FDLondon Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 To all the brits here - we saw the whole opening segment sequence yesterday - from the 1st segment to ours - there won't be a dry eye in the house! So powerful & evocative! Striking music - so proud to be from these isles! Gave us all the strength to go on! Come on Britain! Wasn't there over the weekend but that's exactly what my friends who were there have said too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevzz Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 Wasn't there over the weekend but that's exactly what my friends who were there have said too! FD, we know Adrian is in the opening segment but how about you? What type of segment are you in or are you totally tight lipped about it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FDLondon Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 I'll be there from preshow to cauldron lighting in the opening and from preshow to cauldron extinguishment in the closing. But my rehearsals are pretty limited until we get into the Stadium... and then they ramp up massively to 12-14 hour days Will be a blast though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevzz Posted June 18, 2012 Report Share Posted June 18, 2012 I'll be there from preshow to cauldron lighting in the opening and from preshow to cauldron extinguishment in the closing. But my rehearsals are pretty limited until we get into the Stadium... and then they ramp up massively to 12-14 hour days Will be a blast though! Hmmm basically it could be everything and anything! Can't wait to read all about your experience (and Adrian's) once the ceremony (and restraining order) is over! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattygs Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 To all the brits here - we saw the whole opening segment sequence yesterday - from the 1st segment to ours - there won't be a dry eye in the house! So powerful & evocative! Striking music - so proud to be from these isles! Gave us all the strength to go on! Come on Britain! Sounds great, that opening stanza is always so important. Would you say that this works well on an international audience level aswell? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alphamale86 Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 Be careful not to overhype an educated audience. I am an avid olympics opening ceremony fan and I love the spoilers as much as the next guy but posts like "There won't be a dry eye in the house" tend to hype up a ceremony more than there are 10,000 people in this one segment. From what I am seeing London is about to do something completely new in the way of large scale olympic opening ceremonies and I'm excited and posts like that just seem to fuel my excitement even more...I am just praying it's not going to be a let down. GOOD LUCK LONDON!!! WOW US! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adrianme17 Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 Sounds great, that opening stanza is always so important. Would you say that this works well on an international audience level aswell? sure - it should connect with everyone! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattperiolat Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 You know... far be it for me to be critical of former hosts, but I wonder if the producers for London are taking a queue from Beijing. Beijing's ceremonies were awe inspiring to be sure, but lacked heart. No real emotion behind them, aside from tips of the hat to the victims of the earthquake prior to the start of the Games. London seems to be going the opposite way - yes, we can stop your heart, but also bring a tear to the eye. Kinda making me wish I could see it in person, but I hope what I see on my television screen will be a tenth of what is in the stadium itself. Cannot wait. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjpauly2k Posted June 19, 2012 Report Share Posted June 19, 2012 Im starting to agree mattperiolat. Im from Britain (Liverpool), and when I saw the Beijing opening ceremony four years ago I thought London had no chance of ever beating it. I thought Britain would be the forgotten opening ceremony following the epic show that China put on! However, having followed this, and other forums for the past year my opinion is changing. I am genuinly hopeful that what London and Danny Boyle is doing will be so different to anything we have seen before it will blow people away. I quite like how Danny Boyle said Beijing took opening ceremonies to their limits and that London isnt even trying to top that! It would simply be a waste of money to try! Although I thought Beijing was epic and spectacular at the time, looking back it did lack heart! I really hope London is epic, spectacular and full of heart! From what ive seen so far it looks like London is going to put on a giant (and I mean GIANT!) piece of theatre which is full of heart. And for that reason I do believe it will not only beat Beijing but will stand out and set a president for future opening ceremonies! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athensfan Posted June 20, 2012 Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 I'm not making any predictions of any kind. There are some aspects that are appealing (green and pleasant land) and others that raise eyebrows (mosh pits, music choices). I'm not making any pronouncements until I've seen it. However, I think it's safe to say that it will be DIFFERENT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattperiolat Posted June 20, 2012 Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 I'm not making any predictions of any kind. There are some aspects that are appealing (green and pleasant land) and others that raise eyebrows (mosh pits, music choices). I'm not making any pronouncements until I've seen it. However, I think it's safe to say that it will be DIFFERENT. Kind of goes with the territory. Every Olympic ceremony is unique with the host country trying to put their own stamp on it, a mix of cultural presentation and wow factor. Be insulting to expect anything less from London and the stakes are two-fold: be unique after what Beijing did with their unlimited funds and cast of thousands while remembering their position both as a culture and as a host city (first time ever a city has hosted 3 times). We could spend hours and pages analyzing ceremonies over the years. Personal experience goes from LA to Vancouver. Some were great (Atlanta and Sydney being stand outs for me), some were what on earth were they thinking (Albertville). You know law of averages has London already in the middle and shooting high. Hope for the best for the Brits! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattygs Posted June 20, 2012 Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 Im never sure on this *it lacked heart* phrase that gets chucked around everywhere. In alot of ways, Beijing was stuffed from the outset, people were never going to see that ceremony as an event with alot of people genuinely excited about being in that show - people are always going to say it was a robotic cast with no soul. What exactly makes a ceremony have heart. Just because it is artistic and maybe running over the heads of people, doesn't equate to it lacking heart. Many would have seen the Athens opening ceremony as being without a soul as it were, but I bet ya alot of those Greek performers would have been so moved portraying all of that culture that is so intwined with being a Greek, I wouldn't be surprise if the same was for Beijing. A ceremony doesnt have to have novelty , men with lawnmowers and tap dancers for it to have heart. It's just a case of being different, as London will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevzz Posted June 20, 2012 Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 Twitter's been buzzing today with people receiving invites from LOCOG to the opening ceremony technical rehearsal. Wonder how were they chosen and is technical rehearsal and dress rehearsal the same? