Opening ceremony of the 18th Commonwealth games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground

Police praise crowd behaviour at games

Police have praised the crowd that gathered to witness the opening ceremony of the 18th Commonwealth games at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last night. The opening ceremony went without incident as expected.

About 100,000 people revelled in the games fever as they converged on the banks of the Yarra River and at the Melbourne Cricket ground for this grand display of international solidarity and friendship that the Commonwealth games signifies.

MCG venue commander acting superintendent Brett Guerin said that of the 80,000 spectators jampacked inside the stadium, there were no arrests made or people escorted. The ceremony went without incident and for this he praised the spectators for their orderly behaviour.

"People arrived at the stadium early as asked, making use of public transport and the crowds were very orderly coming to and from the venue", he said.

By Neil Rao