tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/opening-ceremony-11629/articlesopening ceremony – The Conversation2016-08-02T16:25:14Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/633612016-08-02T16:25:14Z2016-08-02T16:25:14ZHow much have the Olympics really changed since ancient times?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132796/original/image-20160802-17185-1r7sx07.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hulk who?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/drinksmachine/6483966959/in/photolist-jm5F9V-8MxTS7-ehb7XX-oh7eQr-4nJPai-bAndNS-9w693N-rh1RHo-6C7iAP-nx5DKR-95uECj-8d7Dut-nL8GEA-96jS5c-5WjdbM-o9b4rG-6nhpmk-n2t7N-aSY2tM-bJt9sk-5SAmbJ-4nNSKW-4nNSFN-kuPB46-sn739-8ctuPN-bAnd4A-7f2XDi-93R3qD-av5U3r-bPgScX-8ZELs8-9Wy4z-skwoe-neF6TQ-o5wq5F-gPZqb3-4rnoPT-5QT3aW-b1Jho-zfTsJ-9Eip2-8h6hHA-4ry5ip-fJMcv-6wRrpv-51P3k-tBqTqR-dGAqiz-dGAcBi">Drinks Machine</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Rio Olympics will be the 31st Summer Games of the modern era, but they have a long way to go before they can compete with <a href="http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TB001EN.html">nearly 12 centuries</a> of ancient Olympics. Athletes came from across Greece to compete in everything from running to discus to boxing to horse racing, in honour of the Greek god Zeus. The games dated back to 776 BC (and perhaps earlier), and ran at least to the end of the fourth century AD.</p>
<p>Most people probably have a sense of how the ancient games formed a template for the modern Olympics, but when you dig into the detail of the ancient sources you start to see that things are not so simple:</p>
<h2>1. Olympic ideals debunked</h2>
<p>Many of the claims people have made about connections between the ancient and modern games are false. The Olympics presents itself as a vehicle for world peace and unity, justified by the idea that the so-called ancient Olympic “<a href="http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TD022EN.html">truce</a>” involved a cessation in fighting across the Greek world during the games. But we now know that it was mainly just for protecting those who travelled to the games. </p>
<p>Then there is the elitist ideal of Olympic amateurism in the 19th and early 20th centuries. That was justified by the idea that ancient athletes competed just for the sake of it, but it is <a href="http://ancientolympics.arts.kuleuven.be/eng/TD009EN.html">clear now</a> that they were in it for money.</p>
<p>The <a href="http://trackandfield.about.com/od/triplejump/ss/illustriplejump.htm">history of</a> the triple jump is strangest of all. It was invented for the 1896 Athens Olympics in response to an ancient text recording a long-jump record of more than 15 metres. When you look at the text more closely, it becomes clear that the distance was meant as a joke.</p>
<h2>2. Holy cow!</h2>
<p>Misleading claims like these have generally been based on a relatively small number of literary texts from the fourth and fifth centuries BC (the classical period). But if you really want to understand ancient sport you need to look also at the thousands of surviving athletic inscriptions carved on stone from the last three centuries BC (the Hellenistic period) and the Roman Empire (from 31BC onwards): few other texts give such a vivid glimpse of ancient day-to-day life. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132797/original/image-20160802-17198-1evoabp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132797/original/image-20160802-17198-1evoabp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132797/original/image-20160802-17198-1evoabp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132797/original/image-20160802-17198-1evoabp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132797/original/image-20160802-17198-1evoabp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=647&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132797/original/image-20160802-17198-1evoabp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=814&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132797/original/image-20160802-17198-1evoabp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=814&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132797/original/image-20160802-17198-1evoabp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=814&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Burger off.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/stuartncook/2767330983/in/photolist-5dxi6a-kCahTh-j7JT2t-6VzpZq-5UkyBj-6CvrC-2v2bv-by5GeU-2v1Gi-afW9VX-2v1Ji-fYP85W-bVPSEf-6vPDyG-4SyX4P-qErug1-nkh5oP-i874Ji-d8Yruo-EpfWVm-fvFM7G-uPK1r-oXLEWR-db4fJx-fvrvYX-odPNXm-8eXV1f-6BZ4EX-s8bAFu-6Tkkfj-2v1X8-94yN2H-f9mPxG-fie1sS-77ADFW-6nEGur-9qFq3D-dgXoSc-8ycnsM-Fy1VE-jVtKRL-78cK8v-hgA8f1-8Z1WNF-abdqeH-77wGhc-5kG1wv-a1d9f4-9kGXiR-abggdd">S Cook</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>When you look at that material you realise just how bizarre and alien some aspects of ancient sport were by modern standards, especially the religious element. Imagine cows being sacrificed between races in the middle of a modern Olympic stadium, for instance. </p>
