Thread: Olympics Opening Ceremony Board: Oblivion / Ship of Fools.


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Posted by shamwari (# 15556) on :
 
Brilliant for anybody who lives in UK

Far too parochial ( and therefore unintelligible) for a global audience.

What would the Chinese and Outer Mongolians have made of the Mr Bean slot?

Who was this aimed at?
 

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Posted by shamwari (# 15556) on :
 
What was this all about?

The opening made sense ( even if excellent sense) to Brits. What did the Chinese and Outer Mongolians make of the Mr Bean slot?

Far too parochial. But we might have expected that.
 

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Posted by shamwari (# 15556) on :
 
Oooooooooooooops

sorry

problem with posting
 

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Posted by Robert Armin (# 182) on :
 
Personally I don't like Mr Bean, but he has been successful all over the world. Just like Benny Hill was - that sort of visual humour travels well.
 

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Posted by Kyzyl (# 374) on :
 
Mr. Bean is in the opening ceremony? I may just have to watch in three hours (USA central time.)
 

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Posted by Wesley J (# 6075) on :
 
We're watching in the Ship's Cafe - abide with us, please.
 

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Posted by Robert Armin (# 182) on :
 
However I have just been puzzled by a violent dance going alongside a very peaceful rendition of "Abide With Me". Overall all of this reminds me of a Matt Smith episode of Doctor Who - some striking moments but rather confusing as a whole.
 

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Posted by Jahlove (# 10290) on :
 
it was a celebration of UK-ness - left out a lot of our history e.g. Henry VII, EIR, Agincourt etc. but was interesting that it didn't gloss, in fact brought out, the demise of our manufacturing industries. Got a bit daft about 1.5 hrs in but the first part almost had me welling up. Well done, Danny Boyle.
 

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Posted by Wesley J (# 6075) on :
 
The musical hits part was much too long - liked the history part at the beginning. The transformation from rural Britain to the industrial revolution was quite spectacular. After that, it went a bit downhill I thought. Perhaps with the exception of the Mary Poppinses scene with all the kids.
 

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Posted by Robert Armin (# 182) on :
 
A commentator has said that this is the latest opening ceremony ever. Why? A lot of UK athletes aren't going to be there as they have to compete tomorrow, which really sounds mad.
 

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Posted by Og, King of Bashan (# 9562) on :
 
I've got a mild ale in the fridge to be enjoyed with the opening ceremony. Sounds like I will be drinking the right thing.

As the games continue, feel free to join us down in the Circus for more sporting and TV spectacle related discussion
 

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Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :
 
It's much better than I was expecting it to be.
 

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Posted by Wesley J (# 6075) on :
 
Mr Boyle (now, if a certain Frankie Boyle had done the opening ...!) seems to have insisted on it starting when it's completely dark - thus after 9pm.
 

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
I once sent my East German penpal a video of Mr Bean. He thought it was the funniest thing he'd ever seen. But yes, some of the refs are too local (am I supposed to know who Frankie and June were, because I don't).

Loved the bit with the Queen apparently parachuting in! And the drummers were great. Not so sure about the hospital beds scene, inappropriately dark for an opening ceremony, surely.

The whole thing did start to become a bit overblown - a seemingly endless stream of frenetic dancers and music, to the point where I was relieved to be at home and could wander off instead of having to sit through it all. Now we're having the seemingly endless procession of athletes and it'll be a loooong time before they get to the end - somewhere well after midnight I bet.
 

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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
I want a frock like the Cameroonians.
 

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Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :
 
The Frankie and June reference flummoxed me too.
 

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Posted by Avila (# 15541) on :
 
Before dark would mess up light effects.

Who says it was anything to do with the atheletes tonight??

As for content I just commented on the localism on FB and that even as a Brit I missed references, however I do recall Sydney 2000 opening ceremony including a display of twirling washing lines - celebrating the hillman hoist which you had to have been in the country to comprehend.
 

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Posted by Firenze (# 619) on :
 
And WHY are the Czechs wearing white sorts and blue wellies?

(These posts might be better suited to the Cafe, but the iPad won't access it).

On the OP - why should the opening ceremony's opaqueness to the Outer Mongolians be a problem? I suspect, were Ulan Bator to host the Games, some parts of the proceedings might be a bit obscure to us. The object is to big up your nation on two fronts; what is unique to it, and what it has contributed to world culture - obviously hoping for a lot of crossover between the two.
 

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Posted by Alex Cockell (# 7487) on :
 
What do you all make to the music choices?
 

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Posted by Think² (# 1984) on :
 

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Originally posted by North East Quine:
It's much better than I was expecting it to be.

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Originally posted by Think²:
(Also, I loved the parachuting queen.)

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Originally posted by Think²:

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Originally posted by North East Quine:
It's much better than I was expecting it to be.

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Ditto, and I tend to be cynical about such stuff.

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Ditto, but I still thought it was pretty awful. Bejing was quite beautiful and impressive, this seemed to involve a lot of faffing around and pointless puff.

Rowan Atkinson did make me laugh, mostly because I've played viola parts that have made me identify with that sentiment!

Where on earth did Team GB get those awful tracksuits? They're truly chavtastic

How are all those people going to get Tubes home - it's quarter to 1 in the morning, surely most of them'll end up missing their last train home.
 

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Posted by Evangeline (# 7002) on :
 
Love what I've seen so far ('twas too early in the morning for me to see the whole thing). Waiting for a full rerun.

I love that the Olympics opening ceremonies contain what is unique about the host country's culture/sense of humour etc. Otherwise it'd just be a boring, homogenous sort of spectacle of fireworks and pop music. I'm all nostalgic for my British heritage now.

What were the British athletes wearing though, a bit Liberace wasn't it?
 

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Posted by Barnabas62 (# 9110) on :
 
The Olympic Flame lighting was spectacular.

Pity about Macca at the end ...
 

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Posted by Amos (# 44) on :
 
Deliberately chavtastic I thought (the outfits, I mean).
 

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Posted by Clodsley Shovel (# 16662) on :
 
Shame about Macca forgetting the words to his own song and i'm not sure what the point of the Arctic Monkeys was.

Other than that, once you've accepted the parade is going to take ages, I thought it was brilliant, with the Queens 'entrance' being the highlight.

Hopefully Wiggins and Cavendish can get us off to a golden start tomorrow.
 

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Posted by Anglican_Brat (# 12349) on :
 
Good:

The Queen, Bond, and her Coagies. Cute and imaginative.

Mr. Bean's segment and his dream, along with the London Symphony.

The segment dedicated to the NHS, a possibly sly political jibe by Danny Boyle, as well as the segments to children literature.

What I didn't get:

The references to FB and Twitter in the musical segment for the 70s and 80s. It felt a little out-of-place. As well, the mini-story about the guy and the girl was not really needed.

No reference to Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings.

No reference to William Shakespeare or John Milton, it seems that we went from picturesque English rural medieval land right to the Industrial Revolution with hardly a peep towards the Golden Age of the Tudors and the Stuarts. Well, I could understand why they didn't want to mention the English Civil War.

 

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Posted by nickel (# 8363) on :
 
I'm shocked, no reference to Shakespeare?

I'm watching on NBC now. I could do without the NBC commentators helpful quips. Oh, ya'll really call it "telly" over there? red poppies associated with WWI? who knew? It's really rather spoiling it for me.

I hope I haven't missed Mr Bean.
 

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Posted by Mudfrog (# 8116) on :
 
Harry Potter was represented by the huge (how could you miss it?) puppet of Voldemort.

Shakespeare was represented by the speech made by Sir Kenneth Brannagh.

