UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI MARA CAWANGAN PAHANG KAMPUS JENGKA

ORGANIZING EVENTS (OBM 310)

REFLECTIVE WRITING (OPENING CEREMONY GOLD COAST 2018)

STUDENTS’ NAME STUDENTS’ ID

DAYANA AQILAH BT MAHAYUDDIN 2019232322

NURHANISAH BT MOHMAD SHAH 2019686594

DAYANA BATRISYA BT AHMADI 2019236324

NUR ATIKA AMIRA BT ZAHARNI 2019428496

NURHANI FARZANA BT MOHD HANIFAH 2019443946

PREPARED FOR: MUHAMMAD RIFDI SHAH CHE DAWUD ALI

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ....................................................................................................... 1
GROUP’S MEMBERS PROFILE .......................................................................................... 2
1.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 3
1.1 About Events......................................................................................................... 3
1.2 Event Organizer .................................................................................................... 3
1.3 Objectives of the events.......................................................................................... 4
1.4 Reasons for Choosing This Event ....................................................................... 4
2.0 FULL TENTATIVE OF EVENT ................................................................................... 5
3.0 FLOW OF OPENING CEREMONY ............................................................................ 6
3.1 Countdown ............................................................................................................ 6
3.2 Hello Earth ............................................................................................................. 6
3.3 Welcome of the Dignitaries .................................................................................. 6
3.4 Parade of Nation ................................................................................................... 7
3.5 Smoking Performance and Ceremony of the Commonwealth Flag .................. 7
3.6 Oath ....................................................................................................................... 7
3.7 Speeches ............................................................................................................... 8
3.8 Queen's Baton and Game Start! .......................................................................... 8
3.9 In the end ............................................................................................................... 8
4.0 PROFILE OF VIP ....................................................................................................... 9
5.0 OFFICIATING SPEECH ........................................................................................... 10
6.0 PROFILE OF OFFICIAL AND NON-OFFICIAL........................................................ 11
7.0 PROMOTIONAL MEDIUM ....................................................................................... 14
8.0 MAIN CONTENT OF THE EVENT ........................................................................... 17
9.0 MEDICAL AND EMERGENCY SERVICE ................................................................ 19
10.0 HOW THE EVENT END ........................................................................................... 20
11.0 IS THERE ANY POST-EVENT RECOGNITION ....................................................... 22
12.0 DISCUSSION (WHAT IS GOOD, WHAT IS BAD, OPINION TOWARDS EVENT) ... 24
13.0 CONCLUSION ......................................................................................................... 26
14.0 REFERENCES ......................................................................................................... 27
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the name of Allah, Alhamdulillah, we have finished our Reflective Writing Project

that is due on 21th November 2021. We would like to express our gratitude to all the

members who are involved in the Reflective Writing Project and give their best and

cooperate to complete this project until the end.

We would like to thank you to our lecture, Sir Muhammad Rifdi Shah Che Dawud Adli

for teaching us in OBM310, Organizing Event as well guiding us and our classmate about

this project until the end of this project even though we are separate because of Online

Discussion Learning. Thank you to Sir Rifdi for being patient with us.

We also feel very grateful to our classmate BA1185L for helping us in completing this

project. We really appreciate our classmates' effort and kindness. Lastly, thank you to our

parents for always understanding our situation and whatever we do. Big thanks to the

people who are involved in this project.

Thank you.

1
GROUP’S MEMBERS PROFILE

▪ DAYANA AQILAH BT MAHAYUDDIN

▪ 2019232322

▪ NURHANISAH BT MOHMAD SHAH

▪ 2019686594

▪ DAYANA BATRISYA BT AHMADI

▪ 2019236324

▪ NUR ATIKA AMIRA BT ZAHARNI

▪ 2019428496

▪ NURHANI FARZANA BT MOHD HANIFAH

▪ 2019443946

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

1.1 About Events

The Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 or XXI Commonwealth Games, was

held from April 4 to 15, 2018 at Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia. It was one of the most

awaited multi-sport competitions between Commonwealth countries held internationally and

organized quadrennial. The opening ceremony which was held in Carrara Stadium, started

at 20:00 AEST. It was expected that over 1.5 billion people worldwide watched the ceremony

on television.