<h2>3. Calendar crunching</h2>
<p>Yet this material also points us to some surprising similarities between ancient and modern. Many have <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7312/gutt13340">argued</a> that complex and bureaucratic sporting events were only developed in the 19th century. The evidence from the Roman Empire shows that this can’t possibly be right.</p>
<p>Greek athletics flourished in the Roman Empire and the Olympics in particular underwent a revival, especially through the sponsorship of successive emperors. The Olympics was the lead event in a calendar that involved probably more than 500 independently organised annual festivals across the eastern Mediterranean. The organisational complexity and financial investment were enormous. </p>
<h2>4. Construction time again</h2>
<p>The media has been full of the <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2016/07/29/sport/olympics-2016-venues-rio-brazil-russia-ban-zika/">usual stories</a> about the race to get Olympic buildings finished in Rio. At least in the ancient world, sports festivals stayed in the same place so buildings could be reused. </p>
<p>Yet preparation was far from straightforward. The following text, dating probably from around 240BC, describes preparations for the Pythian festival (second only to the Olympics). It lists over 40 tasks, each with a large price tag and building contractor:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Digging and levelling the covered practice track and the colonnade … digging and levelling the open-air practice track … provision of 270 medimnoi [about 14,000 litres] of white earth for the covered practice track … fencing of the covered practice track …</p>
<p>Maintenance of the covered and open-air practice tracks, the rooms for ball games, and the gymnasium … cleaning out of the Pythian stadium and renovation of the surrounding embankments … digging of the Pythian stadium, and digging and levelling of the jumping pits … construction of the auditorium. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is evidence, too, of public-private partnerships, where rich individuals paid for works that would be available for profit-making outside festival time.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132794/original/image-20160802-17169-oxdtjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132794/original/image-20160802-17169-oxdtjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132794/original/image-20160802-17169-oxdtjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132794/original/image-20160802-17169-oxdtjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132794/original/image-20160802-17169-oxdtjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132794/original/image-20160802-17169-oxdtjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132794/original/image-20160802-17169-oxdtjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132794/original/image-20160802-17169-oxdtjl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Artist’s impression of Ancient Olympiad.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancient_Olympic_Games#/media/File:Olympos.jpg">Wikimedia</a></span>
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<h2>5. Opening ceremonies</h2>
<p>The torch relay wasn’t an ancient institution. It was <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/rio-2016/2016/07/13/olympics-torch-relay-nazis-germany-adolf-hitler/87048212/">invented by</a> the German classical scholar Carl Diem for the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, and glorified through Leni Riefenstahl’s film <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bNnDBAdF2sI">Olympia</a>. </p>
<p>The opening ceremony <a href="https://ancientandmodernolympics.wordpress.com/2012/07/27/the-opening-ceremony-at-the-ancient-olympics/">does have</a> some ancient parallels, however. As far as we can tell there was a procession from the city of Elis 30 or 40 miles away. It seems to have included all athletes and umpires, presumably with lots of fans tagging along. It involved stops for ritual purification with pig’s blood along the way. </p>
<p>On arrival in Olympia, the umpires would sort the athletes into age classes, deciding who should compete in the boys’ category and who in the men’s. Then the athletes would swear oaths on slices of wild boar’s flesh in front of the statue of Zeus, promising good conduct.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132799/original/image-20160802-17177-1p3so2g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132799/original/image-20160802-17177-1p3so2g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/132799/original/image-20160802-17177-1p3so2g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132799/original/image-20160802-17177-1p3so2g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132799/original/image-20160802-17177-1p3so2g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132799/original/image-20160802-17177-1p3so2g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132799/original/image-20160802-17177-1p3so2g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/132799/original/image-20160802-17177-1p3so2g.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=474&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Feeling boared?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://pixabay.com/en/margit-wallner-sculpture-greek-1111260/">Pixabay</a></span>
