Commonwealth Games' opening ceremony 'can match London 2012'

The organiser of the opening ceremony for the Commonwealth Games believes the event in Birmingham on Thursday night could rival the entertainment seen at the London Olympics a decade ago.

Birmingham will host the Games that take place every four years, with the opening ceremony taking place ahead of the competition's first day of action on Friday.

The London Olympics' opening ceremony was well received and highly praised around the world, but the theatre director Iqbal Khan who created Birmingham's show believes he has created an event just as entertaining.

'I don't feel in the shadow of the Olympics at all. I feel like we have a comparable and massively entertaining, moving, challenging show to share with the world,' he said.

'The Olympics was extraordinary for this country, but we refuse to be overwhelmed by that. We take that as inspiration.' 

Pop group Duran Duran will return to their hometown to headline the ceremony, with other acts featuring Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath as well as the City of Birmingham symphony orchestra.

The ceremony will be led by chief creative officer Martin Green, who was head of ceremonies at the 2012 Olympics.

The Commonwealth Games minister, Nigel Huddleston, said: 'London 2012 brought spectacles of this kind to a whole new generation. Ten years on, this ceremony will connect a new, global audience and showcase the very best of Birmingham and the whole of the UK.'