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Contrast that mess of an entrance in 1996 to how the USA team entered 12 years earlier at the previous American summer games in Los Angeles 1984: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akCndyEaiL0 Note not only the difference in timing, but also in the behavior of the athletes... in line, walking together, not posing for the cameras or making hand signs, not running up into the crowd to high-five people, not stoping to take pictures along the way.... I thing the biggest difference of all is their BEHAVIOR....

And of course by Atlanta, the US team entrance was the worst of the lot, the first 100-200 US athletes came down the ramp in a group and by the time the last 200 or so made it over the rise, they were coming into the field single file... I remember that the first of the US athletes were already on the opposite side of the track while the 'stragglers' (the 'dream team' basketball stars mostly) were still coming down the ramp by themselves... Of course, the USA having the largest-ever olympic team did not help speed things along... This is evident in NBC's coverage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRgxbyJLQZw&feature=related Dick Enberg even commented "Some of the Dream Teamers have yet to make the rise and entrance into the stadium..."

Actually I thought the US team entered rather organized in Seoul... it was Barcelona that it really became a mess... Although in the previous games, the teams entrances were almost military-like in their precision..

The ceremonies are mostly the only part of the summer games I watch with any real interest anyway.... Now as for the Winter Games, I watch with rapt attention from the Opening Countdown to the closing fireworks... and everything in between... the summer sport event mostly bore me... diving is kinda interesting to watch, but gets boring fairly quickly too... the summer events just cant compare to the speed, skill, and risk involved in the luge, bobsled, snowboarding, ski-jump, speed skating, figure skating, snow-cross, etc... I was watching that clip of the Seoul 1988 opening and they seemed to move the parade of nations along quite quickly... The ting I have noticed is that 20+ years ago the athletes seemed to actually 'march' into the stadium in unison, in nice neat rows and stayed in formation whereas now the teams stagger in, not in rows, some walking, some running about, jumping around for the cameras, and it has become a mess that really slows the parade down... I suppose on some esoteric level it is really just a reflection of society in general in this twitterfied world we now live in...

Brilliant! Lets just drop them altogether! Get rid of the athletes and the events. Think how much money could be saved on not having an athletes village, arenas, etc. All that money could be shifted to the ceremonies budget and it could just be one massive 2 week opening ceremony and a 2 hour closing ceremony. I LOVE it!

I LOVE that idea for the roll call with London X 3. FYI, as far as I am aware this tradition began with Atlanta in 1996, and was then seen seen again in Salt Lake 2002, then Athens 2004 (which added an acknowledgement of the 2 World Wars and their disruption to the Olympic schedule) and most recently with Vancouver 2010. I don't recall seeing this done in Nagano or Beijing, nor am I aware of it being done before Atlanta. Although I have seen many prior ceremonies online, my real 'memory' of the ceremonies does not extend back beyond Barcelona 92 (at which time I was 9, going on 10 in October), so if it was done prior to 1992, please let me know I am also looking forward to seeing this as a major ceremonial role for Her Majesty the Queen.

Well I don't know much about rural Chinese buying tickets just to say that they had them although it would not surprise me at all. However, I do recall there being a number of reports in the news at the time about the government buying up lots of tickets and then handing them out to officials, corporations, etc. as rewards whether or not anyone was actually going to these events or not. I'm sure all organizing committees do go but just not on the scale that beijing experienced apparently.

And yet they will easily sell out. LOCOG has reported unprecedented demand for tickets regardless of price... The simple fact is that there is a FAR weather population in the UK/Europe than in Beijing/China in general. While I know it seems unfair to the average Briton/person who want 'good' tickets to 'good' events, the fact is that LOCOG will charge whatever the market can support, which clearly the market is supporting these ticket prices as evidenced by the fact that the demand FAR exceeds the availability of tickets. Could I afford these tickets, absolutely not. However, obviously there are plenty of upper-middle class and wealthy folks who can and want more tickets than there are available. Whether we like it or not LOCOG is not a charity tasked with handout out 10-pound tickets to anyone who wants them... LOCOG is a corporation tasked with paying for the games as best they can which mean holding down costs and driving up ticket prices while balancing that with filling all of the seats at every venue. Were Beijing's tickets cheaper? Certainly. But we also remember the 70% empty venues that were 'sold-out'. The government gobbling up tickets and no one actually going does not equal a successful games. We know that virtually every event in every venue whether a preliminary for white-water rafting or a final for track and field is almost certain to be packed, which is a good thing. Just think back to how Canadians and Vancouverites specifically embraced the 2010 games with packed, lively venues, packed and overflowing streets and celebrations, and the jubilation they showed to the world. I have faith that in the end, Londoners can and will find it within themselves to do the same when the Olympic flame finally comes to town. Can London meet or exceed Sydney's organization and positivity? I think they can! I won't be there in person but I look forward to seeing it on NBC in HD. Edit: ...far wealthier population in the UK...

