How F1 should start and end its season

Augmented reality, North and South Korean athletes entering the stadium in unison, and a Tongan going topless in defiance of sub-zero temperatures.

The two-and-a-half-hour opening ceremony for the 23rd edition of the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang certainly didn't lack spectacle, as it continued a long tradition of revving up the global audience for the start of the Games.

Organisers usually spend big on the show, and previous editions have lasted up to nearly five hours. South Korea shelled out $109million just to build the stadium that hosted it (and for all the talk of legacy being a focal point of bids in the modern era, this one will be torn down afterwards).

But many on the committee will feel that is money well-spent given the attention generated by holding such a prestigious event. More than two billion people - almost one-third of the world's population at the time - watched the 2008 Beijing Olympics opening ceremony.

As Formula 1 looks to grow its fan base across the globe, it would be a marketing masterstroke to introduce a low-key and more cost-effective take on the Olympics opening and closing ceremonies to bookend the season.

A bidding process would take place several years before, with races who are interested in hosting the opening and closing ceremonies - and therefore the opening and closing races of the season - entering their submissions.

F1 chiefs and the FIA would then assess the vision, concept and strategy of the bid before ensuring the city and venue has the necessary legal and financial mechanisms in place to host the event sustainably.

The two 'winning' races would then be notified at least two years in advance to allow for enough time to plan and manage costs. The rest of the calendar could be completed nearer the time.

To spread the costs and sustain creative energy, let's say that one city cannot host the opening or closing ceremony (which would take place on the Thursday night ahead of the race weekend) more than once in five years. A spread across continents will be encouraged.

So for 2018, Australia and Abu Dhabi could have the right to host the opening and closing ceremonies respectively, but in 2019 that honour would fall to China and the United States, and then perhaps Azerbaijan and Singapore in 2020.

Each ceremony would be preceded by an F1 torch relay, to begin several months earlier in France, where grand prix racing has its roots.

It would then travel to each city on the F1 calendar, helping to raise the profile of the respective city and track, and giving promoters a high-profile event to boost local interest and push ticket sales.

Come the opening ceremony ahead of the first race of the season, the F1 torch would be carried into the stadium by the reigning world champion. They would then hand it to an F1 legend - perhaps a world champion - to light the F1 flame to signal the start of the new season.

The content of the ceremony could be dictated by the host but it must feature certain elements, the first of which would be the Parade of Teams.

Each would choose a member of personnel to be the flagbearer, as a team does when it is required to send someone to the podium to accept the trophy for winning constructor.

The teams would walk into the stadium in reverse order of where they finished in the constructors' championship the previous season - or the current season if this is the closing ceremony. There will be waving, selfies taken and maybe even some dancing before they take their seats for the show.

Each team would then be followed by their drivers, entering the stadium in their new cars and performing a few donuts before lining them up on a grid in the centre.

After a long winter without any track action and very little news from the world of F1, an opening ceremony is an opportunity to go to town to promote the championship

Leaping out of the cockpit to salute the crowd, the drivers could give live interviews before taking their place on the main stage for a 'Class of 2018' photograph. To close out this segment of the ceremony F1 chairman Chase Carey would give a brief but suitably rousing speech to officially start the F1 season.

The entertainment would then begin, enabling the host nation to showcase its past and future, while also highlighting national and global issues.

This, admittedly, is ambitious thinking and there are several obstacles to it, not least the cost involved. London spent around $42million on the opening ceremony for the 2012 Games. However, four years later Rio spent just half that - so it's up to the country/city to decide how much it wants to spend. Not every ceremony needs stunts such as the 'Queen' skydiving out of a helicopter with James Bond in her slipstream or David Beckham piloting a speedboat down the Thames with the Olympic Torch.

Cities can cut costs if they already have venues in place. Melbourne has the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), which can host 100,000 spectators and has experience in holding major events, such as the Boxing Day Test, 2006 Commonwealth Games and the 1956 Olympics. Abu Dhabi has the Zayed Sports City Stadium, which is capable of hosting 43,000, while Singapore's national stadium has a capacity of 55,000. While Korea went to the expense of building a venue, many of F1's current hosts already have suitable event spaces and hosting experience.

Filling those big stadiums will be a challenge, but if tickets are well priced and affordable for locals, and the quality of the entertainment in addition to the F1 stars is attractive, it will certainly help their cause. It could also be part of a combo ticket deal that includes race weekend tickets and access to other events, such as concerts.

Such an event will require the teams to find time in their schedules to free up drivers and team personnel at a particularly busy time of the year. But if advanced notice is given, the benefit for the drivers, teams and F1 as a whole in terms of coverage will likely outweigh the negatives.

A great amount of work will lie at the door of the host, too: preparations for the event, including logistics, operations, staffing costs and rehearsals will have to start several months before. The host will have to weigh up whether the cost, disruption to the city and effort required is worth it for the return it gets for hosting such a big event.

The cost will prohibit some races from ever bidding. So for those not in the running, let's say that each race will be required to host an event - like a mini opening ceremony - at the track on the Thursday evening of the race weekend.

Each will have a member of senior F1 management present to officially open the grand prix weekend on stage, and at least one of the drivers from each team will be required to attend and take part in the show.

Many grands prix already host a series of music gigs with big names across a grand prix weekend as an added incentive to buy tickets. To improve the overall opening night package, one of those will be incorporated into the event to boost interest.

Promoters will be allowed to bring on a small number of personal sponsors that will sit alongside F1's backers to enable them to make hosting the event financially viable.

F1 will assist with the organising, funding and promotion through its digital channels to maximise audiences for each individual event.

The inaugural F1 Live London last year proved to be huge success in bringing fans closer than ever to the championship. Around 100,000 people headed to central London, around Trafalgar Square, for the exhibition that included F1 cars hitting the capital's streets.

That format will be rolled out ahead of a handful of grands prix this season, and the London event's success should add further impetus to the notion of arranging an opening ceremony to kick-start the season.

After a long winter without any track action and very little news from the world of F1, an opening ceremony is an opportunity to go to town - literally - to promote the championship. And if an agreement can be reached with the FIA, the world champion driver and team could receive their trophies at the closing ceremony.

The finer details need to be worked out, the cost will need managing, and there will need to be some compromises from the stakeholders and tweaks of current traditions.

But just imagine Lewis Hamilton running into the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, home to Diego Maradona's famous 'Hand of God' moment, with the F1 torch before doing a lap and handing it four-time world champion Alain Prost to light the F1 flame.

Hamilton then stands beside his Mercedes on pole position, heading up a full grid of 20 cars with his rivals standing alongside.

The stadium swells with locals. There's a real carnival atmosphere. Justin Timberlake is the first of a host of stars to take to the stage and the night reaches a crescendo with a breathtaking fireworks display.

Let the action begin.