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<p>But possibly a better precedent for the complexity of the modern preliminaries is the ancient tradition of sending out envoys (theoroi) across the Greek world. They would notify other cities of the Olympics and invite them to send ambassadors to celebrate membership of the wider Greek community. They visited dozens of cities, highlighting the festival organisers’ great care to maintain contact around their world. It must have taken many months in all.</p>
<h2>6. Whipping into line</h2>
<p>We have heard a lot recently about <a href="http://sports.yahoo.com/news/rio-olympics-security-firm-fired-maligned-police-force-takes-over-221722153.html">concerns over</a> Brazilian police capabilities. Security mattered at the ancient games too. It’s hard to find parallels for modern terrorism, but ancient crowds could get rowdy. Famously there <a href="http://cir.campania.beniculturali.it/museoarcheologiconazionale/thematic-views/image-gallery/RA107?set_language=en">were riots</a> in Pompeii after a gladiatorial contest in 59AD.</p>
<p>Ancient officials watched out for cheating competitors, but they could also target spectators. They were known most often as “mastigophoroi” or whip-carriers. There is evidence that they wore distinctive uniforms and also carried sticks and shields. We might not quite be ready for Rio security officials with whips, but this concern with public order is another sign that some things have changed less than you might imagine.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/63361/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason König does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Dig into the details of the ancient Olympics and you find a lot of misinformation, but also a surprising amount in common with the modern games.Jason König, Professor of Greek, University of St AndrewsLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/296762014-07-24T15:39:27Z2014-07-24T15:39:27ZWas the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony any good?<p><em>From John Barrowman’s Scottish accent to Susan Boyle’s nervous take of Mull of Kintyre to the cheered tribute to Nelson Mandela, the Commonwealth Games gave us an opening ceremony to remember. And that’s before anyone mentions <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/john-barrowman-praised-for-commonwealth-games-opening-ceremony-gay-kiss-9624782.html">that kiss</a>. We asked events specialist Joe Goldblatt and Simon Pia, veteran of Scottish journalism, what it all meant.</em> </p>
<hr>
<p><strong>Simon Pia, Lecturer in Journalism, Edinburgh Napier University</strong></p>
<p>The kiss that went round the Commonwealth was surprisingly perhaps the least contentious part of an opening ceremony of what are going to be –- no matter what anyone says – a highly politicised Glasgow Games.</p>
<p>John Barrowman’s embrace with a male dancer during an opening stage that turned Celtic Park into something akin to Willie Wonka’s Chocolate Factory was a bold, politically correct message that no one in what is still the UK was going to take issue with. How other parts of the Commonwealth, such as Uganda, felt about it is another matter. </p>
<p>But within minutes of the ceremony starting, social media, the litmus test for the zeitgeist, was already dividing along political lines. Nationalists and independence campaigners were cringing behind the sofa at home tweeting abuse about Barrowman -– a high profile unionist -– and what they saw as a naff rather than kitsch extravaganza coming in at over £20m. </p>
<p>Surrealism-sur-Clyde, at times, as giant tea-cakes and sugary soft drinks twirled around a statue of the Duke of Wellington with a traffic cone on his head. Glasgow got it as did the rest of Scotland, but elsewhere? <a href="http://www.renemagritte.org">Rene Magritte</a> was not un Ecossais, n’est pas?</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54811/original/cmtvqsn7-1406210493.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54811/original/cmtvqsn7-1406210493.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54811/original/cmtvqsn7-1406210493.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54811/original/cmtvqsn7-1406210493.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54811/original/cmtvqsn7-1406210493.