Call to Gather The ceremony began with the introductory performance titled "Call to Gather", featuring main character Stella – a "dreamer", played by Lorell Boyce. She and 71 other performers carry shards of light, described as the fragments of the star that fall across the Commonwealth nations, which represent hopes and dreams. A combination of video footage and CGI imagery showed that as the athletes pack their shards of light into the bag, their houses floated into the sky and gather above the stadium, forming the "courtyard of the Commonwealth".
Welcome of dignitaries After the video dedicated to the Queen
Elizabeth II's life was shown, a trumpet fanfare was delivered by the
Royal Marines. A convoy of 72 red, white and blue cars that had direct links to the car manufacturing heritage of Birmingham entered the stadium, forming the
Union Jack – the
flag of the United Kingdom. Prince
Charles (now King Charles III) later arrived at the stadium driving his
late father's Aston Martin DB6, accompanied by his wife Camilla (now
Queen Camilla). Birmingham Conservatoire graduate and mezzo-soprano Samantha Oxborough performed the
National Anthem – God Save the Queen, joined by community choirs from across the region, with music by the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra led by conductor
Alpesh Chauhan. The performance of the national anthem was followed by a flypast from eight aircraft of the
Red Arrows led by squadron leader Tom Bould, leaving smoke trails in the colours of the National Flag – Red, White and Blue.
Everything to Everybody After the video footage of the
Queen's Baton Relay, the creative segments continue where the introductory performance ended. The first segment was titled Everything to Everybody, telling about the history of Birmingham. Stella was seen coming out of her home on the stage, while the performers exit the cars at the stage centre, carrying with them their bags and shards of light from earlier. At the stage centre, they are surrounded by featured parkour artists, stunt cyclists and giant puppets that represented literary figures, scientists and musicians from Birmingham's history:
Edward Elgar,
the Lunar Men,
Samuel Johnson and
William Shakespeare.
Charlie Chaplin accidentally sets fire to the city's first free public library, a reference to the destruction of the first Shakespeare Memorial Room in 1879. But with the shards of light crystals in hand, Stella and the performers put the fire out.
Hear My Voice The second segment Hear My Voice recognised the arrival of newcomers to Birmingham and unsung heroes of the COVID-19 pandemic. Pakistani female education activist and the 2014
Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Malala Yousafzai gave her speech, expressing hope for free children education, equal rights for women and a peaceful future. An animation about her life was displayed before she walked onto the stage. Dancers from
Birmingham Royal Ballet, the
Elmhurst Ballet School, 50 professional contemporary dancers and the
Critical Mass project all choreographed by
Corey Baker,
Carnival of firsts Cultural symphony Parade of Nations ==References==