Keep up.
 

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Posted by Anglican_Brat (# 12349) on :
 

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Originally posted by Mudfrog:
Harry Potter was represented by the huge (how could you miss it?) puppet of Voldemort.

Shakespeare was represented by the speech made by Sir Kenneth Brannagh.

Keep up.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Avila:

As for content I just commented on the localism on FB and that even as a Brit I missed references, however I do recall Sydney 2000 opening ceremony including a display of twirling washing lines - celebrating the hillman hoist which you had to have been in the country to comprehend.

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Quite, the Sydney opening ceremony had LOTS of in-jokes, trying to celebrate our
larrikinism , apparently Danny Boyle was doing something a bit similar with British humour, trying to make the games friendly, like Sydney. I think it worked, but I would say that, cos I "get" many British jokes and references.

Oh and it's the Hills Hoist, fancy misnaming one of Australia's cultural icons, I'm outraged, please show more respect in future
 

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Posted by IngoB (# 8700) on :
 
I thought it was quite good, all in all. Bond & the queen was a highlight, McCartney was horrid (though, in some sense, also that was very British, to let an old man stumble through his old tune, just because...).

I thought the spindly cauldron was an rather clever and aesthetically pleasing idea.

I would say that this was quite good in a distinctly British way. It was no Beijing. Good!

(TV director incredibly keeps the camera trained on the queen as she cleans her fingernails, clearly ignoring the proceedings. Commentator says something like "And the queen is also enjoying this immensely, I'm sure." How very British... in China, heads would roll. Literally.)
 

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Posted by Meg the Red (# 11838) on :
 
Watching a rerun on TSN - they saw fit to chop out everything between Branagh and the forging of the Olympic rings and keep - gawdelpus - all of Sir Paul's "performance".

The children's choirs made me all weepy, as did Bradley Wiggins' sideburns, but for very different reasons.

And any opening ceremony that features live sheep is by definition brilliant.
 

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Posted by Patdys (# 9397) on :
 

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Originally posted by Avila:
Before dark would mess up light effects.

Who says it was anything to do with the atheletes tonight??

As for content I just commented on the localism on FB and that even as a Brit I missed references, however I do recall Sydney 2000 opening ceremony including a display of twirling washing lines - celebrating the hillman hoist which you had to have been in the country to comprehend.

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[pedantic aussie] Hills hoist, The hillman is a car I think [/pedantic aussie] About to watch with my daughter; it is her homework.
 

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Posted by Patdys (# 9397) on :
 
Just to restate what has already been pointed out.

Must read all the flaming thread before typing. sorry. puts self in time-out corner

[ 28. July 2012, 03:26: Message edited by: Patdys ]
 

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Posted by Mary LA (# 17040) on :
 
Bizarre and affectionate and surreal, watched from South Africa where 9.30pm was really late for the beginning of a lengthy ceremony. Very Mad Hatter's Tea Party and nothing at all to do with Olympics for the early part. But magnificent too in places --
 

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Posted by Gramps49 (# 16378) on :
 
I am on the West Coast of the US. There s a time delay. Just saw the Mr Bean segment. I thought it was very funny, though my son, the musician could tell he was not playing the note.
 

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Posted by Eutychus (# 3081) on :
 
I didn't watch it all, but I reckon that the 1951 Festival of Britain (especially the Lion and the Unicorn pavilion, which celebrated British quirks and eccentricity) and the 1977 British Genius Exhibition were influences.
 

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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
I enjoyed the quirky bits, went to bed at 10pm and recorded the rest so that I can skim through. Like Ariel, I'm very glad I wasn't there - the noise would have done me in.

Those drummers' arms must have been dropping off by the end of the night!

Apparently the drums were just painted buckets - one drummer says he's going to plant a tree in hos as a momento.
 

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Posted by Amos (# 44) on :
 
The Amosling and I watched the whole thing, and liked it all enormously, apart from the anti-climax of the Arctic Monkeys and Sir Paul Macartney. On one level it was a deliberate riposte to the Beijing opening ceremony, so if you adored the latter you'd be bound to be disappointed. This was not the kind of ceremony where a child who looked imperfect would be kept offstage. It celebrated individuality as well as diversity--not to mention eccentricity. There was Shakespeare--Branagh as Brunel, speaking Caliban's speech from 'The Tempest' to open the 'Dark Satanic Mills' section. Protest was celebrated, along with interracial marriage, the NHS, the World Wide Web (actual doctors, nurses, and yes, patients from Great Ormond Street Hospital. Sir Tim Berners-Lee). The Children's Literature section was unexpected and good. I liked the surreality, and the domesticity of the '70s and '80s music section. A London opening ceremony which gives us tributes to Queen, the Sex Pistols' 'God Save the Queen,' and then Her Majesty herself, with the national anthem sung by a choir of hearing and deaf children singing and signing (in their pyjamas!) is pretty remarkable. And not something you'd get in China. There were unavoidable longeurs--Seb Coe's tedious speech. There were unexpected pleasures--the Mexican team's outfits; Shami Chakrabarti and Ban Ki Moon carrying the Olympic flag. Sir Simon Rattle. The pretty cool cauldron being lit by young, as-yet unknown athletes. Mr Bean and James Bond aren't my cup of tea, but I enjoyed the performing corgis. It was worth staying up until the end.

[ 28. July 2012, 06:50: Message edited by: Amos ]
 

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Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
Watching at the moment after recording it this morning here in Oz. Taking a coffee break - ain't it great when you can do that!

And can I just say, I find it hard to believe that anything is going to top the fact that they got the Queen to agree to the Bond thing.
 

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Posted by Eutychus (# 3081) on :
 
Dug out a bit about the 'Lion and the Unicorn' pavilion from the Festival of Britain.

It was to

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house an exposition of what came most often to be referred to as the British character, with overtones of national traditions and achievements, though warlike achievements were strictly excluded... The Lion would stand for the more dependable traits in the national character, the Unicorn for the more volatile

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Originally posted by Trisagion:
The other thing that struck me was the almost complete absence of the one set of ideas and organising principles that both explain and, from Alban and Augustine onwards, provide the key to understanding Britain: Christianity.

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Originally posted by orfeo:
Was the industrial revolution a specifically Christian innovation??

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In any case, if you wanted to make it distinguishingly BRITISH, rather than just 'European', you'd have to be a great deal more specific about your Christianity. Perhaps a re-enactment of Henry VIII getting rid of his first wife, followed by him chopping off the head of number two, followed by some more general depiction of the fact that the trouble all this caused went on through the reigns of his children as well.

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Originally posted by Ariel:

I'm curious to know what was going on in the arena while we were getting the TV sequences (which were a bit dizzying at times).

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Pre recorded?
 

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Posted by Devils Advocate (# 16484) on :
 
As a Brit who has no interest in the Olympics whatsoever ( and I live in an area on;y 150 miles from London) and bar the torch being taken through the area earlier this month our town will gain nothing from the olympics at all , I watched the opening ceremony with interest. My own opinion is it was spectacular if a little overlong at 3 hours 45 mins so bar the fact it was continuous and there were no intervals it was as long as Wagner's Die Walküre and nearly as long as Siegfried.
I didn't get a lot of the references ( Who were Frankie and June?) and thought it verged on the pretentious.
My main concern is the amount of money it cost to stage. I heard on the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme ( for the non UK readers of this post thats a 6 day's per week current affairs programme) that it cost £27 Million Pounds ( thats $42512990.08 or €34495040.15) My moral problem with this is it is a vast, nay obscene amount of money to spend on a one off one performance only event, especially in a country who are slashing spending on Health care and Welfare benefits and are forcing people out of their homes We have to ask if they will get a return on this investment from the people visiting the country for this event or will it be another case of "Rip off Britain" fleecing tourists?
 