1.2 Event Organizer

Gold Coast City was chosen as the venue for the Commonwealth Games 2018 on

August 22, 2008. Queensland Premier Anna Bligh made the announcement in a meeting

together with Commonwealth Games Federation in St Kitts. The decision was finalised after

Gold Coast won vote of 43 to 27 over Sri Lanka in the candidacy for the location of the

Games to be taken place. As for the opening and closing of the Games, Carrara Stadium

had been chosen to be the venue.

Jack Morton Worldwide (JMW) was picked to be the organizer who set up the

opening ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast. The team was

consisted Merryn Hughes as the Executive Producer, David Zolkwer as Artistic and Project

Director, Nathan M. Wright as Head of Staging Director and Katie Noonan as the Music

Director.

The selection of JMW was due to the experiences they got in handling and

organizing many big events involving the international sport games such as Olympics 2004,

Commonwealth Games 2006 and 2014. Moreover, this company also had been very reliable

as it operated their services in Australia for over 35 years.

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1.3 Objectives of the events

One of the goals is to invite the best athletes to compete in a technically great, world-

class tournament, kicking off the following decade with a memorable event. It also

strengthens ties between 71 countries and territories throughout Commonwealth nation. In

addition, another history can be possibly written in 11 days of the International Games took

place. Indireclty, coordinating such prodigious world class event, must be significant in

promoting the tourism and commerce of the Games’ host. It can contribute to the economic

growth through trades and investments.

1.4 Reasons for Choosing This Event

The reason why we chose this event is that this is one of the biggest events and it

involves all the countries all over the world including Malaysia. It also enhances our relations

with all Asian countries. Besides that, this kind of event can encourage the community to

always support and motivate our country's athletes. Furthermore, this event also unites

people all over the world and instils a sense of patriotism in people of all races, religions, and

backgrounds.

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2.0 FULL TENTATIVE OF EVENT

7:59 p.m. Countdown

8:00 p.m. Hello Earth - Opening talk by Jack Thomson

8:15 p.m. Totem Ceremony

8.40 p.m. The arrival of Charles, Prince of Wales, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall,

President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Louise Martin,

Chairman of GOLDOC Peter Beattie and President of Commonwealth

Games Australia Sam Coffa at the Carrara Stadium.

9:00 p.m - 10:10 p.m. ● Speech by TED William

● Sing Australian National Song “Advance Australia Fair”

● Parade of Nation

● Smoking Ceremony

● Hoisting of the CGF Flag

● Oath

● Speech by Chairman of GOLDOC Peter Beattie

● Speech by CGF Dame Louise Martin

10:10 p.m. -10:50 p.m. ● Queen’s Baton and opening of the games by Charles, Prince of

Wales

● Performance by Delta Goodrem

● White whale-shaped balloon show

● Performance by Ruel

● Fireworks Show

11.00 p.m. Ceremony Ends

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3.0 FLOW OF OPENING CEREMONY

3.1 Countdown

The opening ceremony was taken place in Carrara Stadium. It begun with the

count of 65 000 years in fast motion, where the last 10 seconds in slow count, and

ended with the set off of fireworks.

3.2 Hello Earth

'Hello Earth' was the theme at the opening ceremony's night. Jack Thompson,

an Australian actor, held an illuminated globe, told the audience about the history of

the Earth. He told them that the Earth is our home, and there are no borders to

separate us. There are also no signs of people fighting, creating war or in

disagreement. "From here, it appears that we're all the same, not drifting apart, but

all connected," he remarked. There was no trace of the 'Other' — just Sister and

Brother. There is no 'You' or 'Me', only 'We.' All we see from here is what we share:

gleaming, fragile, awesome......our island home amid a cosmic sea." After completing

his speech, he placed the globe on the beach's sand-covered ground. A projector

reflected the image of the sea, ocean moving and wind blowing, demonstrating the

Earth. The Ceremony consisted of artistic displays of Australia’s culture. A group of

girls was shown standing amidst of the image, followed by a showcasing of the

wedge-tailed eagle which symbolized fierce and courage.

