Being part of the event: volunteering for the Games' ceremonies
“The Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremony is a landmark occasion for the athletes as they march into the stadium and .... (it) in particular sets the tone for the rest of the Games and I am confident that with their commitment to incorporating local talent, they will showcase the best of contemporary Scotland, set against our colourful history and traditions, at the same time embracing the values of the Commonwealth as we welcome the other 70 nations, regions and territories to Glasgow.” Michael Cavanagh, Chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland (2012)
In contrast to the attention given to volunteers who assist at Games-time at venues (‘Clyde-siders’ in the case of Glasgow 2014 or Games Makers in London 2012) and in supporting the event across the host city (such as Host City Volunteers in Glasgow), much less attention has been given to those who volunteer to participate in the celebratory and official cultural events. In the case of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, these volunteers included those who participate in the Opening and Closing Ceremonies at the Games, those involved in events within Festival 2014 held during the Games and the year-long Culture 2014 programmes. In addition, volunteers formed part of the cast at the Flag Handover Ceremony in Delhi in 2010.
The aim of this project has been to explore the motivations and volunteer journeys of the more than 3000 participants who took part as members of the cast at the Opening and Closing Ceremony casts. In particular, it is examining how their involvement, training and experiences impact on their wider volunteering roles – in communities, in art and culture or other contexts. Alongside a large scale online survey of all those involved, specific case studies will be highlighted to exemplify different impacts and journeys.
The research is significant for several reasons.
First, the study is to date the only research conducted on this group of ‘Games volunteers’ and thus provides insights which may assist event organisers who in future wish to use volunteers as part of cast or ceremony teams. All the respondents were asked to comment on their experience of rehearsals, the contributory factors to their overall satisfaction in the role, and those areas which they believed could be improved.
Second, being the first time that volunteers have been used extensively in the ceremonies it allows an examination of how this experience is translated in to the lives of those involved and in particular whether it encouraged them to get more involved as volunteers in future. The survey also explored how they Games experience impacted on the volunteers individually in terms of their confidence and knowledge.
The aim of this project has been to explore the motivations and volunteer journeys of the more than 3000 participants who took part as members of the cast at the Opening and Closing Ceremony casts. In particular, it is examining how their involvement, training and experiences impact on their wider volunteering roles – in communities, in art and culture or other contexts. Alongside a large scale online survey of all those involved, specific case studies will be highlighted to exemplify different impacts and journeys.
The research is significant for several reasons.
First, the study is to date the only research conducted on this group of ‘Games volunteers’ and thus provides insights which may assist event organisers who in future wish to use volunteers as part of cast or ceremony teams. All the respondents were asked to comment on their experience of rehearsals, the contributory factors to their overall satisfaction in the role, and those areas which they believed could be improved.
Second, being the first time that volunteers have been used extensively in the ceremonies it allows an examination of how this experience is translated in to the lives of those involved and in particular whether it encouraged them to get more involved as volunteers in future. The survey also explored how they Games experience impacted on the volunteers individually in terms of their confidence and knowledge.
