olympikfan Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 I have seen many opening and closing ceremonies. To me the best was the opening ceremonies of the Seoul Olympics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 Beg to disagree, O-fan...and again u are creating a WHOLE controversy with BEST. Might I suggest change the title of the thread...and we've had this before...to FAVORITE. It causes a lot of fights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intoronto Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 Well obviously no one is ever going to top Beijing until another China Games. out of the five games I saw live unfolding (on television ) here was my rankings: 1)Beijing 2)Vancouver 3)Athens 4)Turin 5)Salt Lake Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympikfan Posted September 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 Beg to disagree, O-fan...and again u are creating a WHOLE controversy with BEST. It is only BEST 2 you. I think they were such GAUDY, lousy Ceremonies. See, you should change this thread...and we've had this before...to FAVORITE. I know u're not a native English speaker, but there is a WORLD of difference. ANd all the newbies here are going to say theirs is the BEST...but only ONE person here can judge which are the BEST. Guess who? Baron I don't know how old you are but I remember Mexico and I have seen many and I stand by what I posted Seoul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 Baron I don't know how old you are but I remember Mexico and I have seen many and I stand by what I posted Seoul. Well, u and I are probably in the same age range because Mexico was my 1st Olympics too. But combing Summer & Winter, I think MY FAVORITES are: 1. tie - Beijing and Salt Lake 2. Barcelona 3. Sydney You should get my book -- very informative and historical on the subject. U can PM me if u want more info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympikfan Posted September 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 I just order it. And I can add it to the 323 books I have on the Olympics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gangwon Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 Beg to disagree, O-fan...and again u are creating a WHOLE controversy with BEST. Might I suggest change the title of the thread...and we've had this before...to FAVORITE. It causes a lot of fights. Hey now, don't argue with the OP. He has a point!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citius Altius Fortius Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 The word "best" doesn't fit here - such rankings are always subjective: Here are the ranking of my favourites: SUMMER OLYMPICS Sydney 2000 Beijing 2008 Barcelona 1992 Atlanta 1996 Athens 2004 Seoul 1988 Los Angeles 1984 WINTER OLYMPICS Salt Lake City 2002 Lillehammer 1994 Vancouver 2010 Albertville 1992 Torino 2006 Nagano 1998 Calgary 1988 Sarajevo 1984 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
afiqnadzir Posted September 17, 2011 Report Share Posted September 17, 2011 in my opinion,every OC has delivered a good and best,each deference from year to year and each has very own specialty, VANCOUVER2010- it look diffrent from the other ceremony,in some part they delivered the best,the countdown moment is very welcome,and some special effect totally jaw droping,such as polar bear from ground,the whale,and the poem..but i dont like the caouldron design,its look messy,something overdesign and its doesnt work well..i give them 7/10 BEIJING2008- is the best on scale,on something very "china",i like the scroll,the huge globe and the cauldron design,and led olympic symbol.but i dont like the paper segment,people playing some opera puppet and the way they lighting the cauldron-i give them 7/10 ATHENS2004-for me its like watching theater,very mind blowing and avant garde..this look very modern which is actually a classic show,i love the lighting system(win award),the cauldron shape was totally look starwars,i also love the cycladic head segment(the best effect on any ceremonies).i dont like the timeline parade segment,its only nice from tv,and also bjork song,total i give them 8/10 SYDNEY2000- "tears".its describe a soul and deliver a message of human unity,they show the spirit of friendship,the best things is all the song,the flame,under the southern skies ect,the crowd also look very wow,the dance and movement also look sincerely,volunteer look very enjoy the moment,and the lightning is very "moment of magic"i like the welcome scene(horse) and deep sea dream,but pity of some mistakes like eternity firework,the unworking cauldron,i give them 8/10 the opening ceremony award THE BEST MOMENT-vancouver countdown THE BEST CULTURE SHOW-beijing 2008 a road of silk (a ship reformation) THE BEST ORIGINAL IDEA-sydney 2000 deep sea dreaming THE BEST LIGHTNING CAULDRON-sydney 2000 THE BEST COSTUME DESIGN-beijing ancient men(white skirt holding scroll) THE BEST SPECIAL EFFECT-a cycladic head segment THE BEST SONG-sydney 2004 heroes live forever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakydoky Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 