3.3 Welcome of the Dignitaries

Prime Minister of Australia, Malclom Turnbull, Mayor of Gold Coast, Tom Tate

and Annastacia Palaszczuk as the Premier of Queensland were seen heading up the

stage. Chairman of Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games organizing committee,

Peter Beattie, President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Louise Martin,

and President of Commonwealth Games Australia, Sam Coffa, were all greeted

inside the stadium by the HRH Prince Charles, and Duchess of Cornwall, Camilla.

The Australian National Flag, Torres Strait Islander and Aboriginal flags were raised,

and the national anthem of Australia "Advance Australia Fair" was performed. The

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image of a kangaroo and an emu was then projected onto the beach, and it

symbolizes coat of arms of Australia (Commonwealth Coat of Arms).

3.4 Parade of Nation

According to the custom and tradition from the previous game, the Parade of

Nation is practiced, meaning the entry of the athletes and contingent from

Commonwealth countries. Started with Scotland as the home of the previous game,

followed by European countries such as Cyprus, England, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle

of Man and others according to the alphabetical order from each region. After that,

the contingents from Africa, America, Asia, Caribbean and Oceania, entered proudly.

The hosted nation, Australia, entered lastly. Each contingent entered led by an

athlete who carried together a surfboard with the name of the country written on it.

The image of the nation’s flag was reflected on the ground each time a contingent

walked into.

3.5 Smoking Performance and Ceremony of the Commonwealth Flag

As the ceremony celebrated traditions and rituals practiced by Indigenous

Australians, the smoking performance was not left out. It was done by burning a few

native plants and carried out to welcome the ceremony of hoisting the

Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) flag. The Commonwealth athletes that had

been given the honor to carry the flag were Natalie Du Toit, Brendan Williams, Nicole

Forrester, Alison Shanks, Colin Gregor, and Rhona Toft. As said, all these athletes

were appointed CGF Athlete Advisory Commission. The flag was brought through the

walking path surrounded by all participating nation’s flag towards the flagpole. After

that, the flag was hoisted, flown and could be seen by all audience, followed by the

fireworks ignited around the stadium.

3.6 Oath

Karen Murphy, Lisa Alexander and Desmond Johnston, representing athletes,

coaches and technical officials respectively, had taken oaths on the participating

parties.

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3.7 Speeches

The ceremony welcomed Louise Martin and Peter Beattie to deliver speeches

before the inauguration. Louise Martin stressed on “humanity, equality and destiny”

which had been the values outlined in this Commonwealth Games.

3.8 Queen's Baton and Game Start!

At the early of the ceremony when the singing occasion ended, there was a

short showcase of the Queen’s baton carried into a kombi van in front of Surfers

Paradise, indicating that the baton was traveling to the last destination, Gold Coast.

The baton consisted of the Queen Elizabeth II message letter that was written in

Buckingham Palace, London in 2017 and had traveled around the Commonwealth

regions with a distance of 230 000 km, which took more than a year. Upon arrival of

the kombi van, former Australia athlete in the swimming sport, Susie O’Neill, received

then by few athletes such as Brad McGEE, a former cyclist, Kurt Fearnley,

wheelchair racer, Liz Ellis, netballer and Brent Livermore, a hockey player and lastly

by Sally Pearson, a hurdler. Sally gave the baton to Peter Beattie, and Louise Martin

took it out and handed over the message to HRH Prince Charles. With Prince

Charles read the messages out, the 21st Commonwealth Games was announced

open officially, accompanied by the fireworks.

3.9 In the end

The ceremony welcomed the singing of "Welcome to Earth” by an Australian

singer, Delta Goodrem. Then, a large illustrated balloon was brought in

impersonating Migaloo, a famous whale in Australia and some images of Antarctica

ocean and life were virtually seen on the whale-shaped balloon. Ruel who is an

Australian singer, Ruel sang "Golden Years” accompanied by sparkling fireworks and

attractive light-up. The ceremony ended with the athlete gathered up at the centre of

the stadium.

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4.0 PROFILE OF VIP

His Royal Highness Charles, The Prince of Wales

His Royal Highness Charles, The Prince of Wales was born on 14 November 1948,

in Buckingham Palace. He is the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince Philip,

Duke of Edinburgh. On 1 July 1969, The Queen declared him as Prince of Wales in a

Colourful Ceremony at Caernarfon Castle.