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54811/original/cmtvqsn7-1406210493.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54811/original/cmtvqsn7-1406210493.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/54811/original/cmtvqsn7-1406210493.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">The Duke of Wellington, complete with traffic cone.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/citizenm/4726833425/in/photolist-8cGfU2-8cKzaW-igaNy-Gokqp-a1LxDX-a1LxR4-cHv9dS-dVy5uR-dVy8on-7JyCUJ-9Qg4rj-dqaRJM-821bor-821bon-81N2Qq-2t5E8L-9Y2uYC-78RMSD-9XYzDp-fZE9YW-8hrtL5-6jnA7w-addknL-8DStTB-8F4cNk-eaWedk">CitizenM Hotels</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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<p>But what Glasgow did was very Scottish. Knowing it couldn’t compete with Danny Boyle’s Olympics, or even perhaps afraid to, it decided to do what it does best –- take the piss out of itself. </p>
<p>Some got the joke while others, particularly nationalists, didn’t. Or maybe it just wasn’t a very funny one. But Scotland taking itself seriously is essential to the nationalist mindset, particularly at this time in its history. Glasgow didn’t and this was seen as a slap in the face. </p>
<p>A sombre first minister pointedly referred to Scotland rather than Glasgow in his short speech, breaking the protocol of games etiquette which should be all about the host city. But Alex Salmond has never been known to miss an opportunity to make his point or wave his saltire, regardless of the circumstances. </p>
<p>But the whimsy of Glasgow’s approach opened up the metaphysical dilemma at the heart of the independence debate and Scotland’s existential angst over its identity. Social media was awash with the ceremony reflecting what an independent Scotland would look like –- a naff little place that is a bit of an embarrassment.</p>
<p>The paranoid wing of the nationalist camp, which is substantial, saw it as a unionist plot whereas the more measured in their ranks reckoned such pap can only be expected as the product of an infantalised people under an imperial yoke.</p>
<p>Meanwhile the Better Together campaign was hailing it as a feel-good success as God Save the Queen reverberated around that republican heartland of Scotland, Celtic Park; and the Red Arrows flew overhead billowing red, white and blue streams across the summer night sky.</p>
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<p>The mainstream Scottish media gave it the thumbs up on its front-page splashes as did leading TV and radio bulletins. The media wants the games to succeed. Some of the more discerning elements, aka the awkward squad such as the critics, were less enthusiastic in their reviews, some even scathing.</p>
<p>But all this misses what opening ceremonies are about. They are eminently forgettable and by their very nature naff and tediously boring. The 2012 Olympic ceremony was an anomaly. </p>
<p>The Glasgow gig was pawky, cheeky, lively, corny, naff and compulsive as it just avoided turning into a complete car crash let alone a turning point in the referendum.</p>
<p><strong>Joe Goldblatt, Professor of Planned Events at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh</strong></p>
<p>Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but when one billion people throughout the world behold an opening ceremony such as the one staged to open the 20th Commonwealth Games in Glasgow yesterday, the controversy often reaches a fever pitch.</p>
<p>It is important to place these events in a historical perspective. The majority of public events are funded by taxpayers, so millions of people have a vested interest in their content and legacy. The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4As0e4de-rI">London 2012 Olympic Games opening ceremony’s</a> budget was estimated at £65m. Some taxpayers would ask, and rightly so, how many new hospitals and schools could be constructed with this level of funding? In contrast, the budget for the opening and closing ceremonies in Glasgow <a href="http://www.glasgow2014.com/media-centre/press-releases/global-events-team-ready-create-and-deliver-glasgow-2014-opening-and">is £14m</a>. </p>
<p>Opening ceremonies are not just about using bread and circuses as a means of amusing and even distracting the public. These events do provide escapism from the mundane and even from serious catastrophes of the day, including the Malaysia Airlines crash in the Ukraine, but actually serve a far greater purpose – to tell the story of the host city or nation to the world. This is what leads to their controversy.</p>
<p>In the past, opening ceremonies producers have sought to focus only on the positive aspects of a destination and to provide popular entertainment for the audience both in the stadium and through television. This was certainly true during the London 2012 opening ceremony.</p>