My personal favourite opening ceremony was Athens 2004. Greek culture in and of itself is beautiful. And I thought the ceremony embodied that culture wonderfully whilst presenting it for the needs of the 21st century.The story, artistic production, special effects were all sublime. I also loved the cauldron lighting in 2004 -- I thought the Calatrava designed 'needle' cauldron was very elegant and I loved how it bowed down to be lit by a human being. In fact, that's what I loved most about the Athens 2004 ceremony -- the human-centric element to it and how humans are centre of the cosmos and discovering it whilst also discovering themselves. Beijing's ceremony was also very good. But it didn't move me like Athens. Infact, for all its technical glory, I still don't think it surpassed Athens. Regarding Winter ceremonies, I've liked most of the recent ones.Salt Lake felt very wintery -- the setting, support and overall feel of the ceremony were great.Torino 2006 had that cool Italian avant-garde style -- which I know is a bit hit or miss with people but I thought it was very enjoyable. But there were great moments -- the giant rings emerging in the stdium, the ferrari, Pavorotti etc. I liked Vancouver's ceremony too but genuinely I felt it suffered from a bit too much political correctness. So much of the ceremony was dedicated to the culture of the first nations and I felt the presentation of the 'immigrants' was weak and patronising -- the people decked out in Tartan, tap-dancing covered in tattoos represent what European people? But then, the moment with the whale and use of projections was great. My favourite ceremony is Athens 2004. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympikfan Posted September 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 Seoul was special it was the first time that an Olympic ceremony started outside the main stadium. I still remember when the Dragon Drum came in with traditional Korean dress. I have to say, please correct me if I am wrong but traditional Korean dress marching in front of he Olympic flag (showing respect) that was the last time that happen. The percussion in which the parade of nation came in and it was beautiful to watch and I could watch the whole ceremony again all six hours. The worst Atlanta Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gotosy Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 my favorites: Sidney 2000 and Barcelona 1992 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Rols Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 my favorites: Sidney 2000 and Barcelona 1992 Me too. Sydney will always be special to me for its emotional connection. Barcelona, however, is still my personal favourite in terms of spectacle and entertainment. It's always very a subjective topic, and also one that is subject to time passing and new generations observing. To me, Seoul was probably the culmination of the 80s style of grand spectacular OC, but which are possibly a bit dated today. Similarly, the Barcelona and Sydney OCs were probably exemplary for the 1990s era of ceremonies, with more entertainment values coming in, but also wouldn't pass muster today. I see for a lot of the younger posters here, many have only watched those from Athens onwards, if that. So naturally they would be most influenced by those. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cormiermax Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 Heres my list- Summer 1.Sydney - 9.5/10 2.Beijing - 8/10 2.Barcelona - 8/10 3.Athens - 7/10 4.Atlanta - 6.5/10 5.LA - 5/10 Winter 1.Lillehammer - 9.5/10 2.SLC - 9/10 3.Alberville - 7.5/10 4.Vancouver - 6.5/10 5.Torino - 5/10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 The worst Atlanta Nope, Olympik; it was just different. Atlanta's March of Athletes was modern; forward-looking...thus the placard-bearers wore forest green blazers; green was the official color of those Centennial Games. One way to look at it was that the Atlanta Ceremonies were there before being "green" was fashionable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotguy Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 My Favourite Summer 1. Sydney 2000 2. Barcelona 1992 3. Atlanta 1996 4. Beijing 2008 5. Athens 2004 Winter 1. Salt Lake 2002 2. Vancounver 2010 3. Lillehammer 1994 4. Torino 2006 5. Nagano 1998 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intoronto Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 My personal favourite opening ceremony was Athens 2004. Greek culture in and of itself is beautiful. And I thought the ceremony embodied that culture wonderfully whilst presenting it for the needs of the 21st century.The story, artistic production, special effects were all sublime. I also loved the cauldron lighting in 2004 -- I thought the Calatrava designed 'needle' cauldron was very elegant and I loved how it bowed down to be lit by a human being. In fact, that's what I loved most about the Athens 2004 ceremony -- the human-centric element to it and how humans are centre of the cosmos and discovering it