The Opening Ceremony
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The uk isn't americanised have u ever been to new York or Vegas. London was like that way before the Americans were. We're comfortable in our own skin and the Americans didn't understand it and British humour and overall philosophy is completely different to Americas.
Original post by T-Toe
Fair point with the sponsorship deal but the UK is still very americanised. That digital age dripple went on for far too long. So what if they're dead, get holograms.
That's the whole point of an opening ceremony. Bigger and better not a random mesh of culture.
That's the whole point of an opening ceremony. Bigger and better not a random mesh of culture.
Holograms...now that is a very Americanised idea, I think you got that from Will-I-Am. In fact they were represented - you'll have seen for example the music video's to Queen's, the Stones' and Beatles' works projected onto the sides of the house and on the screens around the stadium.
(Also to make a hologram like that you need to film them in a particular way, the technology wasn't around when they were alive so we kind of don't have that filming)
The whole point of the digital age piece is that we invented it. The Computer, the Internet, the Website, the Telephone were all British inventions. Sorry you didn't like that bit, but it was not over-represented, especially for an Olympics whose slogan is about inspiring future generations!
Bigger and better is not the point of a ceremony. It's the point of political showmanship, which is exactly what Beijing was. The point of an opening ceremony is an exposition of the host's culture and a celebration of the Olympic movement and sporting prowess. Unless Beijing were saying that militarism was their culture, which I could believe.
Original post by The Mr Z
Holograms...now that is a very Americanised idea, I think you got that from Will-I-Am. In fact they were represented - you'll have seen for example the music video's to Queen's, the Stones' and Beatles' works projected onto the sides of the house and on the screens around the stadium.
(Also to make a hologram like that you need to film them in a particular way, the technology wasn't around when they were alive so we kind of don't have that filming)
The whole point of the digital age piece is that we invented it. The Computer, the Internet, the Website, the Telephone were all British inventions. Sorry you didn't like that bit, but it was not over-represented, especially for an Olympics whose slogan is about inspiring future generations!
Bigger and better is not the point of a ceremony. It's the point of political showmanship, which is exactly what Beijing was. The point of an opening ceremony is an exposition of the host's culture and a celebration of the Olympic movement and sporting prowess. Unless Beijing were saying that militarism was their culture, which I could believe.
(Also to make a hologram like that you need to film them in a particular way, the technology wasn't around when they were alive so we kind of don't have that filming)
The whole point of the digital age piece is that we invented it. The Computer, the Internet, the Website, the Telephone were all British inventions. Sorry you didn't like that bit, but it was not over-represented, especially for an Olympics whose slogan is about inspiring future generations!
Bigger and better is not the point of a ceremony. It's the point of political showmanship, which is exactly what Beijing was. The point of an opening ceremony is an exposition of the host's culture and a celebration of the Olympic movement and sporting prowess. Unless Beijing were saying that militarism was their culture, which I could believe.
You can make as many excuses as possible but the point remains; it was tacky as muck. Like I said, I hope the closing ceremony delivers.
Original post by T-Toe
You can make as many excuses as possible but the point remains; it was tacky as muck. Like I said, I hope the closing ceremony delivers.
In your opinion. This whole thread is opinion.
Original post by T-Toe
You can make as many excuses as possible but the point remains; it was tacky as muck. Like I said, I hope the closing ceremony delivers.
No it wasn't
Original post by Hood_Man
No it wasn't
Seemed like a shambles in the beginning but the build up made it fantastic.
Probably the worst opening ceremony I've seen in my 20 years.
It was way too busy and for people not familiar with British culture and history it would look a complete mess. Despite the busyness of it, the general feeling was boredom and the hope that it would get better, only to be disappointed.
It was way too busy and for people not familiar with British culture and history it would look a complete mess. Despite the busyness of it, the general feeling was boredom and the hope that it would get better, only to be disappointed.
I loved the opening ceremony, was great to watch 
The parading as expected was a bit of a yawnfest for watchers, but very much enjoyed everything else. I think Danny Boyle did a great job
The parading as expected was a bit of a yawnfest for watchers, but very much enjoyed everything else. I think Danny Boyle did a great job
People go on about Beijing's ceremony was good only because it had a large budget and therefore London's was better, given what it had to spend.