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Posted by Mudfrog (# 8116) on :
 
I was very, very impressed that, when the singer sang Abide With Me, the producers didn't leave out the reference to the cross! They could have just sang the bland references to 'thou' but by including the cross, the references to the divine were definately and overtly to Christ.

Excellent
 

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Posted by Trisagion (# 5235) on :
 

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Originally posted by Amos:
How much religion is there generally at Olympic opening ceremonies, Trisagion?

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I'd expected none, and so was moved by both the Welsh children's choir singing 'Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer,'

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and the wonderful solo of 'Abide With Me' to accompany the July 7 tribute.

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Not to mention 'Jerusalem,' which is Christian, albeit in a mystical Blakean way.

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That, I thought, was enough without the addition of the English Martyrs from St Alban onwards (though they could, I suppose have borrowed the giant puppets from the cathedral).

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Originally posted by Firenze:
And WHY are the Czechs wearing white sorts and blue wellies?

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Originally posted by Schroedinger's cat:
Re no reference to Christianity: They had several hymns in the ceremony, including the whole of Abide with Me.

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What more do you want or expect?

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I think that reflected our Christian heritage very well.

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Lord Danny Boyle did a wonderful job of reminding us all what Britishness is all about. David Cameron, take note.

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And what would that be?
 

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Posted by orfeo (# 13878) on :
 
Right, well. In between being told awful it was that the world's atheletes didn't come together to celebrate Christianity , I've got to the end and thought the torch lighting was rather lovely. Not Barcelona-dramatic, but very nicely done.
 

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Posted by Mudfrog (# 8116) on :
 

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Originally posted by Devils Advocate:
As a Brit who has no interest in the Olympics whatsoever ( and I live in an area on;y 150 miles from London) and bar the torch being taken through the area earlier this month our town will gain nothing from the olympics at all , I watched the opening ceremony with interest. My own opinion is it was spectacular if a little overlong at 3 hours 45 mins so bar the fact it was continuous and there were no intervals it was as long as Wagner's Die Walküre and nearly as long as Siegfried.
I didn't get a lot of the references ( Who were Frankie and June?) and thought it verged on the pretentious.
My main concern is the amount of money it cost to stage. I heard on the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme ( for the non UK readers of this post thats a 6 day's per week current affairs programme) that it cost £27 Million Pounds ( thats $42512990.08 or €34495040.15) My moral problem with this is it is a vast, nay obscene amount of money to spend on a one off one performance only event, especially in a country who are slashing spending on Health care and Welfare benefits and are forcing people out of their homes We have to ask if they will get a return on this investment from the people visiting the country for this event or will it be another case of "Rip off Britain" fleecing tourists?

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Posted by Mudfrog (# 8116) on :
 

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Originally posted by Trisagion:

quote:

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Originally posted by Amos:
How much religion is there generally at Olympic opening ceremonies, Trisagion?

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Any overt religion would clearly be inappropriate but that is specifically not what I talking about. You cannot honestly or seriously depict an image of Britain's past (or it's present, for that matter) which airbrushed out Christianity. Boyle sought to do just that.

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I'd expected none, and so was moved by both the Welsh children's choir singing 'Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer,'

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The clue to understanding what that was about was it's being preceded by Danny Boy and Flower of Scotland: an acknowledgement of the other nations of Britain (interesting to note that the representation of each of three Celtic nations included tries scored in Rugby matches against the English). It wasn't a reference to religion but to nationality.

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and the wonderful solo of 'Abide With Me' to accompany the July 7 tribute.

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A song described in the running order as one "sung at every FA Cup Final since 1927 and every Rugby League Challenge Cup Final since 1929 in memory of the war dead.". It wasn't a reference to Christianity but to remembrance. Geddit?

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Not to mention 'Jerusalem,' which is Christian, albeit in a mystical Blakean way.

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Which is Blakean albeit it in a way that draws, in part, on the language of Christianity.

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That, I thought, was enough without the addition of the English Martyrs from St Alban onwards (though they could, I suppose have borrowed the giant puppets from the cathedral).

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You are entirely missing the point. It is neither honest nor credible to present an image of Pre-industrial Revolution rural England where the single most significant religious, cultural and social institution simply doesn't exist.

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Originally posted by Gramps49:
I am on the West Coast of the US. There s a time delay. Just saw the Mr Bean segment. I thought it was very funny, though my son, the musician could tell he was not playing the note.

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Originally posted by Trisagion:

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Originally posted by orfeo:
Was the industrial revolution a specifically Christian innovation??

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There's a separate thread to be had discussing that one but I would argue that, in addition to the presence of the physical resources, the legal system and the mental disposition that were key to its early development and the moral system that attempted to ameliorate its oppressive aspects were all direct products of Christianity.

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Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

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The BBC's coverage of the opening ceremony was watched on TV by a peak audience of 26.9 million viewers in the UK... The record UK TV audience was 30.15 million for EastEnders on Christmas Day 1986 when Den Watts divorced wife Angie

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Originally posted by orfeo:
Right, well. In between being told awful it was that the world's atheletes didn't come together to celebrate Christianity

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Originally posted by Trisagion:

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Originally posted by orfeo:
Right, well. In between being told awful it was that the world's atheletes didn't come together to celebrate Christianity

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Having problems reading for comprehension this morning, are we Orfeo? That is neither what I wrote or implied.

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Britain presented itself to the world Friday night as (...) a nation secure in its own post-empire identity, whatever that actually is.

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Originally posted by Ariel:
Does anybody know who Frankie and June were?

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Originally posted by orfeo:
No, but you did seem to think that the celebration of Great Britain ought to rub either the noses of a chunk of its population OR the noses of a massive chunk of the watching world population in it.

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I honestly cannot conceive how anyone could think that an Olympics opening ceremony is an appropriate forum for making a strong religious message.

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As others noted, the Christian heritage of the UK was tangible, and I'm at an utter loss to think why anyone would want to beef it up beyond the presence it already had.

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Originally posted by Trisagion:
except in an oblique (and, even then, explained away) manner, entirely absent.

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Originally posted by orfeo:

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Originally posted by Trisagion:
except in an oblique (and, even then, explained away) manner, entirely absent.

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Well, for starters you're having a great difficulty getting anyone to agree that it was "entirely" absent. Including yourself it seems.

Abide With Me was sung in full. How on earth does that qualify as 'oblique'?

Your national anthem, in case you've forgotten because it's so common, makes reference to God from the very beginning.

Even if you discount the Welsh hymn on the ground that it was to denote Wales rather than to denote hymns, that is a sizeable segment of references to Christian culture. And in fact in all 3 cases, it was amongst the least 'busy' bits of the ceremony. The words of Abide With Me were positively hanging in the air as Emeli Sande sang them.

Given the response of other posters to your comments, your dismissal of this element as not satisfactory says more about your values than it does about the ceremony.

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Originally posted by Robert Armin:
I was expecting Macca, and thought it appropriate that he was the climax of the ceremony. Who are the most famous group ever to come out of Britain? Far more famous than the Arctic Monkeys (why were they so prominent?)? Macca was bound to be there.

And I was genuinely moved by "Abide With Me", especially as it was sung so simply. But I still thought the dance didn't fit the words.

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Originally posted by Trisagion:
I am sorry that on a discussion board I have had the temerity to voice an opinion that doesn't accord with the opinion of others. How dare I.

