other-sports

Updated: Apr 04, 2018 18:20 IST

Star shuttler P.V Sindhu led the Indian contingent at a glittering opening ceremony at the Carrara Stadium in Gold Coast on Wednesday. A strong Indian contingent is in the Australian city and will be aiming to better the country’s previous showings at the Games. At the previous edition of Commonwealth Games in Glasgow the Indian medal tally stood at 64 – 15 gold, 30 silver and 19 bronze. Follow highlights of Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018 opening ceremony here.

18:10 hrs IST: And as the Whale dives into a graphic ocean, the dazzling opening ceremony comes to an end.

18:09 hrs IST: Fireworks all around the stadium. It’s a plethora of colours at the Carrara Stadium.

18:04 hrs IST: Performers are singing, dancing around a gigantic whale balloon at the Varrara Stadium. Awesome scenes at the stadium.

17:59 hrs IST: Delta Goodrem now performs at the opening ceremony.

17:52 hrs IST: Kurt Fearnley.gives it to Sally Pearson and then the message from the baton is given to Prince Charles, who declares the Games Open!

Britain's Prince Charles speaks during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games at the Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast. ( AFP )

17:51 hrs IST: Susie O’Neill hands the baton to cyclist Brad McGee, who gives it to Paralympian Kurt Fearnley.

17:46 hrs IST: Performers showcasing different aspects of Queensland.

17:40 hrs IST: Susie O’Neill arrives in the stadium with the Queen’s Baton.

17:34 hrs IST: Beautiful one day, perfect the next. Welcome to Australia, welcome to Queensland, and welcome to the Gold Coast - Peter Beattie, Chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission says

17:27 hrs IST: Athletes carrying the Commonwealth Games flag are in the stadium. All of those six are appointees to the CGF Athlete Advisory Commission: Brendan Williams: Dominica, Natalie Du Toit (para-sport representative): South Africa, Alison Shanks: New Zealand, Nicole Forrester: Canada, Colin Gregor: Scotland, Rhona Toft: Scotland

17:24 hrs IST: The dignitaries look to be in awe of the opening ceremony.

17:21 hrs IST: Performers showcasing the aboriginal past of Australia. They have lit up a fire on the middle of the stadium.

17:15 hrs IST: All the athletes are here at the Carrara Stadium. Australian singer Katie Noonan is currently performing now.

17:07 hrs IST: Finally, the hosts nation - Australia - are here. They have a jumbo 400-plus contingent.

17:05 hrs IST: The countries participating looks like never ending Nauru, New Zealand, Niue, Norfolk Island, Papua New Guinea, Samoa and Solomon Islands, Vanuatu.

17:01 hrs IST: The Oceania region is here - Cook Islands, Fiji, and Kiribati are here

16:56 hrs IST: St Vincent and the Grnadines, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands - Their colourful uniform impresses all.

16:52 hrs IST: The Caribbean nations are here. Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Barbados’ athletes grace the opening ceremony.

16:49 hrs IST: Pakistan, Singapore Sri Lanka are next.

16:46 hrs IST: AND INDIA IS HERE! PV SINDHU IS THE FLAG-BEARER. India have a 215-plus contingent. They won 64 medals in Glasgow and would hope to better that tally in this edition

16:45 hrs IST: The Asian countries are here. Bangladesh are the first from the region

16:43 hrs IST: Athletes from Canada, Falkland Islands, Guyana, St. Helena are next. They are from the North American and Central American region.

16:40 hrs IST: The Gambia, the smallest team inat this CWG arrives. They have just six athletes in all.

16:36 hrs IST: Seychelles, South Africa, Swaziland are next. They are all hale and hearty. From tomorrow, however, things will get serious.

16:32 hrs IST: Nigeria are next. They have always done well in Commonwealth Games. Rwanda follow them

16:27 hrs IST: African nations lie Botswana, Cameroon, Ghana are next. they have good possibility of ending among the top nations in the medals tally.

16:22 hrs IST: Small nations like Guernsey and Isle of Man athletes are next. They look a happy lot. It’s a chance for them to shine

16:20 hrs IST: Cyprus is the next team followed by England, who are led by Alistair Brownlee.

16:15 hrs IST: The team parade starts. Scotland are the first team to enter the arena, They hosted the Glasggow Games. 400m hurdler Eilidh Doyle is their flag-bearer.

16:10 hrs IST: There are a lot of references to beach culture and surfing on display, something Australia is of course well known for.

16:02 hrs IST: With the welcome speech done with, the Australian national anthem now blares through the stadium.

15:56 hrs IST: The totem ceremony has now come to an end and Prince Charles and his wife Camilla are now walking towards the centre of the stadium where a stage is set up.

15:50 hrs IST: The ceremony is now being graced by a totem ceremony, being done in the backdrop of a shining white light to give it an effect both beautiful and spooky.

15:46 hrs IST: Fans are now treated to a traditional didgeridoo performance which is also accompanied by a rap song from Mau Power. They are now being joined by Christine Anu, who famously performed at the Sydney 2000 Olympics.

15:42 hrs IST: Continuing with the Earth theme, the ceremony takes the viewers on a brief tour of the planet as a whole.

15:38 hrs IST: The narrator who stands in the middle of the arena holding a small lit-up globe, shares a wonderful message of unity.

15:35 hrs IST: The theme for the ceremony is “hello earth”. A beautiful light show followed by some dazzling blue fireworks get the ceremony started.

15:30 hrs IST: The clock counts down in the stadium and we are officially underway with the ceremony!

15:25 hrs IST: PV Sindhu will be one of the main gold medal hopes for India in the Commonwealth Games. But does that put the young shuttler under pressure? Check out her thoughts here.

15:20 hrs IST: The opening ceremony will begin shortly. The organisers will hope it goes off without a glitch, given that they have already been left red-faced due to an official programme of the event listing England as a part of Africa.

15:05 hrs IST: For many athletes, the wait for a medal in the Commonwealth Games can be a long and agonising one. However, one Australian boxer is already guaranteed a medal!

14:55 hrs IST: A number of Indian athletes are being billed as strong contenders for gold medals in Gold Coast. Take a look at our list of India’s best bets for the top prizes.

14:45 hrs IST: For Hindustan Times’ coverage of the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, click here.

14:35 hrs IST: Britain’s Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, are in Australia in Commonwealth Games. They have, however, faced a demonstration organised by a coalition of indigenous rights groups under the banner of “Stolenwealth Games”. Protesters are expected to demonstrate outside Carrara Stadium during the opening ceremony.

14:20 IST: Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Gold Coast Commonwealth Games 2018. The opening ceremony starts in about an hour. PV Sindhu will lead out the Indian contingent today.

This time, 218-strong Indian contingent is billed to be among the top nations in Gold Coast, with strong performances in the last four editions.

Australia are staging the Games for a fifth time, with Gold Coast seeing off competition from Hambantota in Sri Lanka to be named as the host venue.

A total of 71 Commonwealth nations and territories will be represented in Gold Coast, with beach volleyball and women’s rugby sevens making their debuts.