DAE was proud to create and produce the Flag Handover Ceremony at the August 8 2022 Closing Ceremony of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, the first national and international public face of the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Under the theme “Welcome to Regional Victoria”, this powerful show presented a major world-first and important milestone in reconciliation – the inclusion of First Nations Protocols with the official Flag Handover. One of the main objectives was to “ensure that First Nations perspectives and voices were centred and elevated” and we met this brief by placing the Traditional Owner Group’s representatives front and centre stage both physically, visually and auditorily to participate in official Protocols with international dignitaries.
The show featured an all Victorian cast including Baker Boy, Taylor Henderson and Vanessa Amorosi, 18 dancers and 4 First Nations traditional dancers presented to a live 40,000 seat stadium and an international broadcast audience of over a billion.
To successfully deliver this project in an extremely short timeline, we auditioned and rehearsed in Melbourne with two client showcases, before travelling staff, cast and talent to Birmingham, rehearsing in an off-site hotel location, participating in one camera rehearsal and one off-site dress rehearsal with no formal in-situ rehearsal with Birmingham Ceremonies team.
Despite the logistical and creative challenges, the result was a powerful show hailed as a success by international media and Victorian audiences alike.