When Federer won the French Open in 2009, admittedly Nadal was knocked out by Soderling earlier. Nevertheless, the record books still state Federer won, regardless of what happened.
Similarly for the Olympics, what matters is how good the show is, the budget is irrelevant. Otherwise, don't spend a penny at all and just do ANYTHING, be it a dance or play and claim that because the budget was zero, it was great because something was achieved!
When Federer won the French Open in 2009, admittedly Nadal was knocked out by Soderling earlier. Nevertheless, the record books still state Federer won, regardless of what happened.
Similarly for the Olympics, what matters is how good the show is, the budget is irrelevant. Otherwise, don't spend a penny at all and just do ANYTHING, be it a dance or play and claim that because the budget was zero, it was great because something was achieved!
Original post by FreeHat
There was an over-abundance of volunteers; they were selected. And the volunteers constituted only a small proportion of all performers, or did the Choir and professional dancers volunteer too?
Maybe it was randomised or perhaps the numbers used were proportionally representitive of however many signed up or what I'm going with is that perhaps they just chose the best performers. The choir was white mainly and the professional dancers were black, being a choirboy is a middle class thing whereas street dancing came from the poorer areas.
Absolute Rubbish.
My friend's point here:
Originally Posted by HugoDuchovny
I for one agree with Grumpy Bear :
Seems like I’m one of the very few who found the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony to be utter crap and about as entertaining as watching the freezer defrost. Switch on the TV and all you’ll hear are gushing media channels fawning over how great and amazing and wonderful the opening ceremony was, a spectacular success and a real triumph.
It’s the same with the printed press. Previously sceptical papers that couldn’t criticise the games hard enough as a monumental waste of money are now lavishing the plaudits on director Danny Boyle for putting on the Best Show Ever. Now I’ve nothing against Danny Boyle, he comes across as a very nice chap on TV but his films suck. Trainspotting was crap, a film about druggies interspersed with contemporary pop-culture references to make it cool, Slumdog Millionaire an overrated piece of melodramatic slush that has the same feel good factor you get with a kick to the groin and the less said about 127 Hours, the better. I’ll give him 28 Days Later though, that was a good movie.
Back to the feeble opening ceremony, there were precisely four, and only four, redeeming pieces; the opening sequence with James Bond and the Queen although it would have been a lot more entertaining if it really was Liz and the parachute failed to open; Mr Bean’s comedy skit; the soundtrack that showcased the best of British music talent despite the presence of the Sugababes; and finally Becks roaring up the Thames in a speedboat with the Olympic flame.
The rest of it was mostly mediocre multicultural claptrap; a mish-mash of potted history through the industrial revolution taking in Brunel that will have been lost on anyone who’s attended Britain’s finest dumbed-down educational establishments during the last 15 years; a homage to our very own NHS that not so much came across as a blatant piece of lefty propaganda as it did advertise to the world that the UK health service is free to all and everyone’s welcome; some rubbish new-age style arty dance crap that was accompanied by a singer nobody’s ever heard of warbling a funeral dirge; gangs of irritating teenage hoodies advertising the latest mobile phones and using social media to tell a pointless love story; and lets not forget the hordes of children that seemed to be peddled at every possible opportunity to perhaps invite sympathy or more accurately, ensure that the whole Olympics charade plays the cynical “games legacy for our kids” card full tilt. The NHS has nothing to do with the Olympics, and the whole world found that odd. 7/7 is important to remember, but still has no place in the Olympics. Besides, The commemorative dance was utterly rubbish and didn't do justice to 7/7. Furthermore, If something cultural was the target, surely doing pieces that symbolize the cultures of England, Scotland, Wales and N.Ireland would have been more globally understood, rather than history clips of British soap tv shows such as corrie and east enders which the world has no clue about.
The Sir Tim Berners-Lee tribute was a nice touch but even he must have felt a bit of berk sitting out there tapping on a keyboard in front of a global audience of billions. As for the flying Mary Poppins, cavorting imbeciles around the Maypole, embarrassingly twee costumes, Lord Voldemort wannabe, that stupid face sculpture thing made of what looked like string and the live farm, it was not so much a spectacle as it was a fine display of half-assed British eccentricity and drivel. Or to put it another way, there were more sheep in the audience than there were in that damn farm.