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Originally posted by Firenze:
I want a frock like the Cameroonians.

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Originally posted by Ariel:
It's hard to believe that modern British teenagers would be called Frankie and June...

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Originally posted by Michael Astley:

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Originally posted by Ariel:
It's hard to believe that modern British teenagers would be called Frankie and June...

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I'm not so sure, you know. I think it's part of the ever-shifting trends in naming culture.

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Originally posted by Robert Armin:
However I have just been puzzled by a violent dance going alongside a very peaceful rendition of "Abide With Me". Overall all of this reminds me of a Matt Smith episode of Doctor Who - some striking moments but rather confusing as a whole.

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Originally posted by Boogie:

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Originally posted by Michael Astley:

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Originally posted by Ariel:
It's hard to believe that modern British teenagers would be called Frankie and June...

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I'm not so sure, you know. I think it's part of the ever-shifting trends in naming culture.

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Yes! My friend's new grandchild is called Elsie!

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Its surely a play, the guy is wearing a T-Shirt with "Frankie says Relax" on it, it is seen as a modern creation of a soap opera couple along the lines of "Terry and June". What more of an excuse do you need? Dated horribly but...

Jengie
 

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Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
I felt that everything between the opening sequence and the utterly spectacular flame lighting failed by comparison. The athletes parade went on too long, there was too much undistinguished music and leaping and - is it me or has Macca totally lost his voice?

Worth ten bob a head though.
 

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Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :
 
Who remembers when the BBC banned Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax? - and now it's part of what represents "Britishness."

I felt very old
 

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Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 

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Originally posted by North East Quine:
Who remembers when the BBC banned Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax? - and now it's part of what represents "Britishness."

I felt very old

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Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
We had the Sex Pistols too, including the opening line from 'God Save the Queen' (but not the next one).

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Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
I felt that everything between the opening sequence and the utterly spectacular flame lighting failed by comparison. The athletes parade went on too long, there was too much undistinguished music and leaping and - is it me or has Macca totally lost his voice?

Worth ten bob a head though.

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Yes, those athletes just get in the way, don't they.
 

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Posted by Trisagion (# 5235) on :
 

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Originally posted by North East Quine:
Trisagion, what would you have done to include overt reference to Christianity? (Other than include a village church in the initial pastoral scene, as you've already suggested.)

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Originally posted by Niteowl2:
I thought she wasn't up to par when pronouncing the games open in London. Very subpar.

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Originally posted by Amos:
On one level it was a deliberate riposte to the Beijing opening ceremony, so if you adored the latter you'd be bound to be disappointed.

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Originally posted by shamwari:
Far too parochial ( and therefore unintelligible) for a global audience.

What would the Chinese and Outer Mongolians have made of the Mr Bean slot?

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Originally posted by Freddy:

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Originally posted by shamwari:
Far too parochial ( and therefore unintelligible) for a global audience.

What would the Chinese and Outer Mongolians have made of the Mr Bean slot?

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Don't underestimate the global audience. The Chinese in particular are obsessed wth Mr. Bean.

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quote:

---

Originally posted by luvanddaisies:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Niteowl2:
I thought she wasn't up to par when pronouncing the games open in London. Very subpar.

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The poor woman had had to sit through hours of drivel, I thought she did pretty well to stay awake at all.

quote:

---

Originally posted by Amos:
On one level it was a deliberate riposte to the Beijing opening ceremony, so if you adored the latter you'd be bound to be disappointed.

---

This is true. I thought Bejing was beautiful, clever, well-designed and quite artistic. I thought last night's thing was big-budget, tacky, bitty and gimmicky. It was all a bit embarrassing to be a Londoner, really.

---

I was thinking the Queen was probably up past her bed time. (I also thought the same of Sir Paul}

While I did love the closing of the ceremony I have to admit that I preferred the Beijing opening ceremony overall. It was a hard one to top and I felt for anyone having to try to.
 

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Posted by sabine (# 3861) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
The athletes parade went on too long. . .

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Robert Armin:
Personally I don't like Mr Bean, but he has been successful all over the world. Just like Benny Hill was - that sort of visual humour travels well.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Boogie:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:

I'm curious to know what was going on in the arena while we were getting the TV sequences (which were a bit dizzying at times).

---

Pre recorded?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Adeodatus:
There were several moments when I found myself crying like a Boris*.

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quote:

---

Originally posted by Trisagion:

quote:

---

Originally posted by North East Quine:
Trisagion, what would you have done to include overt reference to Christianity? (Other than include a village church in the initial pastoral scene, as you've already suggested.)

---

I think that would have been an extremely good and sufficiently overt statement to have set the scene perfectly for me. I'm not sure it would have needed more than that.

---

quote:

---

wasn't a reference to religion but to nationality.

---

then I don't see how you can think a pretty church would be read as a reference to religion rather than architecture.
 

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Posted by Anselmina (# 3032) on :
 
I thought the whole thing was extremely and accurately English. There where a few references to the other parts of Great Britain. But I enjoyed the whole thing so much, I didn't mind that it was mostly English orientated.

The pre-industrial idyll of rural England, its decimation by the industrial revolution, the progress into technology etc, were excellent. And the nod to the NHS was entirely appropriate.

The Rowan Atkinson and the Queen segments were fantastic. What could be more British than Commander Bond ensuring Her Majesty reaches the ceremony in typical Bond style? The corgies were adorable. And I loved the images of David Beckham speeding up the Thames in a motor-boat with the Torch.

Abide with me followed the moment of reflection on those who had died during the 7/7 London bombing, which took place the day after it was announced London had the Olympics. Again appropriate. And while I'm not normally tuned into abstract dance, I thought the accompanying dance was incredibly moving. Probably because I had my own narrative going on; the red wavy dancers were like flames, and the young man emerged to take a 'dying' child in his arms, through the flames. Memories of 7/7, and with Abide with Me, also Liverpool football disaster. For once the words and dance seemed to go together, in my mind.

The bit with the flag and who was bringing it in to the stadium was great; and touching to see Mohammad Ali present. And handing the torch(s) over to the young people to light the ingenious big torch thingy. Impressive. 'Inspire a generation' is the games' motto this year, so that was well represented.

I have to say that as beautiful and coordinated and spectacular as Beijing's ceremony was, I didn't find it easy to separate it's 'happy' regimentation from the government ethos behind it. 'You will acknowledge how impressively glamorous, and bright and shiny we are! And how happy we all are in our wonderful utopian state!' I would fully expect a strict dictatorship such as China's to put on a slickly regulated, thoroughly uniform, 'everything all right here' kind of performance, no expense spared.

But Britain - rightly or wrongly - glories in certain forms of eccentrism, individual genius, and chaotic and often irreverent traditionalism. I know which camp I'd prefer to put up my tent in!

Votes for Women, smoking chimney stacks, punks, the vision for the NHS etc. The participators all looked like real people, too, if you know what I mean. Different body-shapes, abilities etc.

I could've done without the Arctic Monkeys (Who? asked my Mum), or Paul McCartney. I like some of the Beatles' music. But I don't want to see an elderly ex-Beatle wheeled out at every big occasion. He's being used in some iconic way which to me just doesn't work. Britain is more than the Beatles, and has been for a long time.

I also - surprisingly to me - enjoyed the athletes parade. The costumes were wonderful, the variety again of men and women. The clever thing of putting drummers behind each party of athletes to ensure things were kept moving along.

I have no doubt it was random and baffling and even untidy looking at times. But as I said at the beginning, accurately reflecting the host country! And none the worse for that.
 

