2014 Commonwealth Games
roving Scotland’s cultural vibrancy beyond Burns and bagpipes
The opening and closing ceremonies of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games represented an unprecedented opportunity to inspire national and international audiences with a dynamic and vibrant experience of an extraordinary city.
Our team, led by Head of Ceremonies and Creative Director David Zolkwer, aimed to deliver truly 21st Century ceremonies that captured the unique spirit and personality of the city and the region.
In a clever blend of tradition and the avant-garde and with a firm commitment to authenticity we infused the ceremonies with the character of Glasgow – straight-talking, humble, principled, genuine, generous, gallus, welcoming, compassionate, unpretentious, funny, proud.
We reinvented what these ceremonies could be. From the arrival of the Head of the Commonwealth, to the Parade of Nations, to the epic conclusion of the Queen’s Baton Relay to the hand-off to the 2018 host city, our experience pulled from Scotland’s very best talents to achieve an unforgettable, authentic showcase for the nation.
We also partnered with UNICEF and on that opening night we raised £5m+ for a specially created “Children of the Commonwealth Fund”. The success of this initiative was described as “a gamechanger”.
Impact
100,000 live audience
1 billion TV viewers
Glasgow represented our third major engagement at the Commonwealth Games having produced ceremonies for Manchester 2002 and Melbourne 2006.