Pop Favorites head Games opening cast
OLYMPIC opening ceremony organisers yesterday confirmed an all-Australian line-up to welcome the world to the start of the Sydney Games. John Farnham, Olivia Newton-John, Tina Arena, Vanessa Amorosi, John Williamson, Julie Anthony, James Morrison and pop group Human Nature will lead the line-up.
The stars at yesterday’s announcement at the MCG said being a part of the opening ceremony extravaganza would be the highlight of their careers.
“On a scale of one to 10, it’s an 11,” Farnham said. Arena will sing The Flame, the “emotional highlight” of the ceremony during the lighting of the cauldron.
“I think it’s a really beautiful piece,” Arena said. She told how she had almost lost control when told of her selection. “I was hysterical, crying… it was the most emotional moment of my life,” she said. Arena admitted she had “secretly really hoped” she would be invited to perform at the September 15 event.
Amorosi, who turned 19 on Tuesday, will sing a more contemporary song, Heroes Live Forever, during the raising of the Olympic flag. “I don’t think anything else will top this off,” Amorosi said.
Farnham and Newton-John will perform a duet, Dare to Dream, at the close of the parade of nations as the Australian team enters the arena.
Anthony will sing a reworked version of the national anthem. “It’s very different,” she said. “But the first time I heard it, it was wonderful.”
The singers, gathered yesterday in the Long Room at the MCG, broke out into a couple of verses of Waltzing Matilda, which bush balladeer John Williamson will sing at the end of a one-hour prelude to the ceremony. “It’s our greatest song and always will be,” Williamson said.
“I can’t wait for the world to hear all those Aussies singing it together.” Ceremony artistic director David Atkins said: “I don’t know of anybody more capable of rousing the crowd than John.”
Ceremony director Ric Birch said the music of the opening night creates the memories of the Games. He and his team always hoped they would find the song which would “define the city and define the Games”. And they found four of them.
About 4500 songs were submitted by local and international songwriters. Musical director Max Lambert listened to each one. He said it was hard going to get the final four. Only eight weeks ago, Birch’s team finished culling a shortlist of 20. Mr Atkins said they then looked at the narrative of the performance and decided where the songs applied. The songs drove which artists would sing them, he said.
Mr Atkins said yesterday’s announcement was the culmination of four years’ work. He said despite “desperate overtures from amazing international acts who submitted songs” he and Mr Birch agreed from the outset the ceremony’s songwriters and performers would be Australians.
Farnham and Newton-John recorded their duet on Tuesday and Amorosi her song earlier in the week. Arena will record The Flame today. Mr Birch said the schedule for the ceremony was divided into a prelude and three acts and the music reflected the narrative.
“It’s almost like a movie soundtrack. There are scenes within the acts, but they are joined musically,” he said.
By Evie Gelastopoulos
The opening ceremony soundtrack will be released on an album on the night of the event.