To cap things all off, that old geriatric duffer McCartney was wheeled out to sing off key and murder what little atmosphere remained in the stadium from a pliant crowd that would have been satisfied with a third rate Punch and Judy show. Why they have to get this old fool out at every opportunity singing the same tired old rubbish is a mystery although I suppose we should be grateful they didn’t go with the infinitely worse Rolling Stones. Why choose Arctic monkeys, who on a global scale are unheard of, surely Coldplay and Elton John would have been better, more melodic choices.
Mot atrocious of all though, was surely the daft decision to announce everything in French before English. WTF? It was an absolute disgrace and further proof if any is needed that the IOC is nothing more than a jumped up bureaucratic jolly for its members to swan around the world staying in the best hotels, dining on the finest food at the expense of the mug host country that’s been stupid enough to bid for the games and bow to their every whim.
Finally, it is tradition to expect one person to light the beacon and ideally somebody recognizable. The whole " giving it to the youth" idea was stupid and the world did not care to see some nobodies light the beacon. We did not outshine Beijing or Sydney. The Olympics is a global thing, the opening ceremony should mostly be something the world can relate to.
So in short then, hats off to Danny Boyle for organising what was largely a damp squid, the guy will definitely be knighted in the honours list and deserves to be for agreeing to stage this ridiculous waste-of-time extravaganza.
edit: I am not anti-London 2012, I'm simply disappointed. We could have done better.
I agree, it was nothing compared to India's or China's opening ceremonies. They even gave the Indians a very shot view clip and that was it. Only a second. To be honest, why put modern music into history? Why make Brunel and his followers dance? Why do all of that? Mind you, the special effects were brilliant. And the stadium surely should be bigger. If this was America hosting it, believe me, it'd be much bigger, more grandous, and more clever. I don't think the Chinese were impressed at all. Danny Boyle must have stolen ideas from both the nation's opening ceremony, hell, they didn't let the athletes go out at all! I mean, why was it in french? The French aren't hosting it. Most of the ceremony tired to show how great Britain was, how excellent they are, and really, the Olympics belong to them, and the rest of the world sucks. It had no personal collection of the world. And surely the Greeks should have gone first, they're the ones that started the whole thing anyway. President Jacque was right in saying that there should be respect. This is an international event, not a national event.
My friend's point here:
Originally Posted by HugoDuchovny
I for one agree with Grumpy Bear :
Seems like I’m one of the very few who found the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony to be utter crap and about as entertaining as watching the freezer defrost. Switch on the TV and all you’ll hear are gushing media channels fawning over how great and amazing and wonderful the opening ceremony was, a spectacular success and a real triumph.
It’s the same with the printed press. Previously sceptical papers that couldn’t criticise the games hard enough as a monumental waste of money are now lavishing the plaudits on director Danny Boyle for putting on the Best Show Ever. Now I’ve nothing against Danny Boyle, he comes across as a very nice chap on TV but his films suck. Trainspotting was crap, a film about druggies interspersed with contemporary pop-culture references to make it cool, Slumdog Millionaire an overrated piece of melodramatic slush that has the same feel good factor you get with a kick to the groin and the less said about 127 Hours, the better. I’ll give him 28 Days Later though, that was a good movie.
Back to the feeble opening ceremony, there were precisely four, and only four, redeeming pieces; the opening sequence with James Bond and the Queen although it would have been a lot more entertaining if it really was Liz and the parachute failed to open; Mr Bean’s comedy skit; the soundtrack that showcased the best of British music talent despite the presence of the Sugababes; and finally Becks roaring up the Thames in a speedboat with the Olympic flame.
The rest of it was mostly mediocre multicultural claptrap; a mish-mash of potted history through the industrial revolution taking in Brunel that will have been lost on anyone who’s attended Britain’s finest dumbed-down educational establishments during the last 15 years; a homage to our very own NHS that not so much came across as a blatant piece of lefty propaganda as it did advertise to the world that the UK health service is free to all and everyone’s welcome; some rubbish new-age style arty dance crap that was accompanied by a singer nobody’s ever heard of warbling a funeral dirge; gangs of irritating teenage hoodies advertising the latest mobile phones and using social media to tell a pointless love story; and lets not forget the hordes of children that seemed to be peddled at every possible opportunity to perhaps invite sympathy or more accurately, ensure that the whole Olympics charade plays the cynical “games legacy for our kids” card full tilt. The NHS has nothing to do with the Olympics, and the whole world found that odd. 7/7 is important to remember, but still has no place in the Olympics. Besides, The commemorative dance was utterly rubbish and didn't do justice to 7/7. Furthermore, If something cultural was the target, surely doing pieces that symbolize the cultures of England, Scotland, Wales and N.Ireland would have been more globally understood, rather than history clips of British soap tv shows such as corrie and east enders which the world has no clue about.
