It was one of Australia’s biggest entertainment events in recent memory, with a global viewing audience projected to be close to 1.5 billion.
But tensions were reportedly ‘boiling’ backstage at the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony on the Gold Coast on Wednesday night.
According to the Herald Sun, the anger was aimed at the show’s director of music, Katie Noonan, who ‘capitalised on her role to boost her own profile’.
‘Katie treated it like it was the Katie Noonan Show’: The Herald Sun claims ‘ tensions were boiling backstage’ at the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games on Wednesday night
While the opening ceremony featured a line-up of A-list performers – including Delta Goodrem, Christine Anu and Ricki-Lee Coulter – it was Katie who took centre stage.
The 40-year-old musician fronts indie rock band George, but is a relative unknown in comparison to the other more illustrious names.
The Herald Sun quotes one irritated production source as saying: ‘Katie treated it like it was the Katie Noonan Show.’
‘She insisted on her moment at the piano’: Several productions sources accused Katie of hogging the limelight
‘She was in all of the intros and outros for the athletes and she insisted on her moment at the piano,’ they added.
Accusing Katie of hogging the limelight, a separate source complained that ‘the camera was on her the whole time’.
Another allegedly railed against Katie trying to thrust her friend Emma Dean into the spotlight by having her perform a cover of John Farnham’s You’re The Voice.
A-list performers: Delta Goodrem was among the big names who performed at the opening ceremony, thought to be watched by 1.5 billion people around the world
There is no indication that any of the other singers were disgruntled by Katie’s role, and Daily Mail Australia has contacted her for comment.
Meanwhile, the opening ceremony received mixed reviews, with many believing some of the performers lip-synched their way through the show.
Ricki-Lee denied those claims in an interview with The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Thursday morning, stating: ‘I sang my face off last night’.
‘I sang my face off last night’: Ricki-Lee Coulter denied viewer claims that she and other stars lip-synched during the opening ceremony