The Prince does not have a private tutor since Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth II

want him to attend a school. In 1967, The Prince went to Cambridge University to study

history and he was awarded a 2:2 degree in 1970. After receiving a degree on 8 March

1971, HRH Charles, The Prince of Wales had travelled to Cranwell, Lincolnshire, to train as

a jet pilot with the Royal Air Force (RAF). Following in the footsteps of his father, Prince

Philip, he began his career after passing out parade at Cranwell. The Prince got his

helicopter pilot's licence after three years and then he flew out of the Commando ship HMS

Hermes.

The Prince took command of the coastal minehunter HMS Bronington on 9 February

1976. After many years, The Prince of Wales, has developed a lot of interests, which are

reflected in The Prince of Wales' Charities, a group of non-profit organization. His Royal

Highness Charles, The Prince of Wales also has a passion in the built environment, global

sustainability, young opportunity, education, and spirituality that he has always expressed in

speeches and articles throughout the years.

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5.0 OFFICIATING SPEECH

Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Game was officially declared by His Royal

Highness, Charles, The Prince of Wales in a lively atmosphere after the passing of the

Queen's Baton. Charles, The Prince of Wales started his speech by expressing how happy

he and his wife, Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall were as they were able to

join the opening ceremony in the Gold Coast.

Charles, The Prince of Wales said that The Queen requested to represent Her

Majesty and deliver the message to people who are watching the Opening Ceremony that

night. The contain of the Queen’s message is she felt impressive and did not feel doubt to

the Queen’s Baton that has been passed every nation and territory of Commonwealth

because many people who have lined the route have been welcomed it warmly.

Other than that, The Queen advised people in the Opening Ceremony by referring to

the ancient stories by indigenous people of Australia, we are still connected even though we

may be half a world away. So, these Friendly Games could connect many people with

different backgrounds and nationalities. At the end of The Queen’s message, she also gave

enthusiasm to those who are taking part in games and she sent best wishes to all

competitors in team and individual, as well to people who have been helping the

Commonwealth Games that was being held in the Gold Coast, Australia.

At the final speech of the Prince of Wales, he declared the 21st Commonwealth

Open with the greatest pleasure.

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6.0 PROFILE OF OFFICIAL AND NON-OFFICIAL

The Commonwealth Games in the Gold Coast 2018 received a lot of sponsorship

and contributions from their official partners, supporters, and suppliers, although not every

sponsorship discloses the amount and details of their contribution for this event.

• Sponsorship from Official Partner

Woolworths is the biggest supermarket chain in Australia. For

Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games, they were being the

official supermarket and contributed fresh food for athletes.

Atos contributed in the Information Diffusion System. During

the Games, they integrated the timing data, scoring data and

results of the games so that results are available in real time

for the public and media.

Optus invested 30 million Dollar to upgraded their mobile

network across Gold Coast, regional areas and others. Also,

installed more than 400km of fibre optic cable, upgrade 347 old

mobile towers and built 17 new towers. Lastly, provided Wi-Fi

in games venue of the event.

Tafe Queensland was being official training partner. Also,

developed training program and vocational education for

15000 volunteers to guarantee that they had the necessary

skills to assist in the delivery of the Games.

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• Sponsorship from Official Supporters

Facebook had worked with GC2018 to promote marketing

campaigns, for generate the ticket sales, and engage with the

Games' workforce.

Cisco provided a scalable network infrastructure to facilitate

the high-speed transmission of critical data over secure digital

platform.

Ticketek was official partner of the event in providing and

managing the ticket technology as well marketing services for

the Games.

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• Sponsorship from Official Suppliers

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7.0 PROMOTIONAL MEDIUM

Promotional mediums are vital to communicating ideas and attracting audiences to

any event. One of the important keys to a successful event falls under the umbrella of event

marketing. If people don’t know about the event, they won’t come, or even watch the event

going. Marketing and promotion can take place across a range of platforms and channels in

order to get the word out about the event and receive more attention from the audience.

Firstly, live television shows and live streaming are promotional mediums for Gold

Coast 2018. Television has a wide reach, making it ideal for advertising to reach a large

audience in a broad area. It also changes how the event’s interaction with its audience and

can engage viewers in instant than other social media platforms.

