After the "Raging Bull" became an unexpected hit in Birmingham last year, Victoria 2026 organisers have launched a search for creative groups to produce their Ceremonies.

"Victoria is not just the sporting capital, we’re also the creative capital and there’ll be so much local talent and inspiration for our ceremonies production team to draw upon to tell Victoria’s story," Victoria 2026 chief executive Jeroen Weimar said.

An Expression of Interest is the first phase in recruiting the production team.

The Games are the first to be awarded to a region rather than a city and organisers are challenging creative industries to use the tender as "an opportunity to think differently."

"Our multi-city Commonwealth Games is a trailblazer and that’s the spark I want the world to see during our opening and closing numbers," Weimar added.

Organisers say that the Ceremonies team will be involved with everything from "conceiving creative ideas and collaborating with First Nations people, to overseeing auditions with local artists and managing the technical inner-workings of a multi-city production."

The specification adds: "The events will take the lead from the groundbreaking Birmingham 2022 Closing Ceremony, where traditional owners from Victoria formally took part in the Commonwealth flag handover and invited athletes from Commonwealth nations to {our} country.

"Victoria 2026 will honour First Peoples as co-hosts, recognise their representatives in formal protocols, and share the stories and histories of the oldest surviving culture on earth."

Weimar added: "We want experts because our athletes and performers deserve ceremonies that run like clockwork."

"This is also a creative exercise, so we want the team that can really get to the heart and soul of Victoria and share its stories."

The Opening Ceremony is set to be held at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, the same stadium which staged Ceremonies in 2006, the last time the Games were held in the State of Victoria.

The cast for the Opening Ceremony then included Dame Kiri Te Kanawa who sang Happy Birthday to Queen Elizabeth II. 

The Closing Ceremony featured a performance and video message by Dame Edna Everage, a character created by the late Barry Humphries, whilst performers in the stadium wore wigs and Dame Edna's distinctive glasses in tribute.

The last time the Commonwealth Games were held in Australia was 2018.

The Queen's Message was brought to the Carrara Stadium in the Gold Coast by a Volkswagen Kombi, typical of those used by surfers in the area.

It was Olympic and Commonwealth 100 metres hurdles champion Sally Pearson who delivered the Baton to the then Prince Charles.

There had earlier been an indigenous "Smoking Ceremony" and teams had been accompanied by the surfers life guard patrol.

Those chosen to create the Ceremonies in Victoria will also be made aware that the Gold Coast Closing Ceremony came in for heavy criticism, because entry of the athletes was not televised and too many dignitaries were permitted to make speeches.

Australian flag bearer and Para marathon gold medallist Kurt Fearnley was among those to express their frustration.

Many of the athletes left the Ceremony long before the end and even presenters for the host broadcaster Channel Seven joined in with the criticism.

The Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games are scheduled to open on March 17 2026.