<p>Danny Boyle’s showpiece focused on the historical development of the United Kingdom and paid tribute to key historical milestones such as the development of the industrial age, the NHS and even the internet. It was also criticised for not examining some of the darker chapters in British life, however.</p>
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<p>Glasgow is sometimes described in tourism marketing jargon as being representative of “edge tourism”. This means there is both a dark and light side to the city, both of which are enjoyed by tourists. Glasgow 2014 producer <a href="http://www.scotlandnow.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/commonwealth-games-glaswegians-main-voice-3891812">David Zolkwer</a> largely succeeded in telling this complex story to the world, having made several correct choices along the way. </p>
<p>Above all, the show did not avoid the over-the-top brashness that you would expect of an aspirational city like Glasgow. This included a same-sex kiss at the top of the show to help demonstrate Glasgow’s tolerance and embrace of diversity. At the tail of the show they saluted Nelson Mandela through word and song. This was once again a reminder to the world that while others hesitated, Glasgow stepped boldly forward to be the first to honour this great and good man with its freedom of the city award, even though he was a prisoner and could not accept it until many years later.</p>
<p>Second, for the first time in a mega event they incorporated an opportunity for the worldwide audience to contribute to UNICEF. This dramatically changed the usual focus of opening ceremonies from being one massive party without a purpose to one that could change the world one person and one event at a time. This is highly commendable and will most likely be adopted by most major events in future. Who knows, like many other Scottish inventions it might become known as the “Glasgow effect”.</p>
<p>Finally, although some would question the relevance of the panto approach to some of the Glasgow 2014 segments, it is important to note that Scottish panto has a long and storied tradition in this land. It is therefore a logical way to effectively communicate to the masses the important themes of humanity, generosity, courage and even good humour.</p>
<p>When the role of public events is chronicled, I am convinced that Glasgow 2014 will be remembered as having accurately reflected a city and country that is in great dramatic transition. The producers of the opening ceremony will be remembered, like others before them, for their controversial choices. They will also be remembered in this case, more than any other I have seen, for their bold commitment to using fundraising to create a better world. This is the kind of controversy we need more of in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29676/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joe is a member of the Scottish Nationalist Party, Academics for YES and the Royal Society for Arts, Manufactures and Commerce.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon is a member of the Labour Party</span></em></p>From John Barrowman’s Scottish accent to Susan Boyle’s nervous take of Mull of Kintyre to the cheered tribute to Nelson Mandela, the Commonwealth Games gave us an opening ceremony to remember. And that’s…Joe Goldblatt, Professor of Planned Events, Queen Margaret UniversitySimon Pia, Lecturer in Journalism, Edinburgh Napier UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/296202014-07-23T13:15:23Z2014-07-23T13:15:23ZAny nationalist sugar rush from the Commonwealth Games is unlikely to last long<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/54668/original/tcq2cz6v-1406119571.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">I'd like Scottish independence and a large fries, please.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/scottishgovernment/8205818398/in/photolist-dv7XVy-dv7YSJ">Scottish Government</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Celtic Park is hosting one of the biggest spectacles in the sporting calendar. The 40,000 spectators will be treated to the vagaries of the sports-media-entertainment complex: Rod Stewart, Susan Boyle and Amy Macdonald are due to perform while a 1020m2 mega-screen, Glasgow’s “Window on the Commonwealth,” will create a dramatic and immersive visual experience at the south stand. </p>
<p>With an estimated live global television audience of one billion, the ceremony will provide the city with an opportunity to strategically position itself in relation to the Commonwealth and stress the “generosity of spirit” tag-line that runs through the Glasgow narrative. Yet even though such events usually focus on the host city, there appears to be no shying away from the opportunity to also display the nation (or selected versions of it). </p>
<p>As Eileen Gallagher, independent director of the Glasgow 2014 board and chair of the ceremonies, culture and Queen’s Baton relay <a href="http://www.glasgow2014.com/media-centre/press-releases/glasgow-2014%E2%80%99s-opening-ceremony-create-recordbreaking-%E2%80%98window-world%E2%80%99">explained</a>: “Our bold and creative vision [is] to showcase our host city and nation”. </p>
