Victoria 2026 organisers commence search for Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremonies team

Organisers of Victoria 2026 have begun the search for a creative team to produce ‘show-stopping’ Opening and Closing Ceremonies for the next Commonwealth Games.

As part of an Expressions of Interest (EOI) invitation hitting the market this week to run the dual ceremony productions, the Victoria 2026 Organising Committee will challenge creative industries to take the Games’ unique, multi-city model as “an opportunity to think differently”.

Advising that the search for creative groups to produce their ceremonies is now underway, Victoria 2026 Chief Executive, Jeroen Weimar explained "Victoria is not just the sporting capital, we’re also the creative capital and there’ll be so much local talent and inspiration for our ceremonies production team to draw upon to tell Victoria’s story.

“Our multi-city Commonwealth Games is a trailblazer and that’s the spark I want the world to see during our opening and closing numbers.”

Events
The Victoria 2026 Opening Ceremony on 17th March at the Melbourne Cricket Ground will raise the curtain on the Commonwealth Games and set the tone for the multi-sport, multi-city spectacular to come.

An upgraded Kardinia Park in Geelong will host the Closing Ceremony before tens of thousands of spectators on 29th March 2026.

Weimar said the Closing Ceremony “will celebrate Victoria’s success on the world stage and thank every athlete, official, volunteer, worker and community member who made it possible.”

In between the headline ceremonies are 12 days of elite competition across 20 sports and nine Para sports, all split across the five Games cities of Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Shepparton and Gippsland.

“More than a million ticket holders will get a ringside seat to see global sport in our backyard.

“It’s the biggest event regional Victoria has ever seen.”

Expression of Interest from the Victoria 2026 Organising Committee advises that the Ceremonies team will be involved with everything from "conceiving creative ideas and collaborating with First Nations people, to overseeing auditions with local artists and managing the technical inner-workings of a multi-city production."

The specification advises "the events will take the lead from the groundbreaking Birmingham 2022 Closing Ceremony, where Traditional Owners from Victoria formally took part in the Commonwealth Flag handover and invited athletes from Commonwealth Nations onto Country.

"Victoria 2026 will honour First Peoples as co-hosts, recognise their representatives in formal protocols, and share the stories and histories of the oldest surviving culture on earth."

The first phase in recruiting the production team, Weimar adds "we want experts because our athletes and performers deserve ceremonies that run like clockwork.

"This is also a creative exercise, so we want the team that can really get to the heart and soul of Victoria and share its stories."

Procurement
Businesses who seeking to supplying ceremony production services for the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games are encouraged to view the information at Buying for Victoria’s suppliers’ portal.

The full procurement process will measure firms on their ability to deliver the event, and also their commitment to Victoria’s Local Jobs First Policy and the state’s Social Procurement Framework.

Victoria 2026's Business Hub has more information about policies that are designed to support Victorian jobs, and about how all businesses can put themselves in the strongest position for success through the Expressions of Interest process.

In March, Games Organisers and the Victorian Government revealed their three-year procurement pipeline for goods and services to host the major event - representing more than 1,200 individual procurement activities and covering everything from golf balls to gold medals.

Weimar went on to say “like all our more than 1,200 procurement opportunities coming down the pipeline, we’re keen to see as many local businesses as possible put their best foot forward.”

For details on the Buying for Victoria’s suppliers’ portal go to www.buyingfor.vic.gov.au

Click here to go to Victoria 2026's Business Hub. 

Images: Kardinia Park in Geelong is set to be the venue for the 2026 Commonwealth Games Closing Ceremony (top) and a smoking ceremony in tribute to Australia's Indigenous community was a key element of the Gold Coast 2018 Games Opening Ceremony (below). Both images courtesy of Victoria 2026.