Opening a hard act to top for closing organisers

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Despite some minor glitches, last night’s opening ceremony of the Olympic Games has recieved wide acclaim.

An esitmated audience of 3.5 billion watched a four-hour performance highlighting Australia’s culture and history, featuring more than 12,000 artists.

The last seven runners with the torch were all women, including Dawn Fraser, Betty Cuthbert, Shane Gould and finally Cathy Freeman as the surprise choice to light the cauldron.

The first lady of last night’s Olympic Opening ceremony and stadium torch bearer Dawn Fraser says her main concern after Cathy Freeman lit the cauldron was for her health.

“She was very wet and we didn’t want her to get a cold,” she said. “It was cold standing down there with the breeze coming around the track because all the athletes were in the middle.
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World’s a stage for our starlet

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By Anna Cock

TONIGHT – for a few hours at least – Nikki Webster becomes the most famous girl in the world.

The 13-year-old Sydneysider plays a starring role in the Games opening ceremony, which will be seen by an estimated TV audience of up to four billion people.

Her antics, which have been kept secret until tonight, are set to enthral the 110,000-strong Stadium Australia crowd. And the youngster’s angelic appearance will win hearts.

A performer since the age of five, Nikki’s life is devoted to the stage.

Her most recent role was that of Brigitta in The Sound of Music at Star City’s Lyric Theatre, and she has also played the gamine Cosette in Les Miserables at the Theatre Royal, and appeared in State Theatre productions of Cinderella and Aladdin.

Other credits include a featured extra role in Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, and guest roles on the soap opera Home and Away.

Nikki’s biggest fans – parents Tina and Mark, and brother Scott, 16 – will watch with pride tonight as she plays the child hero representing Australia’s hopes and dreams.

Source: Herald Sun

Seven secrets of the show

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By Brett Foley

Deep sea dreaming
Nikki Webster walks to the centre of the stadium, spreads out her beach towel and puts zinc cream on her nose. She falls asleep and is transported to a frenetic and brightly coloured dream of the sea. The visually stunning sequence features giant fish including barracuda, jellyfish, eels and squid, which swirl around the young girl, supported by overhead cables.

The cables also project Nikki and several swimmers wearing fluorescent bathers up to 32 metres above the ground. This sequence has the largest number of people ever raised overhead in an aerial performance, nine boys and girls and six specialist aerialists. A complex system of 11 cables strung 45 metres above the ground catapult the performers across the 111-metre space between the grandstands. More than 550 performers are involved in the sequence, designed to convey the significance of the ocean to Australia’s development.
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