<p>She added: “We are not in any way shy about being as Scottish and as Glasgow as we should be, because this is a big, big opportunity. I want people to look at the images we show … and say, ‘I want to be there. I want to go to Glasgow. I want to go to Scotland’.” </p>
<p>These sorts of pictures are often mythical, inclusive visions that have political capital. They are designed to attract tourists, drive investment and promote some form of feel-good factor, a sense of pride, a sense of attachment and a sense of belonging to nation.</p>
<h2>Vote for Team Scotland!</h2>
<p>Arguably this could not come at a better time for some. For while sport maintains a sense of distance from politics, at least publicly, and both sides in the September independence referendum campaign <a href="http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/top-stories/independence-salmond-pledges-politics-free-games-1-3484374">have been promising</a> to return the compliment, in reality the two could not be more interconnected. </p>
<p>So what impact are the games likely to have? Perhaps none. It is probably rather reductive to reduce the complexities of independence to athletic performance or one major event. The spectacle of the opening ceremony and medal-winning performances (or failures) are probably not reason enough to persuade voters. To say otherwise rather trivialises the intelligence of those voting.</p>
<p>Yet sporting events might provide one of the most powerful manifestations for the performance of Scottishness —- especially in such a global age. Scotland is arguably emblematic of what the late Eric Hobsbawn <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Nations-Nationalism-since-1780-Programme/dp/1107604621">might suggest</a> as a nation through which sport is so uniquely an effective medium for inculcating national feelings.</p>
<h2>Brazil’s bum trip</h2>
<p>There are similarities here, albeit differing contexts, between the Commonwealth Games and this year’s World Cup. The national identity of Brazil, like Scotland, is bound with its sporting identity. And look what happened to Brazil when national performance did not live up to expectation. The mood turned following <a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/bobbymcmahon/2014/07/06/neymars-injury-and-brazils-brutality-against-colombia-at-world-cup-an-alternate-view/">injury to Neymar</a> and more markedly following <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/28102403">humiliation</a> at the hands of the Germans. </p>
<p>Dissonance, mourning and disbelief starkly contrasted with the feel-good factor; deep inequalities and economic disparities resurfaced following a brief pause. Here, sporting success mattered, with performance and levels of patriotism clearly linked. So for the yes campaign, no matter how unfairly, performance could matter. Failure, no matter how defined, could alter the mood. </p>
<p>Then there is the English dimension. If England dominate in Glasgow, would there be the potential for an inverse relation between success and feelings of Scottishness? Might English success manifest in some form of Scottish backlash that could benefit the yes campaign?</p>
<p>As for the broader spectacle, it is likely that the games may well deliver a euphoric high, no matter how ephemeral. Scots may experience intense feelings of patriotism, in a moment of what is somtimes termed “<a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0962629809000420">hot nationalism</a>”. It can gloss over the realities of everyday life and the complex intricacies of the referendum. </p>
<p>One only has to think of the euphoria that circulated around London 2012, the version of Britishness on show at the opening ceremony, and the celebration and national pride demonstrated on <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/olympics/19131661">Super Saturday</a>. Indeed, with the Commonwealth Games exuding Britishness through all its sinews, one might question how Scottish the games can be. </p>
<p>Yet there is little to suggest that there would be long-lasting effects. These temporary moments of attachment, belonging and patriotism are often fleeting. Any euphoric hot nationalist attachment to some form of a mythical or manufactured Scottishness is likely to quickly dissipate. In the end, it is likely to make little difference to the independence referendum.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/29620/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Silk does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Celtic Park is hosting one of the biggest spectacles in the sporting calendar. The 40,000 spectators will be treated to the vagaries of the sports-media-entertainment complex: Rod Stewart, Susan Boyle…Michael Silk, Reader in Physical Cultural Studies, University of BathLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.