The Sir Tim Berners-Lee tribute was a nice touch but even he must have felt a bit of berk sitting out there tapping on a keyboard in front of a global audience of billions. As for the flying Mary Poppins, cavorting imbeciles around the Maypole, embarrassingly twee costumes, Lord Voldemort wannabe, that stupid face sculpture thing made of what looked like string and the live farm, it was not so much a spectacle as it was a fine display of half-assed British eccentricity and drivel. Or to put it another way, there were more sheep in the audience than there were in that damn farm.
To cap things all off, that old geriatric duffer McCartney was wheeled out to sing off key and murder what little atmosphere remained in the stadium from a pliant crowd that would have been satisfied with a third rate Punch and Judy show. Why they have to get this old fool out at every opportunity singing the same tired old rubbish is a mystery although I suppose we should be grateful they didn’t go with the infinitely worse Rolling Stones. Why choose Arctic monkeys, who on a global scale are unheard of, surely Coldplay and Elton John would have been better, more melodic choices.
Mot atrocious of all though, was surely the daft decision to announce everything in French before English. WTF? It was an absolute disgrace and further proof if any is needed that the IOC is nothing more than a jumped up bureaucratic jolly for its members to swan around the world staying in the best hotels, dining on the finest food at the expense of the mug host country that’s been stupid enough to bid for the games and bow to their every whim.
Finally, it is tradition to expect one person to light the beacon and ideally somebody recognizable. The whole " giving it to the youth" idea was stupid and the world did not care to see some nobodies light the beacon. We did not outshine Beijing or Sydney. The Olympics is a global thing, the opening ceremony should mostly be something the world can relate to.
So in short then, hats off to Danny Boyle for organising what was largely a damp squid, the guy will definitely be knighted in the honours list and deserves to be for agreeing to stage this ridiculous waste-of-time extravaganza.
edit: I am not anti-London 2012, I'm simply disappointed. We could have done better.
I agree, it was nothing compared to India's or China's opening ceremonies. They even gave the Indians a very shot view clip and that was it. Only a second. To be honest, why put modern music into history? Why make Brunel and his followers dance? Why do all of that? Mind you, the special effects were brilliant. And the stadium surely should be bigger. If this was America hosting it, believe me, it'd be much bigger, more grandous, and more clever. I don't think the Chinese were impressed at all. Danny Boyle must have stolen ideas from both the nation's opening ceremony, hell, they didn't let the athletes go out at all! I mean, why was it in french? The French aren't hosting it. Most of the ceremony tired to show how great Britain was, how excellent they are, and really, the Olympics belong to them, and the rest of the world sucks. It had no personal collection of the world. And surely the Greeks should have gone first, they're the ones that started the whole thing anyway. President Jacque was right in saying that there should be respect. This is an international event, not a national event.
(edited 11 years ago)
Original post by The Marshall
Absolute Rubbish.
My friend's point here:
Originally Posted by HugoDuchovny
I for one agree with Grumpy Bear :
Seems like I’m one of the very few who found the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony to be utter crap and about as entertaining as watching the freezer defrost. Switch on the TV and all you’ll hear are gushing media channels fawning over how great and amazing and wonderful the opening ceremony was, a spectacular success and a real triumph.
It’s the same with the printed press. Previously sceptical papers that couldn’t criticise the games hard enough as a monumental waste of money are now lavishing the plaudits on director Danny Boyle for putting on the Best Show Ever. Now I’ve nothing against Danny Boyle, he comes across as a very nice chap on TV but his films suck. Trainspotting was crap, a film about druggies interspersed with contemporary pop-culture references to make it cool, Slumdog Millionaire an overrated piece of melodramatic slush that has the same feel good factor you get with a kick to the groin and the less said about 127 Hours, the better. I’ll give him 28 Days Later though, that was a good movie.
