PV Sindhu leads Indian contingent as Commonwealth Games 2018 gets underway

Rio Olympic silver-medallist PV Sindhu led the Indian contingent out for the Parade of Nations as the 21st Commonwealth Games officially gets underway in a spectacular fashion with a glittering opening ceremony in Gold Coast, Australia on Wednesday.

The opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games took place in a packed Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast, the host city for the Commonwealth Games.

The Indians ditched tradition for comfort in the ceremony, marching out in blazers and trousers rather than the conventional sarees and bandhgalas.

The opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games took place in a packed Carrara Stadium on the Gold Coast, the host city for the Commonwealth Games. Cheered on by a stadium audience of over 35,000, the ceremony welcomed and introduced the 4,600 Commonwealth athletes ready to stake their claim on the global sporting stage.

As part of a segment looking back on the epic journey of the Queen's Baton Relay, the Queen's Baton entered the stadium for its final moments - brought in to the stadium by multiple Commonwealth gold medallist swimmer Susie O'Neill before Athlete Sally Pearson AOM presented the baton to HRH Prince of Wales, who read aloud the message from Her Majesty The Queen contained within the baton to officially declare the opening of the Games.

The ceremony drew strongly on Aboriginal, Indigenous and First Nations cultures - symbolic of the Games' overarching commitment to reconciliation and inclusivity through sport.

The ceremony told a universal story - with staging inspired by the landscape, elements and iconography of the region.

The Parade of Nations track was a specially commissioned artwork drawing on indigenous and local culture and mythology, featuring stars, surfboards, sea animals and shells.