How did you decide that you liked the Orbit tower if you had not seen what it looks like? (all I did was a quick google image search to find those 2 pictures)

Really? Somehow I don't think the Arcelormittal Orbit will become a treasured world landmark like the Eiffel Tower has... The Eiffel Tower is simple, symmetrical, understated and complex simultaneously whereas the Arcelormittal is chaotic, non-symmetrical, undefinable, and just a visual mess... ...And yay for me on my 100th post here

I am expecting something impressive from London considering that the UK does ceremonial events like no other country can. This is good news indeed. Lets just hope that it doesn't get spent on more unfolding double decker busses like at the handover in Beijing... that was awful... the best part of the handover was the singing of God Save the Queen. Baron, you must have attended the Donald Trump School of Marketing and Shameless Self-Promotion. j/k

I must confess, I am absolutely baffled as to why that awful-looking tower was allowed to be built next to the stadium there.... It absolutely detracts from the image of the stadium, although frankly I cannot imagine it seeming appropriate anywhere... maybe Vegas or Dubai? I will be curious o see how the TV media shows off that red monstrosity during the games as they do pan and flyover shots of the stadium and the olympic park. I would not be surprised if networks like NBC purposefully try to avoid including that tower in their camera views... Im sure the views FROM the tower looking into the stadium will be great though...

The Moscow clip very much reminded me of the opening of the Atlantis resort in Dubai, UAE.

Wow... thats a classic... just think that in about 60 years there will be a whole bunch of grannies with wrinkled lower-back tattoos rolling around in their wheelchairs with their geriatric depends-thongs hanging out... it will be great...

Just draw big wiener that squirts out olympic colors? That would be the logical progression would it not...

My initially low expectations and upset over Chicago's loss are quickly being raised... i'm getting excited about Rio!

Making mountains out of mole-hills? Really? THANK YOU! Making mountains out of mole-hills is the sign of a true Brit... I will take that as a huge compliment! You made my day :-)

Wow... how can I break this down for you... The 'event' was not the photo shoot itself but the public release of the images... which should have been an 'event' but was a literal 'non-event'. Usually the volunteer uniforms are revealed to the public in a press session with live models to show off their flashy new garb as opposed to just releasing some rather poorly shot digital still images (poorly by professional photographic standards). There were image quality issues, lens glare, reflections in glasses, ill-fitted pant lengths and improperly sized jackets, etc... One would think that if you are only using about a half-dozen models for this that at least the uniforms they are to model would either fit properly or be pinned and clipped to give the illusion of fitting properly for the photo shoot... Same amateur issues with a number of phot quality issues in the images released to the media... Does that explanation make it as clear as possible?

There were numerous amateur photography errors and mistakes...

... LOL Nice attempt to quote out of context :lol: and it was botched, there's an entire thread on the problems with it on the London 2012 forum...

What you mean London's poorly botched gamesMakers uniform photo shoot versus a photo of a blind woman weeping while feeling up the Rio Paralympic 'sculpture'? Yeah... you can't buy that kind of a moment... I don't get what LOCOG is thinking sometimes... I have no experience whatsoever in event organizing yet can easily point out some of their problems... don't they have anyone on their paid staff who can do the same? 5 1/2 years out and Rio seems to be rolling along ahead of where London was at this point without the PR disasters...

Hate* unrecognized*

Hat to break it to you but no symbol says "London" like Big Ben... it is recognized instantly around the world... the current 2012 logo... would be unrecognied by most people around the world right now... and it says nothing about London... it is meaningless drivel... hell, this would be a huge improvement: At least it is easy on the eyes... and was vastly more popular than the real logo.. and has the element of being clever..

...and that is a bad thing? You should be glad it became a popular public plaza and is frequently relit to keep the cauldron's legacy in the public eye and not falling into disrepair!