Besides that, the most popular media social platform among people, Facebook

became an official supporter of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games to expand the

event and to reach a global audience. Facebook became the main platform to launch a

series of online content that will be shown on the platform prior to and during the Games, as

well as drive key marketing campaigns and ticket sales.

According to Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Fames Corporation Chairman, Peter

Beattie AC, “athletes and visitors from across the Commonwealth will share their experience

at the Games via Facebook, promoting the Gold Coast around the world.” Sharing their

experiences through Facebook posts and stories will allow the audience to feel more

connected and closer to the athletes hence, attracting the audience to know more about the

event.

As sport is one of the most famous topics on Facebook in 2017, The Games Shapers

including their 15 000 volunteers collaborated via Facebook Workplace, to deliver the

event’s video contents through Facebook Live to local and global audiences to bring

together people around the world sharing their excitement of the Games.

Furthermore, the event also flew promotional banners all across the Gold Coast as a

signal of an exciting time in the lead-up to Gold Coast 2018, as the community will begin to

see visual signs of the upcoming celebration.

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 Not only that, they even made other signage including GC2018-branded bus

shelters, billboards, and shopping center billboards, as well as a Borobi-branded tram and

countdown clocks in Surfers Paradise and Gold Coast Airport. This promotional medium not

only announces the event's presence, but also appeals to the community in the area who will

most likely be interested in attending the event.

The world’s leading social media platform, Facebook, was announced as an Official
Supporter of GC2018.

2018 Commonwealth Games street banners have been put up in Tedder Avenue, Main
Beach. Photo: Jerad Williams

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Gold Coast's new logo for the 2018 Commonwealth Games is featuring on billboards around
the Australian city

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8.0 MAIN CONTENT OF THE EVENT

Carrara Stadium during the 2018 Commonwealth Games

Sports, without any doubt, have the ability to unite people from all over the world. It

serves as a rallying point for both national and city pride. It also fosters more competition,

which can help a country's productivity and growth. International sports competition is

beneficial to both athletes and the nation as it helps to improve self-discipline and attitude

toward opponents as well as help binding different countries together, ignoring the

differences, and building friendship among the countries. This represents the Gold Coast

2018 event mission, which is “To conduct an athlete-focused Games with excellent

competition in a fun and friendly environment with long-lasting benefits for the Gold Coast,

Queensland, Australia, and the Commonwealth.”

The Gold Coast 2018, that is also known as the XXI Commonwealth Games, was an

international multi-sport event specially for Commonwealth member states. The

Commonwealth Games were held on the Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia, starting from

April 4 and 15, 2018. The event featured 4,426 athletes from 71 Commonwealth Games

Associations, including 300 para-athletes. The games involved 18 Commonwealth sports,

including beach volleyball, swimming, badminton, weightlifting, cycling, and more, with 275

medals awarded.

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 The main objectives of the event are to attract the best athletes to compete in a

technically excellent, world-class, fun and friendly Commonwealth Games as well as to help

the Commonwealth members make the most of the opportunities presented by the Games.

This event can to some extent harness the enthusiasm of various communities and leave a

great experience and great benefits for all.

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9.0 MEDICAL AND EMERGENCY SERVICE

First Aid Accident & Emergency Logo

There is always the danger of a crisis or an emergency arising, regardless of how

well-designed, planned, and executed the event programme or event setting. Any situation

that poses a threat to life or property, that is suspected of posing a threat to life or property,

demands immediate action.

The organizers must plan for the worst-case scenario and put their strategy into

action. Even at the most secure event locations and smallest celebrations, injuries and

deaths can occur. Officials and authorities who can properly point them must be sought out

by them.

First Aid Accident & Emergency will be in charge of everything in this circumstance,

including the medical and emergency care providers. They are locally owned and operated

family business on the Gold Coast with a strong focus on the community. They provide

training and equipment, including free CPR seminars, as well as donating defibrillators, kits,

and training to non-profit organizations on the Gold Coast.