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Posted by Mad Cat (# 9104) on :
 
I thought Boyle negotiated the home nations well. We have sheep a-plenty in Scotland, and there were early shots of miners who made me think of the Welsh. Paisley in the west of Scotland is a mill town, and the steel segment reminded me of the industry that employed all my dad's family in Lanarkshire until a generation ago.

A nationalist of my acquaintance complained that he was still not convinced by 'Britishness' and that he wouldn't be supporting this 'glorified sports day' until we have an independent Scotland. I saw in the opening ceremony the most genuine reflection of Britishness I've seen in a long time, with so many stories woven together, interdependent. However, I have an English mum, Scottish dad, Irish grandparents on both sides, and have lived half my life on one side of the Scottish border and half on the other. Maybe those less mongrel than I see a different reflection.
 

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Posted by Meg the Red (# 11838) on :
 
Anselmina
 

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Posted by Telepath (# 3534) on :
 
Yeah, Anselmina And yeah, Adeodatus.

Moaning is very British, too, but I'm not such a calcified cynic that I didn't get the point. Look what this nation can do when we put our collective mind to it.

(Tim Berners-Lee!)
 

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Posted by North East Quine (# 13049) on :
 
Originally posted by Mad Cat:

quote:

---

Maybe those less mongrel than I see a different reflection.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by North East Quine:
Would it have sufficed, though? Might it not have seemed as though adding a village church into the maypole / cricket / sheep mix simply represented another twee aspect of olde-worlde "heritage." If you feel that the inclusion of "Guide Me o Thou Great Jehovah

quote:

---

wasn't a reference to religion but to nationality.

---

then I don't see how you can think a pretty church would be read as a reference to religion rather than architecture.

---

quote:

---

Who remembers when the BBC banned Frankie Goes to Hollywood's Relax? - and now it's part of what represents "Britishness."

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by rolyn:
I can't for the life of me see that Christianity didn't have a fair and proper representation in the Olympic opening Ceremony .
I saw a timid looking Arch-Bishop of Canterbury peeping out from behind a peed-off looking Queen on at least 3 shots .

---

 

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Posted by Adeodatus (# 4992) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by rolyn:
I can't for the life of me see that Christianity didn't have a fair and proper representation in the Olympic opening Ceremony .
I saw a timid looking Arch-Bishop of Canterbury peeping out from behind a peed-off looking Queen on at least 3 shots .

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by rolyn:
I saw a timid looking Arch-Bishop of Canterbury peeping out from behind a peed-off looking Queen on at least 3 shots .

---

I thought ++Rowan seemed to be enjoying himself. I was disappointed, but not at all surprised, that the NBC announcers didn't point him out. They probably didn't even recognize him, and their producers (or whoever supervises the scripts) probably didn't have him on their radar screens. And 90% of the American public probably don't know what an "Archbishop of Canterbury" is.

[ 28. July 2012, 16:03: Message edited by: Mamacita ]
 

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Posted by Mamacita (# 3659) on :
 
Sorry to DP. I thought the Queen simply looked tired last night. Up past her bedtime, as others have pointed out. She was certainly a good sport to do that James Bond bit.
 

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Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 
Was it too PC and 'leftie' for you? The MP for Cannock Chase tweeted to that effect but naturally he was misunderstood, like he was misunderstood about some ill-advised remarks about Nazism at a stag do a while ago.

FWIW I felt some Tory Boy would say something like this, pointing to the black faces in the cast of thousands and the substantial NHS presence. Did they sleep through the transformation of rural Britain into the first industrial economy, which was red-hot capitalism!
 

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Posted by Eutychus (# 3081) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Adeodatus:
'Abide with me' could be that tired old dirge that gets sung at FA cup finals, but it also could be a powerful and moving hymn of Christian faith. To read it as one and exclude the other is to make a partial reading.

---

I've been thinking about this, and I think 'Abide with me' exactly represents the way christianity and culture fit together in the UK today. It embodies the way bits of what we call 'judaeo-christian heritage' here in France have become enmeshed in cultural identity. In that sense it is an accurate representation of the place of christianity in the UK today, however much Trisagion may object.
 

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Posted by cliffdweller (# 13338) on :
 
Viewing it cross pond... in addition to all that's been said, the very positive affirmation of NHS seemed particularly apt (hilariously so) & well timed given the gaffes Romney made earlier in the week. I know that must have been planned long, long in advance, but the sheer beauty of envisioning him squirming was priceless. He's making the denunciation of nationalized health care his central calling card, and with it the repeated assertion that "everyone" in England/Canada agrees their health care is in a shambles. Three cheers for the prescience or sheer good luck of being able to throw that back in his face.
 

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Posted by Anglican_Brat (# 12349) on :
 
"Abide with Me" in many ways is a good representative hymn of quiet, introverted English Christianity of the middling sort. The simple description of God "O Thou who changest not" speaks more volumes than many contemporary praise songs today.

I suppose however if the UK wanted a more gusto hymn to cheer its own athletes, there is always "Onward Christian Soldiers."
 

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Posted by Spike (# 36) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sir Kevin:
The current lead singer from AC/DC is also a good fast driver: he was top of the board when he visited Top Gear and he took a quick lap in the reasonably-priced car.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by North East Quine:
Originally posted by Mad Cat:

quote:

---

Maybe those less mongrel than I see a different reflection.

---

There were no shortage of nods to Scotland - Peter Pan (part of the GOSH bit) was written by a Scot, and the excerpt was read by Edinburgh resident J.K. Rowling.
<snip>
I don't think they put a foot wrong, as far as the home nations were concerned.

---

I agree (as someone >90% English, living in Scotland). There was also Eric Liddell, Trainspotting, Gregory's Girl et al. I can't get excited about Flower of Scotland either, but was crying by the end of the first line of Jerusalem! I thought it was a bit batty, but marvelous.
 

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Posted by Mad Cat (# 9104) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
The MP for Cannock Chase tweeted to that effect.....

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mamacita:
Sorry to DP. I thought the Queen simply looked tired last night. Up past her bedtime, as others have pointed out. She was certainly a good sport to do that James Bond bit.

---

Yeah, that was a big surprise. I couldn't help turning to my Mum, at the bit where the Queen turns round to Bond in the Palace and speaks to him, and saying: 'It's herself!' We spent the next fifteen minutes wondering if it really was her, it just seemed so uniquely unlikely. (And I know it wasn't her parachuting over the stadium!)

I'm afraid she didn't look completely on-song during the ceremony. I thought she might've been fantasizing of a pair of slippers, her own sofa and a mug of horlicks. I sometimes wonder if occasionally she looks a bit intense or cross because she's actually having to concentrate on not looking shagged out or fed up?
 

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Posted by Gramps49 (# 16378) on :
 
Now that is the morning after, one thing I am disappointed in was the decision of NBC to cut to an interview with Mark Phelps while the rest of the world saw a tribute to the terrorists who were killed on 7.7. I had to see a youtube outtake this morning. I thought it was a great sketch.
 

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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
The stunt double was a bloke
 

---

Posted by Amos (# 44) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Gramps49:
Now that is the morning after, one thing I am disappointed in was the decision of NBC to cut to an interview with Mark Phelps while the rest of the world saw a tribute to the terrorists who were killed on 7.7. I had to see a youtube outtake this morning. I thought it was a great sketch.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Anselmina:
I'm afraid she didn't look completely on-song during the ceremony. I thought she might've been fantasizing of a pair of slippers, her own sofa and a mug of horlicks. I sometimes wonder if occasionally she looks a bit intense or cross because she's actually having to concentrate on not looking shagged out or fed up?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mudfrog:
I was very, very impressed that, when the singer sang Abide With Me, the producers didn't leave out the reference to the cross! They could have just sang the bland references to 'thou' but by including the cross, the references to the divine were definately and overtly to Christ.