Back to the feeble opening ceremony, there were precisely four, and only four, redeeming pieces; the opening sequence with James Bond and the Queen although it would have been a lot more entertaining if it really was Liz and the parachute failed to open; Mr Bean’s comedy skit; the soundtrack that showcased the best of British music talent despite the presence of the Sugababes; and finally Becks roaring up the Thames in a speedboat with the Olympic flame.
The rest of it was mostly mediocre multicultural claptrap; a mish-mash of potted history through the industrial revolution taking in Brunel that will have been lost on anyone who’s attended Britain’s finest dumbed-down educational establishments during the last 15 years; a homage to our very own NHS that not so much came across as a blatant piece of lefty propaganda as it did advertise to the world that the UK health service is free to all and everyone’s welcome; some rubbish new-age style arty dance crap that was accompanied by a singer nobody’s ever heard of warbling a funeral dirge; gangs of irritating teenage hoodies advertising the latest mobile phones and using social media to tell a pointless love story; and lets not forget the hordes of children that seemed to be peddled at every possible opportunity to perhaps invite sympathy or more accurately, ensure that the whole Olympics charade plays the cynical “games legacy for our kids” card full tilt. The NHS has nothing to do with the Olympics, and the whole world found that odd. 7/7 is important to remember, but still has no place in the Olympics. Besides, The commemorative dance was utterly rubbish and didn't do justice to 7/7. Furthermore, If something cultural was the target, surely doing pieces that symbolize the cultures of England, Scotland, Wales and N.Ireland would have been more globally understood, rather than history clips of British soap tv shows such as corrie and east enders which the world has no clue about.
The Sir Tim Berners-Lee tribute was a nice touch but even he must have felt a bit of berk sitting out there tapping on a keyboard in front of a global audience of billions. As for the flying Mary Poppins, cavorting imbeciles around the Maypole, embarrassingly twee costumes, Lord Voldemort wannabe, that stupid face sculpture thing made of what looked like string and the live farm, it was not so much a spectacle as it was a fine display of half-assed British eccentricity and drivel. Or to put it another way, there were more sheep in the audience than there were in that damn farm.
To cap things all off, that old geriatric duffer McCartney was wheeled out to sing off key and murder what little atmosphere remained in the stadium from a pliant crowd that would have been satisfied with a third rate Punch and Judy show. Why they have to get this old fool out at every opportunity singing the same tired old rubbish is a mystery although I suppose we should be grateful they didn’t go with the infinitely worse Rolling Stones. Why choose Arctic monkeys, who on a global scale are unheard of, surely Coldplay and Elton John would have been better, more melodic choices.
Mot atrocious of all though, was surely the daft decision to announce everything in French before English. WTF? It was an absolute disgrace and further proof if any is needed that the IOC is nothing more than a jumped up bureaucratic jolly for its members to swan around the world staying in the best hotels, dining on the finest food at the expense of the mug host country that’s been stupid enough to bid for the games and bow to their every whim.
Finally, it is tradition to expect one person to light the beacon and ideally somebody recognizable. The whole " giving it to the youth" idea was stupid and the world did not care to see some nobodies light the beacon. We did not outshine Beijing or Sydney. The Olympics is a global thing, the opening ceremony should mostly be something the world can relate to.
So in short then, hats off to Danny Boyle for organising what was largely a damp squid, the guy will definitely be knighted in the honours list and deserves to be for agreeing to stage this ridiculous waste-of-time extravaganza.
edit: I am not anti-London 2012, I'm simply disappointed. We could have done better.
I agree, it was nothing compared to India's or China's opening ceremonies. They even gave the Indians a very shot view clip and that was it. Only a second. To be honest, why put modern music into history? Why make Brunel and his followers dance? Why do all of that? Mind you, the special effects were brilliant. And the stadium surely should be bigger. If this was America hosting it, believe me, it'd be much bigger, more grandous, and more clever. I don't think the Chinese were impressed at all. Danny Boyle must have stolen ideas from both the nation's opening ceremony, hell, they didn't let the athletes go out at all! I mean, why was it in french? The French aren't hosting it. Most of the ceremony tired to show how great Britain was, how excellent they are, and really, the Olympics belong to them, and the rest of the world sucks. It had no personal collection of the world. And surely the Greeks should have gone first, they're the ones that started the whole thing anyway. President Jacque was right in saying that there should be respect. This is an international event, not a national event.
