The Music that is played at Opening Ceremonies
At every large scale sporting event that has taken place in the last few years, there has been an opening and a closing ceremony. Both of these ceremonies are a huge deal and a lot of money, time and effort is spent in trying to make them so spectacular so
as to give the audience the best time possible. With the massive commercialisation of sporting events that is taking place at the moment, the best talent is hired to ensure that great opening and closing ceremonies take place. In this regard, the music that
is performed and produced for these ceremonies has to be top notch. The music that is played and performed needs to be further explored.
The first opening ceremony took place at the London Olympics in 1908 and was a grand affair for the time. Over the years, the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games have become grander and more spectacular. With the increased size and scope of the ceremonies,
other large athletic events like the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games started to feature their own opening ceremonies. These too were on a grand scale and they started to get bigger and more elaborate as time went by.
The purpose of these ceremonies it seems is to announce the arrival of the sporting event in the grandest way possible. Some of the world’s biggest stars are used and the event is usually something that is planned months and maybe even years in advance.
For an event like the Commonwealth Games where 60,000 were in attendance for the opening and with a television audience of almost a billion people, the ceremony had to be very spectacular. Only the best talent is hired to perform the music for these extravagant
events. For the Delhi CWG, the hugely popular and Oscar winning Indian composer AR Rahman was on hand to produce the music of the ceremony.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup had some similar high quality entertainers on hand for the opening ceremony. Some of the talent on hand were The Black Eyed Peas, Shakira, who also sang the official World Cup song, John Legend, Alicia Keys and many more. There were
also African performers who performed as well, as the whole tournament was taking place for the first time ever in Africa. The opening ceremony was lifted and transformed into a spectacular and worthwhile event by these hugely entertaining stars of the world
of music. It seems as if music plays a massive part in making an event what it is and this is why it has been used over the years in numerous different ways.
The specific type of music that is used in opening ceremonies is used for a specific reason. The tempo and flow of the music used is meant to uplift and captivate the audience who are watching. It is supposed to mirror the feelings and emotions that the
fans of the event itself get while watching it. For example, football is a global game that millions of people worldwide are extremely passionate about it. The same way, for an event like the World Cup, the performances have to be global and make the audience
very passionate about the sport they love and the massive event they are going to be a part of. Also the music that is played at these events is supposed to reflect the country that the ceremony is taking place in. The World Cup featured a lot of African music
to give the audience a feel and the vibe of the continent that they were in.
In time, the music that is played at these events will continue to be a large part of the opening and closing ceremonies. The best performers will be hired and the events will always try to outdo the ceremony that came before it. Fireworks displays, large
performances by musicians and huge concerts are the norm these days. We have to wonder what the organisers of the events will use to wow the audience with, in the next few years.
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