Excellent

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jahlove:
Over-all, I see the Industrial Revolution as the start of the movement by which a previously basically-feudally ruled, tied-cottage populace could make genuine advance ....

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by ken:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by Jahlove:
And Britain's greatest historical achievement is the NHS.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by ken:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Mudfrog:
I was very, very impressed that, when the singer sang Abide With Me, the producers didn't leave out the reference to the cross! They could have just sang the bland references to 'thou' but by including the cross, the references to the divine were definately and overtly to Christ.

Excellent

---

Yes. The whole thing was much, much, better than I expected, and that song the best bit.

Much, much, much, better.

---

Yes. Exactly my response. One of the things that was so impressive about the way in which 'Abide with Me' was sung and staged was that every word was allowed its full resonance. I would never have thought I could be so moved by a hymn I sing just about every week at the Crem.
 

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Posted by Telepath (# 3534) on :
 
I actually thought the tessatura was right off for Emeli Sandé. The Telemum says she should have been about a fifth higher. It was very uncomfortable to listen to.

That, and Macca, we're the two bits I thought didn't work. The dancing was pretty great though.
 

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Posted by rolyn (# 16840) on :
 
In all seriousness I thought the 7/7 inclusion was a very bold, and unexpected endeavour . 'Abide with me' was sung in as moving a way as ever it could be .
It hit the right note IMO, and whatever those 4 bombers were out to achieve I wouldn't have thought getting a mention at this ceremony was part of it .

Coming back to our dear Queen , I agree with the posters above . She looked drawn at this event, and is probably still recovering from Jubilee fatigue . But duty demanded her presence and all due respect to her for that .
But I do so wish that, with all the communication and camera technology in existence, they didn't catch the Queen staring at her finger nails with the commentator saying "Her Majesty is clearly enjoying herself ".
 

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Posted by PaulBC (# 13712) on :
 
Way too long and too parochial. As to showing all UK I don't think that "Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer" (Wales) ," Danny Boy" (Ireland)
and "The Flowers od Scotland") shows all of Briatin.
As to the sedments with the Queen, the Ciorgis bad taste. The producer should be glad the headsman at the Tower of London has been retired. And HM was a good sport about it.
But then it goes to being too long, HM is after all 86 and HRH Prince Phillip 90 and they weren't going to get much peace & quiet, unless they went to Windsor.
As for the memorial segement great idea. However and this does not reflect on Mr. Boyle
but on the IOC was the ignoring the fact that this is the 40th anniversary of the murder of 11 Israelis at the Munich games .The ommission was like the day of mourning at Munich, back dated to the previous day.The IOC should be ashamed as should the LOCOC.It
marred a decent opening cermonioes
And just what was Mohammad Ali doiing there ? A great athelete and hummanitereian indeed CNN had been speculating that he would light the flame , and that sounded dumb.And who pulled the Olympic Flag party up > It should have been great UK Olympians .
I watched this here on Canada's west coast almost made want to go back to the UK.I did say almost !Have a great games
 

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Posted by Gramps49 (# 16378) on :
 
There was an interesting juxtrapositioning on NBC, though. It did a cutaway showing Michelle Obama in the dignitary section clearly enjoying the show, then it cut away to the Romneys who seemed to have been shunted to one side. Mitt looked stiff. Guess that came from having to eat some words from a couple of days before.
 

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Posted by cliffdweller (# 13338) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Gramps49:
There was an interesting juxtrapositioning on NBC, though. It did a cutaway showing Michelle Obama in the dignitary section clearly enjoying the show, then it cut away to the Romneys who seemed to have been shunted to one side. Mitt looked stiff. Guess that came from having to eat some words from a couple of days before.

---

As well as the celebration of the NHS which completely undermines his party line of "nationalized medicine is a disaster and no one likes it".
 

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Posted by shamwari (# 15556) on :
 
From a celebratory opening to a disastrous first day.

The Brit cycling team were favourites to win Gold in the road race.

They didnt even get near a medal.

And the expected Gold medallist said; "No one wants to help us. They just sat there. They were happy to see us lose.

What do you expect? That your opponents should help you win? Or do our Olympians live in a parallel universe?
 

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Posted by Polly (# 1107) on :
 
Just proud to be British.
 

---

Posted by Zacchaeus (# 14454) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Anselmina:
I'm afraid she didn't look completely on-song during the ceremony. I thought she might've been fantasizing of a pair of slippers, her own sofa and a mug of horlicks. I sometimes wonder if occasionally she looks a bit intense or cross because she's actually having to concentrate on not looking shagged out or fed up?

---

She is 86 and was probably half deafened by the sheer volume of the thousand drummers, as well as having to sit through a fairly energetic, at times frenetic, performance until after midnight. I know she's accustomed to this sort of thing, but someone of her age who wasn't the Queen wouldn't be expected to sit through it.

(Either that or she'd just been told she couldn't parachute back into Buckingham Palace when it was all over. Bless her, at this rate, she'll probably be abseiling down the Houses of Parliament to open the next session.)

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by ken:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Jahlove:
Over-all, I see the Industrial Revolution as the start of the movement by which a previously basically-feudally ruled, tied-cottage populace could make genuine advance ....

---

So it seems does Danny Boyle. Going by yesterday's performance the biggest hero in British history is Isambard Kingdom Brunel. And Britain's greatest historical achievement is the NHS.

As someone else pointed out it was a very political ceremony, and much of the politics quite clearly directed against the against government - maybe that in itself is a very British way of doing it. I'm sure it didn't happen in China or Russia - or even the USA.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Polly:
Just proud to be British.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by mrs whibley:

quote:

---

Originally posted by North East Quine:
Originally posted by Mad Cat:

quote:

---

Maybe those less mongrel than I see a different reflection.

---

There were no shortage of nods to Scotland - Peter Pan (part of the GOSH bit) was written by a Scot, and the excerpt was read by Edinburgh resident J.K. Rowling.
<snip>
I don't think they put a foot wrong, as far as the home nations were concerned.

---

I agree (as someone >90% English, living in Scotland). There was also Eric Liddell, Trainspotting, Gregory's Girl et al. I can't get excited about Flower of Scotland either, but was crying by the end of the first line of Jerusalem! I thought it was a bit batty, but marvelous.

---

Yep and even your former Antipodean colony, Australia got a nod with Mary Poppins, the author, P.L.Travers was actually an Aussie.

 

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Posted by Gill H (# 68) on :
 
'Frankie and June say thanks Tim' was a mystery until the end of the segment. The other segment titles (eg Happy and Glorious) were shown on screen rather than live, so I didn't twig it was a title. The story: guy meets girl on tube, girl drops phone, guy follows her through decades of British music, aided by technology of the phone. They eventually find each other, and the house is lifted up to reveal it was all thanks to Sir Tim Berners-Les for inventing the internet. Hence 'thanks Tim'.

I loved the 7/7 bit. The juxtaposition of a song of hope and trust in the face of death, and the violent, angry dancing of the fire and confusion of the bombing, was very powerful.

Could have done without Arctic Monkeys or Macca (he seemed to have a click track that started early, so for the first few lines he was out of synch, then realised and skipped a bit so it joined up).
 

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Posted by quetzalcoatl (# 16740) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by shamwari:
From a celebratory opening to a disastrous first day.

The Brit cycling team were favourites to win Gold in the road race.

