2014 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony


The opening ceremony for the 2014 Commonwealth Games was held at Celtic Park in Glasgow, Scotland, between 21:00 and 23:40 BST, on 23 July 2014.

Parade of Nations

The ceremony was directed by David Zolkwer and included the 2014 Commonwealth Games Parade of Nations where 71 athletes, bearing the flags of their respective nations and territories, led their national delegations as they paraded into the stadium. The games were formally opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She referred to the Commonwealth's "shared ideals and ambitions" and the "bonds that unite" its members.
During the Parade of Nations at the 2014 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, held on 23 July 2014, 71 athletes bearing the flags of their respective nations lead their national delegations as they paraded into Celtic Park in the host city of Glasgow, Scotland. Each team was led out by a Scottish Terrier, wearing a jacket bearing the name of the country, followed by the flag bearer for that nation.
As the host of the last games, India entered first, followed by the rest of the Asian countries competing. Following this was Oceania, Africa, the Caribbean, the Americas and finally Europe. The Scotland team entered last, representing the host nation. In all cases nations entered in alphabetic order of their country names in English within their regions.
In honouring the victims of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 tragedy that occurred the week before the opening ceremony, the Malaysian delegation was led by eight athletes in Malaysia Airlines cabin crew uniform while the remaining athletes and officials wore black armbands, and the national flag was at half mast. A minute's silence was also observed.

Countries and flagbearers

Below is a list of parading countries and their announced flag bearer, in the same order as the parade. This is sortable by country name, flag bearer's name, or flag bearer's sport. Names are given in the form officially designated by the CGF. The first team to enter the stadium was India, host of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, maintaining the tradition of the immediate previous host nation entering first.
OrderNationFlag bearerSport
1Vijay KumarShooting
2Iqbal IslamShooting
3Muhammad Imaadi Abd AzizCycling
4Fatehah MustapaCycling
5Hassan SaaidAthletics
6Azhar HussainWrestling
7Lim Heem WeiGymnastics
8Sudesh PeirisWeightlifting
9Anna MearesCycling
10Patricia TaeaAthletics
11Litia TikoisuvaLawn bowls
12David KatoatauWeightlifting
13Itte DetenamoWeightlifting
14Valerie AdamsAthletics
15Hina ReritiLawn bowls
16John ChristianLawn bowls
17Steven KariWeightlifting
18Ele OpelogeWeightlifting
19Jenly Tegu WiniWeightlifting
20Uaine Fa JrBoxing
21Lapua LapuaWeightlifting
22Yoshua ShingTable tennis
23Nigel AmosAthletics
24Vanetius NjuhWeightlifting
25Janet AmponsahAthletics
26Mercy ObieroWeightlifting
27Mokhotho MorokeBoxing
28Mataya TsoyoCycling
29Kate Foo KuneBadminton
30Kurt CoutoAthletics
31Helalia JohannesAthletics
32Maryam UsmanWeightlifting
33Theogene HakizimanaPowerlifting
34Clementina AgricoleWeightlifting
35James FaylaSquash
36Cecil AfrikaRugby sevens
37Phumlile NdzinisaAthletics
38Seleman Salum KidundaBoxing
39Charles SsekyaayaWeightlifting
40Punza MathewsJudo
41Rechelle MeadeAthletics
42Daniel BaileyAthletics
43Arianna Vanderpool-WallaceSwimming
44Shane BrathwaiteAthletics
45Chantel MaloneAthletics
46Michele SmithCycling
47Brendan WilliamsAthletics
48Kirani JamesAthletics
49Warren WeirAthletics
50Julius MorrisAthletics
51Antoine AdamsAthletics
52Levern SpencerAthletics
53Kineke AlexanderAthletics
54Keshorn WalcottAthletics
55Angelo GarlandAthletics
56Katy SealyAthletics
57Micah FranklinSquash
58Susan NattrassShooting
59Mike BrownleeBadminton
60Geron WilliamsCycling
61Simon HenryShooting
62Georgios AchilleosShooting
63Nick MatthewSquash
64Chris WalkerTriathlon
65Chris SimpsonSquash
66Tim KnealeShooting
67Steve Le CouilliardShooting
68Kevin Arthur MooreAthletics
69Martyn IrvineCycling
70Francesca JonesGymnastics
71Euan BurtonJudo

Programme

The programme, which included about 2,000 performers, featured Karen Dunbar, John Barrowman, Amy Macdonald, Rod Stewart, Susan Boyle, Nicola Benedetti, Julie Fowlis, Pumeza Matshikiza, Eric Whitacre and the National Youth Choir of Scotland, as well as a message from the International Space Station. The ceremony began with a countdown and a recorded video message from Scottish actor Ewan McGregor, explaining the partnership between the Games and UNICEF.
Following the arrival of the Queen there was a flypast by the Red Arrows display team. The venue featured the largest LED video screen in Europe, supplied by Sports Technology. Scotland's then First Minister Alex Salmond welcomed the participants and spectators, and introduced a moment of silence in memory of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 disaster.
The final part of the Queen's Baton Relay was run by 32 Scottish volunteers nominated for giving their time to developing the nation's youth through sport. The baton was then passed to Sir Chris Hoy, who delivered it to President of the Commonwealth Games Federation Prince Imran and the Queen. The display of the message concealed within the baton was delayed by a difficulty in opening the device.
The Games were launched in partnership with UNICEF, to save and change children’s lives. The unique partnership aimed "to use the power of sport to reach every child in Scotland and benefit children in every Commonwealth nation and territory."

Broadcast

The ceremony was broadcast by BBC One, and was introduced by Gary Lineker, Hazel Irvine, Clare Balding and Huw Edwards. The estimated worldwide television audience was one billion, with 9 million in the UK.