My friend's point here:
Originally Posted by HugoDuchovny
I for one agree with Grumpy Bear :
Seems like I’m one of the very few who found the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony to be utter crap and about as entertaining as watching the freezer defrost. Switch on the TV and all you’ll hear are gushing media channels fawning over how great and amazing and wonderful the opening ceremony was, a spectacular success and a real triumph.
It’s the same with the printed press. Previously sceptical papers that couldn’t criticise the games hard enough as a monumental waste of money are now lavishing the plaudits on director Danny Boyle for putting on the Best Show Ever. Now I’ve nothing against Danny Boyle, he comes across as a very nice chap on TV but his films suck. Trainspotting was crap, a film about druggies interspersed with contemporary pop-culture references to make it cool, Slumdog Millionaire an overrated piece of melodramatic slush that has the same feel good factor you get with a kick to the groin and the less said about 127 Hours, the better. I’ll give him 28 Days Later though, that was a good movie.
Back to the feeble opening ceremony, there were precisely four, and only four, redeeming pieces; the opening sequence with James Bond and the Queen although it would have been a lot more entertaining if it really was Liz and the parachute failed to open; Mr Bean’s comedy skit; the soundtrack that showcased the best of British music talent despite the presence of the Sugababes; and finally Becks roaring up the Thames in a speedboat with the Olympic flame.
The rest of it was mostly mediocre multicultural claptrap; a mish-mash of potted history through the industrial revolution taking in Brunel that will have been lost on anyone who’s attended Britain’s finest dumbed-down educational establishments during the last 15 years; a homage to our very own NHS that not so much came across as a blatant piece of lefty propaganda as it did advertise to the world that the UK health service is free to all and everyone’s welcome; some rubbish new-age style arty dance crap that was accompanied by a singer nobody’s ever heard of warbling a funeral dirge; gangs of irritating teenage hoodies advertising the latest mobile phones and using social media to tell a pointless love story; and lets not forget the hordes of children that seemed to be peddled at every possible opportunity to perhaps invite sympathy or more accurately, ensure that the whole Olympics charade plays the cynical “games legacy for our kids” card full tilt. The NHS has nothing to do with the Olympics, and the whole world found that odd. 7/7 is important to remember, but still has no place in the Olympics. Besides, The commemorative dance was utterly rubbish and didn't do justice to 7/7. Furthermore, If something cultural was the target, surely doing pieces that symbolize the cultures of England, Scotland, Wales and N.Ireland would have been more globally understood, rather than history clips of British soap tv shows such as corrie and east enders which the world has no clue about.
The Sir Tim Berners-Lee tribute was a nice touch but even he must have felt a bit of berk sitting out there tapping on a keyboard in front of a global audience of billions. As for the flying Mary Poppins, cavorting imbeciles around the Maypole, embarrassingly twee costumes, Lord Voldemort wannabe, that stupid face sculpture thing made of what looked like string and the live farm, it was not so much a spectacle as it was a fine display of half-assed British eccentricity and drivel. Or to put it another way, there were more sheep in the audience than there were in that damn farm.
To cap things all off, that old geriatric duffer McCartney was wheeled out to sing off key and murder what little atmosphere remained in the stadium from a pliant crowd that would have been satisfied with a third rate Punch and Judy show. Why they have to get this old fool out at every opportunity singing the same tired old rubbish is a mystery although I suppose we should be grateful they didn’t go with the infinitely worse Rolling Stones. Why choose Arctic monkeys, who on a global scale are unheard of, surely Coldplay and Elton John would have been better, more melodic choices.
Mot atrocious of all though, was surely the daft decision to announce everything in French before English. WTF? It was an absolute disgrace and further proof if any is needed that the IOC is nothing more than a jumped up bureaucratic jolly for its members to swan around the world staying in the best hotels, dining on the finest food at the expense of the mug host country that’s been stupid enough to bid for the games and bow to their every whim.
Finally, it is tradition to expect one person to light the beacon and ideally somebody recognizable. The whole " giving it to the youth" idea was stupid and the world did not care to see some nobodies light the beacon. We did not outshine Beijing or Sydney. The Olympics is a global thing, the opening ceremony should mostly be something the world can relate to.
