National Pride !

When it is an "Ashes series " year Australians are glued to their television sets because it is the combined team of our best cricketers - drawn from all the states and territories - which is doing battle with the Poms.  Nothing stirs national pride and sets the Aussie flags waving around the famous state venues than a contest involving one of our national teams

The 2000 Sydney Olympics was a success that drew praise from the world body, who   declared them "the best ever " !   Sydney solved a problem that had bedevilled other world countries.  The sheer logistics of moving the vast crowds attending Olympic spectacles required vast numbers of country and interstate bus drivers - and without an intimate knowledge of the host city - many of them got lost and threw transport into chaos.

Aussie ingenuity marshaled retired bus drivers, cabbies, couriers - all those folk who knew the city intimately - and put them on the buses as navigators, and gave them a microphone to act as tour guides and make the trips interesting for visitors.   That has become standard practice across the world - and the idea originated right here in Sydney.   For a country with a small population by world standards, we punch well above our weight !

World events have transformed into what some would call a "National showcase ".   Many remember the spectacular opening and closing ceremonies of the London Olympics which illustrated the progress of that world city as it stood on the world stage while the centuries slipped by.   That was sheer ingenuity and set a high standard for others to follow.   There is now an expectation that every world event will attain even greater heights.

Australia is looking forward to the 2018 Commonwealth Games which have been awarded to our Gold Coast.   The best and brightest from all the Commonwealth countries will gather for this event and the world will watch the medal tallies with awe.   Central to our Australian role will be both the opening and the closing ceremonies and these will present us to the world and hopefully put us high on the list of those planning an overseas holiday.   There is an expectation that tourist numbers will peak as a result of such events.

It is essential that we get the presentation right.  It needs to be a mix of what is unique about this country, presented in such a way that it intrigues and attracts.  It seems astounding that the games organization - known as Goldoc - has seen fit to hand the planning of both events to an American company to both plan and implement.   How can a bunch of foreigners hope to put together a spectacle that is uniquely Australian  ?

We have both the skill and talent  - and a past history of successful presentations - that has been ignored for these Commonwealth Games.   This American company will no doubt create a colourful show and it will probably be very spectacular, but it is highly unlikely to be other than the type of event we would expect to see if the games were being held in the United States.   National outlook and national thinking must colour the base theme.

There is also the disadvantage that American minds - trying to gain an "Australian " insight may stray into something "gawky " or inappropriate in trying to capture the essence of another nation's culture.  It is quite possible that what appears as an Australian themed event may make viewers here cringe. Australian humour does not translate well when copied by other nationalities.

There is still time to set the scene right - and return both the opening and closing ceremonies into Australian hands !