Rumbling for the World's Badminton Elite in Birmingham

The Pandemonium Drummers opened the finals of the Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships 2014 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham on Sunday, 9th March 2014.

Departing very early on a Sunday morning, a crew of 40 volunteers traveled to Birmingham with plastic buckets, blue lightbulb bowler hats and blue jackets from the London 2012 Olympic Closing Ceremony, which perfectly matched the colour of the event's volunteer outfit.

The day of the tournament finals started with the Championships Show at 11.30am, with the Pandemonium Drummers as the first act of the local Opening Ceremony, followed by elaborate LED hoop juggling by Helen Orford and her team.

In a newly developed sequence by our own drum captain Steve Ball, three drummers with glowing drum sticks had a rhythmic conversation with themselves and the audience before the full group entered the stage area to energise spectators with stomping beats.

After our performance, we took the opportunity to watch similarly powerful Badminton finals in the Arena.

Photo gallery of the event by Vilma Laryea

About the Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships at The NIA

Badminton has a massive following in Southeast Asia, and the finals were dominated by teams from that region.

The All England Open is one of the oldest and most prestigious events in this discipline and attracts the world's best players.

The National Indoor Arena in Birmingham is one of the busiest large-scale indoor sporting and entertainment venues in Europe and has a maximum capacity of about 14,000 people.

The Yonex All England Open Badminton Championships have run at The NIA since 1994.

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ABOUTPandemonium Drummers

The Pandemonium Drummers were originally put together by London 2012 Ceremonies for the Pandemonium segment of Danny Boyle's spectacular Olympic Opening Ceremony. Following the Ceremony, the volunteer drummers kept on performing at a variety of events.

Based on their extensive training, they performed at other Opening Ceremonies, including the UEFA Champions League Final 2013, the FA Cup Final 2014, and the Heineken Cup Final 2014, and at a variety of large and small festivals as well as sports and community events. The Pandemonium Drummers are a returning act in London's major parades, including the London New Years' Day Parade, St Patrick's Day Parade, and the Lord Mayor's Show, and they coined Cheer Drumming, supporting runners at major sports events across the capital and beyond. The Pandemonium Drummers have supported the Special Olympics, the Teenage Cancer Trust, and a wide range of other charities.

The Pandemonium Drummers are a constituted association with charitable aims, and are working on a non-profit basis as volunteers.

[ More about the Pandemonium Drummers ]