So in short then, hats off to Danny Boyle for organising what was largely a damp squid, the guy will definitely be knighted in the honours list and deserves to be for agreeing to stage this ridiculous waste-of-time extravaganza.
edit: I am not anti-London 2012, I'm simply disappointed. We could have done better.
I agree, it was nothing compared to India's or China's opening ceremonies. They even gave the Indians a very shot view clip and that was it. Only a second. To be honest, why put modern music into history? Why make Brunel and his followers dance? Why do all of that? Mind you, the special effects were brilliant. And the stadium surely should be bigger. If this was America hosting it, believe me, it'd be much bigger, more grandous, and more clever. I don't think the Chinese were impressed at all. Danny Boyle must have stolen ideas from both the nation's opening ceremony, hell, they didn't let the athletes go out at all! I mean, why was it in french? The French aren't hosting it. Most of the ceremony tired to show how great Britain was, how excellent they are, and really, the Olympics belong to them, and the rest of the world sucks. It had no personal collection of the world. And surely the Greeks should have gone first, they're the ones that started the whole thing anyway. President Jacque was right in saying that there should be respect. This is an international event, not a national event.
Say all you want about the Olympics but Trainspotting is an amazing film!
Also it wasn't up to us that the French language was announced. I think the music from the 60's-today was a good idea, whether you like it or not it's a part of our history and surely it would've been daft only to show music from decades ago rather than up to the current date, no? It was good to include it as many of the songs will be those that people from foreign countries will recognise. It's things like this in the ceremony that were good as it showed effort was being made for non-British viewers (e.g. showing people a brief history of industrial Britain which they would otherwise not know of) as well as British viewers.
'Would have been more entertaining to have Liz actually on the parachute' - although this would have been more entertaining, did you not see why a stuntwoman was needed? The amount of wires and other safety hazards that could have potentially killed her - might have put a slight dampener on the night
Again, it showed it was an international event as James Bond and the Queen are both British yet known worldwide. When they were in the helicopter it also gave an overview of London, and given it's the hosting city which many non-British people may not have seen in detail before this was pretty good to include.I think with the industrial Britain thing they could obviously only show so much given that it needed to be entertaining as well - can't exactly get a history lecturer to read things from a powerpoint
But I think the aim was for people to think 'wow, that's amazing, after this i'll look more into the industrial revolution as I don't know much about it'. I do agree about the NHS bit with jumping on beds - I still think some sort of homage to the NHS should have been included but yeah, I agree that dancing about isn't exactly representing all they've done for the UK. I think with the dance bit it was trying to show how multicultural Britain was. Obviously there's been quite a bit of dispute with people thinking it was done too purposefully and obviously. However, when you think about it it showed how advanced we are as a nation as there are many other countries where one race will still be seen as more superior than the others or that one gender is important than another. I think it was good at representing the fact that whether it's for the Olympics or for society, everyone can be involved and everyone can get along regardless of race (at least that's what I thought was the message).
Also, be fair, they weren't exactly gangs of teenage hoodies haha. I think this part was a lot about the pop culture of Britain - this was where the music was being played and clips of Corrie were being played along with all the young people. Maybe people in quite different cultures aren't aware of some of this so maybe this was to show this. But some parts of it were a bit odd, yes (unnecessary kiss in the middle of it was quite awkward). It is difficult to find something cultural to show that would have appealed to British and non-British viewers.
Also...I have to disagree about 7/7 not being worthy of being shown. It didn't take up much time of the ceremony and showed respect to those who'd lost their lives. Also remember that this occurred only a day after we won the Olympics. The only thing I will say though is that when the pictures of the victims were shown it didn't seem to be made clear that they were in fact the victims, as my brother asked how me they were relevant.
Overall, I can understand why some people might have found it dull or not wanted to include certain parts but it was never going to be easy to please the majority of people. It was good that it didn't seem too sterile - it had some heart, and was one of the rare occasions where people afterwards were saying they were proud to be British. Compare this to the Chinese ceremony where the main things people remember are the fireworks (impressive but didn't say a lot about China, any country could put fireworks in a ceremony) and the girl who was deemed too ugly to be the face of a singer. To me, these things both seem to lack the heart of a nation and I can't see (imo) why some-one afterwards would have said "I feel proud to be Chinese".