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrek201 Posted June 20, 2012 Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 Twitter's been buzzing today with people receiving invites from LOCOG to the opening ceremony technical rehearsal. Wonder how were they chosen and is technical rehearsal and dress rehearsal the same? Just catching up on this thread since I was gone for 2 weeks, and typing with a Turkish-alphabet keyboard was particularly challenging. Was in Turkey when Danny Boy unveiled his British landscape for the Opening. A tech rehearsal would be concentrating on transitions and getting the lighting, the special effects, etc. all together--without concentrating too much on the individual performances. A 'dress rehearsal' would be the complete thing (or at least with subs for the Parade of Nations and with or without the Lighting of the cauldron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul65 Posted June 20, 2012 Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 This is the text from the invite. Hope it clarifies things. The Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games is less than six weeks away, and we hope you’re as excited as we are! If so, you’ll be pleased to know that we’re offering everyone who has accepted a Games Maker role the chance to win a free ticket to one of our Technical Rehearsals for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games. Rehearsals take place on 23 and 25 July. The Opening Ceremony Technical Rehearsals provide a unique opportunity for you to play your part in the final preparations for the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony. With your help, we will create a live audience atmosphere to help us test elements of the big show. You will be able to experience the Olympic Park and Olympic Stadium and to watch some elements of the Olympic Opening Ceremony. Please note that this event is a rehearsal for the Opening Ceremony and as such, will not accurately reflect the final content of the show. To assist with our testing, the show may also involve regular pauses in performances. Twitter's been buzzing today with people receiving invites from LOCOG to the opening ceremony technical rehearsal. Wonder how were they chosen and is technical rehearsal and dress rehearsal the same? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BethnalGreen Posted June 20, 2012 Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 This is the text from the invite. Hope it clarifies things. Thanks for posting that! Are you going to enter it then? If so I hope you get the chance to go - chance in a lifetime really isn't it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevzz Posted June 20, 2012 Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 Thanks paul, so it's for the volunteers. I would be torn whether to attend meaning no more surprise on the actual ceremony day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul65 Posted June 20, 2012 Report Share Posted June 20, 2012 Thanks for posting that! Are you going to enter it then? If so I hope you get the chance to go - chance in a lifetime really isn't it! Yes I've entered the competition. Fingers crossed I get chosen. I'm guessing that there's lots of stuff they need to test, timings wise (parade of nations, music choreography. set changes, fireworks etc). It would be awesome to get to see it although I'd imagine that some key stuff will be kept under wraps till the opening ceremony on 27 July. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Durban Sandshark Posted June 21, 2012 Report Share Posted June 21, 2012 You would easily assume that with Britain during the Opening Ceremony there would be not just strong nods to the Home Countries but also make some references towards the Commonwealth and the rising multiculturalism (with the youth reflecting it employed) in this. I would certainly assume so with how OCs traditionally used kids in the artistic realm. Think back to the New Year's pagentries back in 1999-2000 for the new millennium at London's Millennium Dome to understand this idea that had kids performing and singing in front of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Phillip. One point there was two choirsters signing on stage, one David Wigram (a BBC choirboy of the year) and the other Sumudoo Jukaleka (sp?), of Indian descent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrek201 Posted June 21, 2012 Report Share Posted June 21, 2012 Is there anything from/like the "CLOCKWORK ORANGE" era? The Green & Pleasant Land idea is quite intriguing. I think this segment might be like a pastoral morning coming to life. (So, the ringing of the bell wakes up the little community? And then later, "crop circle" recreations? Which sheaf of grain will you be, Adrian? Are you going to be under the watering cloud? Do drop us tantalizing hints, A. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olympian2004 Posted June 22, 2012 Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 Small spoiler alert -- it doesn't reveal much new, only slight additional details of the ceremony: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/olympics/4387722/Opening-ceremony-will-Ender-tain-you.html I guess what we see in the second picture is for the NHS segment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevzz Posted June 22, 2012 Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 Small spoiler alert -- it doesn't reveal much new, only slight additional details of the ceremony: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/olympics/4387722/Opening-ceremony-will-Ender-tain-you.html I guess what we see in the second picture is for the NHS segment. LOL, that's cute. I'm really intrigued by the splintered map of London. Does that effect represent something else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
middleway Posted June 22, 2012 Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 Small spoiler alert from the ever excellent ..... http://diamondgeezer.blogspot.co.uk/ always has lots of interesting mostly london transport related stuff scroll down to Wednesday, June 13, 2012 for some interesting details..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olympian2004 Posted June 22, 2012 Report Share Posted June 22, 2012 Great find, Middleway! kevzz, my guess is that those splinters represent debris of the cold industrial area that will (probably) be shown in the second segment of the opening ceremony. They'll start off with the green and pleasant land with the source of the Thames, which will be "pushed away" by the up-coming industrial age with grey factories and smoking chimneys just to be "defeated" again by the forces of nature, namely the river Thames winding through London's East End. And on those industrial debris they'll also stage the NHS tribute, as a sign of humaneness and civility against cold industrialism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athensfan Posted June 23, 2012 Report Share Posted June 23, 2012 Small spoiler alert -- it doesn't reveal much new, only slight additional details of the ceremony: http://www.thesun.co...r-tain-you.html I guess what we see in the second picture is for the NHS segment. Hospital beds? Really? Strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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