Rehearsals begin for biggest part of summer
The work is underway to put on the best opening party ever seen in the region.
Rehearsals have begun for the opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, an event on July 28 expected to be seen by 30,000 spectators and broadcast to a global viewing audience of around one billion people.
Taking place at a secret location, the rehearsals have brought together more than 1,000 people age between 18 and 80-years-old who attended auditions in March and were selected from around 2,000 people.
Volunteers who are part of the mass cast started rehearsing on Tuesday under the watchful eye of chief choreographer, Corey Baker, and the members of the ceremony's creative team including artistic director Iqbal Khan and writer Maeve Clarke.
The creative team, led by Peak Blinder creator, Steven Knight, has previously spoken about how they are keen to use the Opening Ceremony as a platform to showcase the West Midland's talent and diversity
For both the Opening and Closing ceremonies, around 3,500 costumes will be made which equates to around 19,000 individual items.
The voices, cultures and talent of the West Midlands will be at the heart of the opening ceremony, with volunteers, including a 1,000-strong choir, telling stories through innovative broadcast, cutting-edge technology and spectacular production.
The show will include the arrival of the Queen’s Baton after its spectacular tour of the Commonwealth, which has included moments of celebration, visits to schools and famous landmarks, and athletes from all across the Commonwealth.
As well as the cast of professionals and volunteers, hundreds of people have joined the team to help out behind the scenes, including local students who are using this opportunity to learn new skills and get some hands-on experience in costume, props or stage management.
The costumes are being created and sewn by volunteers from across the region, including people already working in the fashion industry and students looking to gain experience.
The costumes include a huge variety of different styles which will all be showcased during the Birmingham 2022 ceremonies and after the Games, many of the costumes will be donated to local schools, colleges, theatre groups and museums.
Tickets to the opening ceremony are still available, but selling fast, and can be bought at birmingham2022.com/tickets