Original post by The Marshall
Absolute Rubbish.
My friend's point here:
My friend's point here:
I disagree with your friend. His main point seems to be that the music and some of the scenes were not to hist taste and the rest of the stuff (such as the industrial revolution) would not be understood by many people.
Even if people do not know the ins and outs of our history, the ceremony told a story which was clear for even an infant to follow: Britain's green a pleasant land making way for industry in a time of great change. The whole show was peppered with bit of British culture: pearly kings and queens, some SGT Peppers, British Tommies in a field of poppies....
Original post by The Marshall
Now I’ve nothing against Danny Boyle, he comes across as a very nice chap on TV but his films suck.
Well, that is just personal taste and not really anything to do with the Olympics. In any event, many critics and a large number of the viewing public seem to disagree. Trainspotting received a large number of positive reviews. Slumdog Millionaire performed very well, winning most of the Academy awards for which it was nominated.
Back to the feeble opening ceremony, there were precisely four, and only four, redeeming pieces
What about the amazing Red Arrows appearing at exactly 8:12pm (20:12)? How about the fantastic LSO playing and what about the genius that is Mike Oldfield?
The rest of it was mostly mediocre multicultural claptrap; a mish-mash of potted history through the industrial revolution taking in Brunel that will have been lost on anyone who’s attended Britain’s finest dumbed-down educational establishments during the last 15 years;
Brunel was probably one of the most influential engineers in our history - a great man who came number 2 in a list of the 100 greatest Britons. I am sure a great many people will know of him - and of those who don't, why should we dumb down for them?
a homage to our very own NHS that not so much came across as a blatant piece of lefty propaganda as it did advertise to the world that the UK health service is free to all and everyone’s welcome;... The NHS has nothing to do with the Olympics, and the whole world found that odd.
It was more of a tribute to Great Ormond Street Hospital - the world famous children's hospital which has international links. It's work is amazing and many people have a great affection for it.
The NHS alone is an amazing organisation and one we should be very happy to have. It was absolutely appropriate for it to play a role in a ceremony were the UK welcomed the world to our games.
7/7 is important to remember, but still has no place in the Olympics. Besides, The commemorative dance was utterly rubbish and didn't do justice to 7/7.
7/7 deserved a place. It was a very important historical moment and came just a day after London received the games. The city went from a day of celebration to a day of panic and terror within 24 hours. A very subtle mention was all that was needed.
I am not into modern art and such so I agree that the dance was odd. I am sure it meant something to some people.
As for the flying Mary Poppins, cavorting imbeciles around the Maypole, embarrassingly twee costumes, Lord Voldemort wannabe...
Mary Poppins - an internationally popular film set in London. It was a nice touch. Lord Voldermort... what more needs to be said? The Harry Potter series is known world wide.
Why choose Arctic monkeys, who on a global scale are unheard of, surely Coldplay and Elton John would have been better, more melodic choices.
They have had global success - they are most certainly not unheard of. In any event, why should we ponder to the mainstream?
Finally, it is tradition to expect one person to light the beacon and ideally somebody recognizable.
Tradition? Really? If it is tradition, it has been ignored many times in the past. I am also unsure as to the "recognisable" requirement. In the past, the onluy requirement seemed to be that the person to light the torch be an athlete/future athlete or member of the Royal Family.
We Critics of the ceremony will respond.
If nothing else london 2012 is a good advertisement for our farce industry. If anyone in the world wants a complete farce making out of something theyll know where to come.
This is typical English trash entertainment not very well performed. Attempts to make it represent Great Britain were unsuccessful. Even the Welsh school children sang in English. What are these announcements in French all about ?
Its embarassing to watch. Cringing. Hating the commentaters.
If you think London was better than any opening ceremony in living memory, you must be on crack. It was aweful. I couldn't watch the whole thing. London's Opening seem so disorganized and while there were some pretty big names, it just didn't relate well to the Olympics.
Its embarassing to watch. Cringing. Hating the commentaters.
If you think London was better than any opening ceremony in living memory, you must be on crack. It was aweful. I couldn't watch the whole thing. London's Opening seem so disorganized and while there were some pretty big names, it just didn't relate well to the Olympics.
(edited 11 years ago)
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