They didnt even get near a medal.

And the expected Gold medallist said; "No one wants to help us. They just sat there. They were happy to see us lose.

What do you expect? That your opponents should help you win? Or do our Olympians live in a parallel universe?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:

quote:

---

Originally posted by shamwari:
From a celebratory opening to a disastrous first day.

The Brit cycling team were favourites to win Gold in the road race.

They didnt even get near a medal.

And the expected Gold medallist said; "No one wants to help us. They just sat there. They were happy to see us lose.

What do you expect? That your opponents should help you win? Or do our Olympians live in a parallel universe?

---

Total failure to understand the tactics of road racing in this format. Did you notice the final breakaway two - they actually helped each other to begin with, so that they could maintain the breakaway after Putney High St. You could see them look at each other, and perhaps even speak, that they would take turns to lead. Then it is understood, that come the final sprint, it is every man for himself. So initially, they work together to maximize their chances of gold and silver, and it worked.

So the peloton needed to catch the early breakaway group, but the Brits needed other countries to help with this. But why would they, if Cav is waiting to pulverize them in the sprint finish?

---

quote:

---

Just proud to be British.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
Oh come on, whinging has an honoured role in professional sport, in fact, in amateur sport as well. It's a safe way to release one's anger, frustration, and so on. Yes, one also needs to examine very closely one's own tactics, and criticize them, but a bit of whinging is psychologically important I think.

---

So that's the British excuse for whinging is it?
 

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Posted by bib (# 13074) on :
 
I got up very early (5.30am) in Oz to watch. I must say that I loved the tableaus about the history of England up to the Industrial revolution. I could have watched a lot more in that vein.
However, after that the whole production became disjointed and boring. It was almost as though the second half had a different producer. The NHS beds scene was long and incomprehensible while the pop music section was just plain silly.
Mr Bean was fun, but I would have also enjoyed something about the Tardis and the Daleks - I'm sure that would have struck a cord with many viewers. Some of the visual techniques were amazing, probably the most enjoyable for me were the 'birds' riding bikes.
I would really like a return to a more austerity Olympics as the amount of money countries need to spend is obscene and I don't know that they recoup it in the long term.
 

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by bib:
Mr Bean was fun, but I would have also enjoyed something about the Tardis and the Daleks - I'm sure that would have struck a cord with many viewers.

---

quote:

---

I would really like a return to a more austerity Olympics as the amount of money countries need to spend is obscene and I don't know that they recoup it in the long term.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Eutychus:
This just in

quote:

---

The BBC's coverage of the opening ceremony was watched on TV by a peak audience of 26.9 million viewers in the UK... The record UK TV audience was 30.15 million for EastEnders on Christmas Day 1986 when Den Watts divorced wife Angie

---

I'm not quite sure what conclusions are to be drawn from this.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Evangeline:

quote:

---

Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
Oh come on, whinging has an honoured role in professional sport, in fact, in amateur sport as well. It's a safe way to release one's anger, frustration, and so on. Yes, one also needs to examine very closely one's own tactics, and criticize them, but a bit of whinging is psychologically important I think.

---

So that's the British excuse for whinging is it?

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by quetzalcoatl:
Yes, one also needs to examine very closely one's own tactics, and criticize them, but a bit of whinging is psychologically important I think.

---

I agree - a good old moan is good for the soul. A friend and I get together weekly for that very purpose.



 

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Posted by Ceannaideach (# 12007) on :
 

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
Yes! I was waiting for the Doctor Who references and they never came! But maybe they couldn't get the permission to use the characters.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by PaulBC:
[...] I don't think that "Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer" (Wales) ," Danny Boy" (Ireland)
and "The Flowers od Scotland") shows all of Briatin.
As to the sedments with the Queen, the Ciorgis bad taste. The producer should be glad the headsman at the Tower of London has been retired. [...]And just what was Mohammad Ali doiing there ? A great athelete and hummanitereian indeed CNN had been speculating that he would light the flame , and that sounded dumb.And who pulled the Olympic Flag party up > It should have been great UK Olympians [...]

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Auntie Doris:
I thought this blog was an interesting take on the whole ceremony.

---

quote:

---

"It's essentially a Catholic theory of British history"
[...]
It is perhaps not coincidental to learn that Boyle himself was raised in a Catholic household in the north of England and was at one time considering attending seminary to become a priest.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
Originally posted by bib:
I would really like a return to a more austerity Olympics as the amount of money countries need to spend is obscene and I don't know that they recoup it in the long term.

Yes. I know I felt uneasy thinking how much they must have spent on this production. The opening ceremony's become a competition to see which country can top the efforts of the last, and I read somewhere that the expense of hosting the 2004 Olympics was a contributory factor in Greece getting into financial difficulties.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Boogie:
Thanks for that link Auntie Dorris -

From the blog - "The implication that J.K Rowling's Lord Voldemort could be compared to health secretary Andrew Lansley was both excruciating and exquisite."

Haha - yes, I felt that too!

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ceannaideach:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ariel:
Yes! I was waiting for the Doctor Who references and they never came! But maybe they couldn't get the permission to use the characters.

---

See now during the music, in fact around the Bohemian Rhapsody part, I could have sworn I heard the TARDIS de/rematerialising sound.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by Ceannaideach:
... during the music, in fact around the Bohemian Rhapsody part, I could have sworn I heard the TARDIS de/rematerialising sound.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by ken:

quote:

---

Originally posted by Auntie Doris:
I thought this blog was an interesting take on the whole ceremony.

---

Yes, and very different from what some people have said here!

quote:

---

"It's essentially a Catholic theory of British history"
[...]
It is perhaps not coincidental to learn that Boyle himself was raised in a Catholic household in the north of England and was at one time considering attending seminary to become a priest.

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quote:

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Originally posted by PaulBC:
Way too long and too parochial. As to showing all UK I don't think that "Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer" (Wales) ," Danny Boy" (Ireland)
and "The Flowers od Scotland") shows all of Briatin.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Spike:
... It's London Council Tax payers money that has gone towards funding it (anyone else remember Ken Livingstone's comment about the walnut whip?).

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quote:

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Originally posted by Spike:

quote:

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Originally posted by PaulBC:
Way too long and too parochial. As to showing all UK I don't think that "Guide Me O Thou Great Redeemer" (Wales) ," Danny Boy" (Ireland)
and "The Flowers od Scotland") shows all of Briatin.

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OK, I'll put the cat among the pigeons here.

From day one, it's been hailed as the "London Olympics". It's London Council Tax payers money that has gone towards funding it (anyone else remember Ken Livingstone's comment about the walnut whip?). It's also Londoners that are having to live with the disruption. Perhaps it should have been more parochial with more emphasis on London to the exclusion of other parts of England, let alone the UK.

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quote:

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Originally posted by ken:

"It's essentially a Catholic theory of British history"
[...]
It is perhaps not coincidental to learn that Boyle himself was raised in a Catholic household in the north of England and was at one time considering attending seminary to become a priest.

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quote:

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Originally posted by shamwari:
From a celebratory opening to a disastrous first day.

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Because there's obviously no point in watching the world's best if we're not winning, is there?
 

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Posted by Ariel (# 58) on :
 
Re the music choices, here's the playlists for those who were wondering:

The Telegraph's list

If that doesn't cover it, there's the Compleat: full, with credits
 

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Posted by tessaB (# 8533) on :
 
According to that list the Doctor Who Theme was played. I didn' hear it and I'm a big fan. One of the family must have been talking when it played
 

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Posted by Rosina (# 15589) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Trisagion:


The other thing that struck me was the almost complete absence of the one set of ideas and organising principles that both explain and, from Alban and Augustine onwards, provide the key to understanding Britain: Christianity.