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10.0 HOW THE EVENT END

The event came to a satisfying conclusion. The ceremony came to an end when

Susie O'Neill, an Australian swimmer, drove the Baton Relay into the stadium in a kombi

van, signalling the end of the proceedings. She then took the Baton to the stadium's centre,

where photographs and films of popular Gold Coast tourist spots were presented on a large

projection screen. Following the visually magnificent performance, the baton was given to

Australian cyclist Brad McGee, then took turn passed it on to Australian wheelchair racer

Kurt Fearnley, who in turn passed it on to him. A short time later, the baton was handed to

netballer Liz Ellis, who from 1992 until 2007 was a member of the Australian national netball

team and had served as captain for four years during that time. Sally Pearson, an Olympic

hurdler and Gold Coast resident, was the next to take the Baton, followed by Brent

Livermore, an Australian hockey player, who received perhaps the biggest ovation because

of his home state of Queensland. When Louise Martin finished, the President of the

Commonwealth Games Federation, Prince Charles, took over and read out the Queen's

message, officially declaring the Games open.

Following the handing of the Queen's Baton and the start of the games, Delta

Goodrem, an Australian singer-songwriter, sang the song " Welcome to Earth " to

commemorate the occasion. Following her performance, a big audience gathered, and

Sigur-Rossy music began to be played, drawing even more people in. There was a giant

white whale balloon in the shape of a migaloo that filled the whole stadium, which filled the

stadium. It contained photos of the Antarctic and the Great Barrier Reef, which were

displayed on a large projection screen. The artwork for this piece was produced by artist

Delvene Cockatoo-Collins, and it was also used to embellish the medals awarded to athletes

competing in the Games. Ruel sang " Golden Years " on the roof of the stadium while

fireworks exploded above him. The performance came to a close with a barrage of fireworks

being launched from the top of the Carrara stadium.

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Kurt Fearnley, a Paralympian and Games ambassador, unveils the Queen's Baton for 2018

The Australian singer-songwriter Delta Goodrem performed her song "Welcome to Earth."

Fireworks on the Carrara stadium's roof

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11.0 IS THERE ANY POST-EVENT RECOGNITION

Yes, we noticed some post-event recognitions at the 2018 Commonwealth Games

Opening Ceremony. The royal highnesses of Charles, Prince of Wales, who concluded the

opening ceremony of the event, attended the event.

Lather Cora, a Yugambeh man and contemporary Indigenous artist, conducted The

Traditional Smoking Ceremony with his family. The Smoking Ceremony is where they

involve burning native plants to produce smoke. This ceremony is like Australian traditional

things that they will do for Welcome to the Countries performances. Moreover, it is also

believed to clean of bad spirit and cleansing properties. This ceremony was also

accompanied by a dance and singing performance.

Therefore, The Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Youth Orchestra, headed by John

Foreman, provided a wonderful soundtrack for all of the athletes as they entered the

stadium. That was the iconic Australian song, and the fact that the background music added

to it made it much more memorable when they entered the stadium. That was the most

emotional moment, especially when you watched your own country marching into the

stadium alongside the other nations.

A group of inspiring Commonwealth Games athletes carried the flag during the

opening ceremony of the 2018 Commonwealth Games at Carrara Stadium in Gold Coast to

express their appreciation to the athletes. The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF)

recently appointed all athletes to the athlete advisory commission. The athlete who carried

the flag is Brendan Williams an athlete from 2010 – 2014 from Dominica.

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Next is Natalie Detroit, the seven times gold medallist athlete from South Africa. Other than

that is, Alison Shanks from New Zealand track cycling athlete gold medallist, Nicole

Forrester from Canada and Colin Gregor from Scotland. The last one is Rhona Toft, three-

time commonwealth games athlete and chair of the athlete advisory commission also from

Scotland.

After the speech ended, Queen’s Baton finally arrived in the Carrara Stadium. The

baton is passed from legendary hand Susie O'Neill to Brad McGee, Kurt Fearnly, Liz Ellis,

Brent Livermore and Sally Pearson. The baton is passed from the athletes four-time where

it is meant to represent “friendly games” spirit. Inside the baton, there is the message from

the Queen’s, and the message was read to mark the Commonwealth Games is open by

royal highnesses Charles, Prince of Wales the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II.

