Creative director claims opening ceremony to be new, path breaking

Melbourne, Mar 14 (UNI) Ending weeks of suspense, Creative Director of Games Ceremonies Andrew Walsh today lifted the lid on some of what the public is to expect at tomorrow night's Opening Ceremony.

''The Opening Ceremony will give the impression of Melbourne's creativity and vibrancy, in a creative and vibrant nation. It will even redefine what an event ceremony has to offer,'' Walsh said.

''If (the ceremony) is not that, it will be an also-ran, and Melbourne is not that sort of place,'' he told the media here.

More than 6,000 people are involved in both the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, with thousands of volunteers set to play a part on Australia's most famous playing field, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

The Opening Ceremony will be heavily contemporary, with some of the rehearsals not even featuring many of the spectacular elements planned for the big night, due to their complexity and one-off nature.

Walsh also announced that the soundtrack to the event, a completely new Australian work, will be played live by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and special guests.

As well as the ceremony inside the MCG, people can join the celebrations on the neighbouring Yarra River, which will be the pathway leading the 71 Commonwealth nations into the stadium.

The Opening Ceremony itself will take place inside the Melbourne Cricket Ground here tomorrow evening.

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