Birmingham| It is finally time and the Commonwealth Games 2022 has returned. With athletes all over the globe with aspirations in their eyes to make their make country proud and fetch the fabled gold medal assembled at the Alexander Stadium on July 28, 2022, for the opening ceremony of the multi-nation sporting event. The main attraction of the opening ceremony of the Birmingham edition of the Commonwealth Games was the city's rich musical heritage which added up to the cornucopia of color, light, and dance.
Legendary Drummer-percussionist Abraham Paddy Tetteh kicked the celebrations off at the legendary Alexander Stadium and was followed by Indian classical vocalist and composer Ranjana Ghatak which in many ways a celebration of the diversity of the city. The Birmingham edition of the Commonwealth Games happens to be a multi-discipline event to be held without major COVID-19 restrictions.
In another one of its kind of act as many as 70 cars in red, white, and blue gathered to create an impression of the Union Jack with Prince Charles, representing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, as he arrived in his Aston Martin car along with the Duchess of Cornwall. The formation of cars was designed particularly to pay a heartfelt tribute to the city's incredible motor industry history.
Before this, the city paid a tribute to the Queen with a montage that dated back to the black and white era. Heartfelt tributes were paid to legends like Charlie Chaplin and William Shakespeare too. "Our 72 nations and territories are all here and Birmingham looks magnificent. I believe this event will be one of the greatest and most important editions of the Commonwealth Games in our 92-year history", said Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) president Louise Martin.
Keeping up with the traditional ways of the CWG, Australia started the "Parade of Nations" as they were the hosts of the last games. The countries from Africa, America, Asia, the Caribbean followed, and then came the turn of 2010 Games host India, with double Olympics medallist badminton ace PV Sindhu and men's hockey team captain Manpreet Singh leading the contingent out amid loud cheers from the stands.
The opening act marked the beginning of 11 days of sporting action in the city. More than 5000 athletes from 72 countries will compete in 280 events across 19 sports in 15 venues.
(Inputs from PTI)
