The extravagant celebrations for the Australian bicentenary of 1988 offered a window into conceptions of national identity. This excerpt shows a ‘We Are the World’-style television spot promoting the bicentenary, featuring a star-studded line-up, scenic shots of the red desert and the ‘Celebration of a Nation’ jingle composed by glam rocker Les Gock.

Singers Rick Price and Keren Minshull (of the ARIA Award winning band Euphoria) lead a massive crowd that includes: Delvene Delaney, the Rancan sisters, Jenny Kee, Dawn Fraser, Bert and Patti Newton, Mark Ella, Jeff St John, Prue Acton, Thomas Keneally, Rowena Wallace, Doug Mulray, Bobby and Dawn Limb, Denise Drysdale, Jon English, Victoria Nicolls, Jeanne Little, Jonathan Coleman and Ken Done.

Close-ups of the crowd swaying arm-in-arm and clapping in sync broadcast a clear message of unity, while popular national iconography (the flag, green-and-gold colours, Uluru) affirm the sense of a harmonious shared culture.

The decision to film at Uluru proved to be controversial, according to Minshull, and was met with protests from First Nations communities. This reflects the fraught atmosphere of the bicentenary at large, which saw clashes between different government factions and the public, including disagreements over the purpose and tenor of these events.

The celebrations sought to commemorate 200 years since the arrival of the First Fleet at Sydney Cove on 26 January 1788. Many activists protested and boycotted the celebrations to draw heightened international awareness to Indigenous issues.