2018 Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony
Large-scale projection content for global broadcast event
We contributed large-scale projection content for the Opening Ceremony of the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games — a globally broadcast event seen by an estimated 1.5 billion viewers.
Working with Jack Morton Worldwide, we helped deliver content across the ceremony’s cultural and protocol segments, forming part of a visually spectacular live production.
The Brief
The Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games is both a global broadcast and a cultural showcase — combining protocol, performance and storytelling at stadium scale.
At the centre of the 2018 ceremony was a 3,200m² circular stage made entirely of sand, designed to represent the beaches of the Gold Coast and act as a projection surface.
The brief was to create content that could operate seamlessly within this environment — supporting live performance while remaining legible across a stadium audience and broadcast feed.
The Experience
The ceremony unfolded as a celebration of Australian culture, landscape and identity — blending projection, choreography, music and large-scale performance.
Projection content transformed the sand stage into a living canvas — shifting between environments, stories and symbolic imagery, and interacting with performers in real time.
At key moments, projection extended beyond the stage itself — including onto a large-scale, moving whale puppet as it travelled through the stadium, creating a dynamic, living surface that required content to adapt to motion and form.
The result was a visually rich, layered experience that balanced spectacle with storytelling, contributing to a ceremony widely praised as “spectacular” by global audiences and media.
The Build
Large-scale projection content designed for a 3,200m² sand surface
Projection mapping adapted for non-static, moving surfaces (including large-scale puppetry elements)
Content developed to remain legible across stadium-scale viewing and broadcast
Integration with live choreography, staging and lighting systems
Close collaboration with directors, artists and technical teams
Delivery into a complex projection system using multiple high-output projectors
Working in a live broadcast environment with no margin for error, the focus was on precision, timing and clarity — ensuring content aligned perfectly with performance, staging and audience perspective.