Last but not least, the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony ended with grand

entrance of Migaloo’s. Migaloo is Australia's famous whale, the whale made an entrance

with the blue lighting at the center of Carrara stadium. It also revealed that Migaloo is

swimming under the ocean with human mandala dance under the Migaloo whale. The cast

and the songwriter also performed his song which is Golden Years. Delvene Cockatoo-

Collins was the designer of the Commonwealth Games gold, silver, and bronze medals.

This event's is his artwork as well.

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12.0 DISCUSSION (WHAT IS GOOD, WHAT IS BAD, OPINION TOWARDS EVENT)

This event has some good and bad qualities. In our opinion, what was good about

the Gold Coast 2018 Opening Ceremony is that the event went smoothly as planned with the

teamwork that was demonstrated in the event. We can evaluate it by the Queen’s Baton

that contains a message from Queen Elizabeth II for Charles, Prince of Wales to declare the

opening of the event, which the audience can see clearly because the lighting in the stadium

was bright and the lighting team did their best on focusing the light to the athletes who are

running and passing the Queen’s Baton until it successfully arrived to Charles, Prince of

Wales.

Moreover, what makes the event more meaningful is that the group parade

contingents wearing their nation’s traditional uniform to symbolize their uniqueness while

showcasing their flag’s colour, and proudly raising their respective flag to the world. Not only

that, the event becomes more enjoyable with the presence of the background music and

ambient lighting that illuminates the whole stadium to enhance the atmosphere and

liveliness. All of these holistic environments managed to create a great ambiance and

receive enthusiastic cheers from the audiences.

Next, they put a greater emphasis on cleanliness during this ceremony. An Australian

event management business was hired to provide housekeeping services at the Gold Coast

2018 Commonwealth Games. The Victoria-based company has over 30 years of experience

and is in charge of "keeping the Games Village gleaming" for 6,600 athletes and officials.

The bad quality of this event is that the audio systems did not sound good where the

speech and the music are not clear. Because the quality of sounds will make it hard for the

audience to understand the content of the speech during the event. Usually, any event will

provide modern sound equipment, especially big events like the Commonwealth Games

Opening Ceremony. As the organizer of the event, we need to be more prepared by

providing a good quality of sound equipment, so that the event will go smoothly without the

lack of sounds.

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 Next, we can see that there are a few technical problems in the ticket sales system.

The ticket sales system for the opening ceremony is sold in two ways which are via online

and walk-in counter. As the tickets are physically obtained, any mistakes on the ticket can

be issued instantly. As happened, around 15000 tickets for the Commonwealth opening

ceremony were wrongly printed for the day of the event. It might look like a simple issue,

however as this is a big event and involves many people purchasing the ticket, this careless

mistake should not occur. In addition, a problem with online ticket sales was that the buyers

still need to queue the ticket redemption center to redeem their ticket, which is quite

inconvenient. Therefore, the organizer must come out with a solution to make the system

more convenient for buyers to purchase their tickets either online or physically.

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13.0 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, in handling the event, as the organizer we need to make sure the

event goes well and smoothly as planned. It does not matter if the event is formal, semi-

formal, or informal. Based on the event that we chose, which is the 2018 Commonwealth

Games Opening Ceremony, it teaches us a lot to be more organized and cooperative in

accomplishing things such as events.

To make sure the event goes as planned, it should have the vision and mission so

that we can see what needs to be achieved during the event. In order to make the event go

well, we need to make the event tentative so that the VIPS, the audiences and other people

know the flow of the event. Moreover, as a team of the organizer, we need to prepare the

backup plan of the event in case anything is happening when the event is run.

Since the event is rarely done, as the organizer we need to make sure the event has

done something interesting where the audiences were attended by VIPS and people from

other countries. For example, traditional performances from each country to showcase its

uniqueness, and inviting singers to make performances can attract the audiences’ attention

and be a great and memorable experience for them.

However, people will not attend or even watch the event if they don’t know about the

event. So, as the organizer, we should use more platforms to make sure the others know

the existence of the event. We can promote it through newspapers, television, Instagram,

Twitter and putting up billboards. So that there will be a lot of people that come or watch it.

Lastly, we hope that there will be more sports events like this to open the eyes of the

people around the world about sports. The government also needs to support those who

have potential in sports by promoting and give them the opportunity to represent our country

in International Sports event.

26
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