a montage honoring Her Majesty The Queen’s long association with the Commonwealth Games, there’s a glimpse into Birmingham’s car manufacturing industry with dozens of cars of various stripes and engines of shade in the arena. The last of these, a soft-top convertible, is driven by Prince Charles, with his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, riding shotgun.
You can’t park there, mate. Photograph: Stoyan Nenov/Reuters
Updated at 8.16pm BST
The ceremony is underway…
The opening ceremony narrative tonight will explore the rich and diverse history, culture and identity of Birmingham and the West Midlands, it says here.
“In our two-and-a-half-hour opening ceremony, we will hear and see the story of Stella and The Dreamers, a group of young athletes from across the Commonwealth who are exploring Birmingham’s history and representing a brighter, better future for us. everything,” says the official literature.
“Stella meets some of the city’s pioneers, discovers its peculiar characters from times gone by and witnesses the city’s struggles and successes.
“Through this experience, Stella learns that she too can overcome her own fears of the new, the unknown and the unexpected. Let us not forget our guardians of history, the Birmingham Bards, including Samuel Johnson and Edward Elgar, that we see introduce Stella and The Dreamers to the city’s past and present.”
Tom Daley: Olympic diving champion Tom Daley will take part in tonight’s ceremony, where he is expected to speak out for LGBT+ rights in the Commonwealth.
Homosexuality remains illegal in more than half of the 54 countries competing in these Games.
Demonstrators attend a protest outside the Alexander Stadium to call for a ban on anti-LGBT+ laws in all Commonwealth countries. Photograph: Oli Scarff/AFP/Getty Images
Your competing countries and territories…
Deep Breath: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Cyprus, Dominica, England, Swaziland, Falkland Islands , Fiji, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guernsey, Guyana, India, Isle of Man, Jamaica, Jersey, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Malta, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, Northern Ireland, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Scotland, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Gambia, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Wales, Zambia.
The opening of the games will be the same as London 2012
The Commonwealth Games opening ceremony in Birmingham “has an outreach ambition never before conceived” and will be comparable to the ceremony at the London 2012 Olympics, according to the show’s artistic director. The Guardian’s Midlands correspondent Jessica Murray reports.
The statue outside Birmingham’s famous Bullring shopping center wears the role of the day. Photograph: Mike Egerton/PA
20:00 (BST): Tonight’s opening ceremony starts in just under 30 minutes and if the official guide, which this report will quote liberally and shamelessly from, is to be followed , it should be a belt.
The BBC has Clare Balding in the seat to preside over proceedings and local treasures Lenny Henry, Denise Lewis and Ellie Simmonds have joined her to expand a venue they all seem immensely proud of.
Tonight’s venue: First opened in 1976, Alexander Stadium became the home of UK athletics in 2011 following a refurbishment which saw the creation of the East Stand in 5,000 seats in the back straight.
Since hosting its first Diamond League meeting that year, the stadium hosted the British Grand Prix until its closure for redevelopment in 2019. With the new west stand, the stadium will be able to hold 18,000 spectators in its configuration permanent , while additional temporary stands will allow 30,000 people to watch athletics, para-athletics and the opening and closing ceremonies during the Games.
After the Games, as well as continuing to host major sporting events, the stadium will become a focal point for leisure and community activity within the regenerated Perry Barr area of Birmingham, which is receiving a £700m investment of pounds
It’s my kind of city!!!
The late Telly Savalas watches Birmingham, albeit in 1981 and possibly from the sanctuary of a soundproof booth somewhere in Los Angeles…
Birmingham: It’s Kojak’s kind of city.
Commonwealth Games ‘far from irrelevant’: Games organizers have defended their relevance in the run-up to the competition, arguing it continues to thrive. Tumaini Carayol reports…
Reasons to be happy…
England’s second city has a bad reputation it doesn’t deserve. As the Commonwealth Games roll into town, we round up the best it has to offer. Words: Jon Bounds.
Although tonight is primarily a celebratory affair…
… it should not be forgotten that there are many who believe that the Commonwealth Games are a legacy of British exploitation and expansionism.
“What was initially an event for Britain and its colonies is now a useful tool for Britain to divert attention from its past ills by presenting itself as a more compassionate nation compared to other former imperial powers, the country that dismantled its empire to make friends with former subjects”, writes Tumaini Carayol. Continue reading …
Let the Games begin…
Over the next 12 days, approximately 6,500 athletes from 72 different countries and territories, from Australia to the tiny South Pacific island of Niue, will compete in the XXII Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, continuing the tradition of a sporting jamboree that it began in 1930 and was known at the time as the British Empire Games.
More than 1.2 million tickets have been sold for the Games, which will be held at 15 different venues across the West Midlands (with track cycling taking place at London’s Lee Valley Velodrome), but before the first lawn bowls get angry tomorrow morning, we can look forward to the opening ceremony tonight.
Designed by local boy and art director Iqbal Khan, and taking place at the Alexander Stadium, which has undergone a £72 million refurbishment in the build-up to these games, tonight’s opening ceremony promises to be a “spectacular show that will share the innovative and amazing history of Birmingham, the West Midlands and its communities” with millions tuning in from around the world.
That’s all very well, but to be honest, this journalist of a certain age was sold when he heard that Birmingham rock legend, Black Sabbath founder and guitarist Tony Iommi is involved.
An enthusiastic local high-fives a volunteer as people arrive for the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium. Photograph: Manish Swarup/AP