Glasgow 2026 Opening Ceremony chief: how we put The King in a TARDIS

As clips of the scene go viral online and are shared around the world, the creative chief behind the Ceremony has revealed how the magical moment was made.

"We had so many amazing creative sessions where we really examined what we wanted the story of the show to be, and what were the 'gems' that could take things to another level," Louisa Mahon, Glasgow 2026 Chief Marketing and Ceremonies Officer, said.
 
"We were genuinely racking our brains when someone in the room mentioned the TARDIS. Everyone just stopped for a moment and were thinking, 'could we actually make that happen?'."

The TARDIS is a time machine which features in the long-running BBC television series Doctor Who. It was modelled on the iconic blue police boxes which are still a prominent feature on the streets of Glasgow.

For Mahon, it was a perfect fit with the wider story underpinning the Ceremony. 

"We thought, 'We have just the gem here'. Of course, we had to make sure the BBC thought it was a gem of an idea. We had to make sure that (Buckingham) Palace thought it was a gem of an idea, plus some of our supporting cast, such as Sir Chris Hoy and Greg McHugh.
 
"The story has taken many twists and turns (and) we had a number of iterations of how it would all work to get it right."

For many observers, the scene with the TARDIS brought back memories of the London 2012 Olympic Games, when Queen Elizabeth II was seen 'parachuting in' to the Opening Ceremony alongside the James Bond actor, Daniel Craig. 

"You do feel the weight of responsibility of wanting to make sure that we put on a show that’s glorious for the opening of the Games and actually really means something to the city and the rest of the Commonwealth," Mahon said.

The uniquely Scottish spectacular featured a cast of 490 people on stage and required a small army of volunteers - who contributed a combined 7000 hours of their time - off it to help make the show a success. 

"Nobody sees them, they’re like the unsung heroes of the show," Mahon said. "And all our choreographers, the costume team, the show callers - everyone who's making the experience really good for the cast and for the athletes.

"You rehearse the show, you see all the elements have come together, and then you actually just need to get to the stage where you go live and it's 'lights, camera, action' and you just go with it. 

"It was just joyous to watch it and to think that we have managed to fuse the Commonwealth Games with the Palace and with the BBC in such a humorous, unique and universally, globally understood way.

"We are absolutely delighted and could not wait for everyone to see it."