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I was struck in quite the opposite way Trisagion and agree with Amos - Abide with me - guide me oh thou great Redeemer and William Blake's Jerusalem were very moving and quite sufficiently referenced "Christianity"

Shame the singer of Abide with me couldn't breath through "help of the helpless oh Abide with me" without taking a big breath between help and less.



Apart from that I thought the whole thing was quite wonderful and particularly loved the inclusion of so many children and young people.
 

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Posted by IngoB (# 8700) on :
 
Has anybody else noticed that the camera angle on the Olympic cauldron the BBC likes to present during their regular programming - directly from underneath - provides the most perfect physical rendition of The Eye of Sauron?
 

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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 
I threw a party yesterday (nothing connected to the olympics) My niece doesn't have a TV and there was so much chat about the ceremony we ended up watching the highlights on iplayer. I'm glad we did - there was so much I missed the first time round.

(No distractions - I watched it on my own)



<typo>

[ 30. July 2012, 07:51: Message edited by: Boogie ]
 

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Posted by Evangeline (# 7002) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by dorothea:
My son attended the football at Old Trafford and said he couldn't help thinking it was a bit 'off' having 'London 2012' on display at the ground. When you think about it, this is, after all an Olympiad taking place in Great Britain, in the year 2012. The reality, however, is 'London 2012' is a brand name for LOCOG the company delivering the games, hence the over use of the official logo.

One of the things that was so good about Boyle's 'vision' for the opening ceremony is that it was anything but corporate.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Anglican_Brat:
No reference to Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings.
No reference to William Shakespeare

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quote:

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Originally posted by Mudfrog:
Harry Potter was represented by the huge (how could you miss it?) puppet of Voldemort.

Shakespeare was represented by the speech made by Sir Kenneth Brannagh.

Keep up.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Jahlove:
if Boyle's theme is one of progress for the majority, a Methodist chapel might have been a more appropriate addition.

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quote:

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Originally posted by dorothea:
My son attended the football at Old Trafford and said he couldn't help thinking it was a bit 'off' having 'London 2012' on display at the ground. When you think about it, this is, after all an Olympiad taking place in Great Britain, in the year 2012. The reality, however, is 'London 2012' is a brand name for LOCOG the company delivering the games, hence the over use of the official logo.

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The Olympics are hosted by a city (London) which is why they are called London 2012 and not England 2012 or Britain 2012. It's the proper name for events that are part of the Olympic Games being hosted by London in 2012, not a corporate branding issue

That other cities get to host most of the soccer matches is an exception to the rule brought on by FIFA's rules about the number of matches a given field may host in a short time period to allow the surface to recover. The alternative to hosting matches in other cities would be to use a bunch of smaller local venues which would allow fewer spectators to attend the soccer matches.

I went to see Spain against South Korea at Adelaide's Hindmarsh Stadium where there was Sydney 2000 signage everywhere and we had the same Sydney 2000 tickets as all other ticket holders. I think there was also a good mix of the then-current 'Sensational Adelaide' branding around the edge of the ground as well.
 

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Posted by Think² (# 1984) on :
 
My 74yr old pop hating father sat up for the whole thing and really enjoyed it (but would have liked a bit more classical music). Ditto my sport-hating mother, she particularly loved the chimneys and the forging of the rings.

You could have knocked me over with a feather
 

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Posted by Boogie (# 13538) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Rosina:

Shame the singer of Abide with me couldn't breath through "help of the helpless oh Abide with me" without taking a big breath between help and less.

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You would have done far better!

(seriously - I have heard Rosina sing)


 

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Posted by Anselmina (# 3032) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Boogie:

quote:

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Originally posted by Rosina:

Shame the singer of Abide with me couldn't breath through "help of the helpless oh Abide with me" without taking a big breath between help and less.

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You would have done far better!

(seriously - I have heard Rosina sing)

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quote:

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Originally posted by justlooking:
I thought the hymn was sung in a way which perfectly reflected the context. It was sung as a prayer not as a performance.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Ariel:
Re the music choices, here's the playlists for those who were wondering:

The Telegraph's list

If that doesn't cover it, there's the Compleat: full, with credits

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quote:

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Originally posted by nickel:
The thing I liked best was the Mr Bean segment. Can't imagine my country even attempting a deliberate injection of humor like that!

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Originally posted by Angloid:
Thomas Merton was a great fan of Blake....

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And if he'd only been one-twentieth as good a writer as Blake it woudl be possible to read him and stay awake at the same time
 

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Posted by ken (# 2460) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Think²:
(BTW re Londoness, surely that was why Beckham and Dizzy Rascal were getting a high profile ?)

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quote:

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Originally posted by ken:
Beckham because, for reasons I never quite understood,

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quote:

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Originally posted by lilBuddha:

quote:

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Originally posted by ken:
Beckham because, for reasons I never quite understood,

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'Cause he's pretty. And was a fair hand at football.

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quote:

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Originally posted by lilBuddha:

quote:

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Originally posted by ken:
Beckham because, for reasons I never quite understood,

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'Cause he's pretty. And was a fair hand at football.

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Then there's Maradona, who is an ugly old man and infamous for being a very unfair hand at football

quote:

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Originally posted by ken:
He is, was maybe, certainly a very good footballer. But I don;t think anyone would claim he was the very best in the world.

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quote:

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Originally posted by shamwari:
But Danny Boyle had an agenda (fortunately lost on the rest of the world who didnt "get it".) I have looked at other websites which simply didnt get the message.

But we in Britain did. Why else give so much emphasis to an NHS which is seemingly under threat? And needs to be rescued by a variety of Mary Poppinses?

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Some in the rest of the world think they got it. At least, one of the denizens of Free Republic believes the NHS section was a "political taunt", a "shot over the bow", that was "clearly aimed at America". Apparently it helps to understand why the US War of Independence happened.

[ 02. August 2012, 10:54: Message edited by: Pre-cambrian ]
 

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Posted by Sioni Sais (# 5713) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Pre-cambrian:

quote:

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Originally posted by shamwari:
But Danny Boyle had an agenda (fortunately lost on the rest of the world who didnt "get it".) I have looked at other websites which simply didnt get the message.

But we in Britain did. Why else give so much emphasis to an NHS which is seemingly under threat? And needs to be rescued by a variety of Mary Poppinses?

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Some in the rest of the world think they got it. At least, one of the denizens of Free Republic believes the NHS section was a "political taunt", a "shot over the bow", that was "clearly aimed at America". Apparently it helps to understand why the US War of Independence happened.

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I'm damn sure 'No health care to be paid for by tea duties' wasn't a rallying cry for American independence.
 

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Posted by the giant cheeseburger (# 10942) on :
 

quote:

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Originally posted by Pre-cambrian:
Some in the rest of the world think they got it. At least, one of the denizens of Free Republic believes the NHS section was a "political taunt", a "shot over the bow", that was "clearly aimed at America". Apparently it helps to understand why the US War of Independence happened.

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quote:

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Originally posted by Sioni Sais:
I'm damn sure 'No health care to be paid for by tea duties' wasn't a rallying cry for American independence.

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quote:

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The spiritual values transmitted throughout were uplifting, and remarkable in a secular age. The ceremony was subtly infused with Christian culture, but in a way that was inclusive and respectful of difference. .....Danny Boyle’s vision of Britain was joyful, profound, generous, and spiritual. We are stuck with a government whose vision is joyless, shallow, mean-spirited and entirely materialistic.

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