whilst also discovering themselves. Beijing's ceremony was also very good. But it didn't move me like Athens. Infact, for all its technical glory, I still don't think it surpassed Athens. Regarding Winter ceremonies, I've liked most of the recent ones.Salt Lake felt very wintery -- the setting, support and overall feel of the ceremony were great.Torino 2006 had that cool Italian avant-garde style -- which I know is a bit hit or miss with people but I thought it was very enjoyable. But there were great moments -- the giant rings emerging in the stdium, the ferrari, Pavorotti etc. I liked Vancouver's ceremony too but genuinely I felt it suffered from a bit too much political correctness. So much of the ceremony was dedicated to the culture of the first nations and I felt the presentation of the 'immigrants' was weak and patronising -- the people decked out in Tartan, tap-dancing covered in tattoos represent what European people? But then, the moment with the whale and use of projections was great. My favourite ceremony is Athens 2004. So much of the ceremony was dedicated to the culture of the first nations? In all ten minutes was dedicated to the first nations. the people decked out in Tartan, tap-dancing covered in tattoos represent what European people? - Represented the streets of St.Johns, NFLD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cormiermax Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 Vancouver was plagued with countless boring segments that went on for far too long, mess ups, and there was no climax. The only reason I even call it a good ceremony was for the really good parts, like the whales, the weird space people in the arctic segment, and for the most part the native segment wasn't nearly as embarrassing as I thought it was going to be. But, the horrible morbidly obese guy screaming about how awesome Canada is in a very American way was just terrible, as was the prairie segment, and the crazy Celtic segment. The cauldron would have been cool if it weren't for the technical issues and if it weren't so ugly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victor Mata Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 hehe. This one NEVER gets old. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brekkie Boy Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 Maybe my memory is just rubbish but I honestly remember very little about the ceremonies other than the torch lighting - I've vague recollections of Athens flooding the arena, remember the Beijing drummers and Michael J Fox at one of the Vancouver ceremonies - but most of it for me merges into one big blur. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakydoky Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 So much of the ceremony was dedicated to the culture of the first nations? In all ten minutes was dedicated to the first nations. the people decked out in Tartan, tap-dancing covered in tattoos represent what European people? - Represented the streets of St.Johns, NFLD. You'll just need to accept my opinion. Vancouver was nice but not the greatest in my opinion. I enjoyed Salt Lake's ceremony more.I also enjoyed Torino's ceremony more too. But 10 minutes was not dedicated to the presentation of first nations -- the totem poles, the greeting, the bear imagery etc accounted for far more than 10 minutes so you are being disingenuous there.I felt the presentation of 'immigrants' was given far less airtime. I personally felt there was elements of too much political correctness infused into Vancouver's ceremonies -- the 'slam' poem almost seemed apologetic . You're free to disagree however.But that's MY opinion. You could always give YOUR views on what YOUR favourite ceremony was and why......... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakydoky Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 One thing I will add regarding the ceremonies is related to the cauldron lighting segment. I loved Athens and Barcelona and feel their way of lighting the cauldron was very artistic and poignant.Beijing's cauldron lighting, whilst spectacular, felt a bit contrived to me and over-long.First the Chinese guy was hoisted into the air, then he had to run around the rim of the roof and then light the 'scroll' cauldron. With Barcelona, the lone archer, just firing a simple flame-lit arrow into a cauldron just seemed to capture the element of surprise and spectacle whilst having a nod to classical culture in a sense. Sydney's lighting was spectacular -- the little glitch did spoil it a little though. But I think Sydney really raised the bar with regards to ambitious cauldron lightings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 Seoul was special it was the first time that an Olympic ceremony started outside the main stadium. I still remember when the Dragon Drum came in with traditional Korean dress. I have to say, please correct me if I am wrong but traditional Korean dress marching in front of he Olympic flag (showing respect) that was the last time that happen. The percussion in which the parade of nation came in and it was beautiful to watch and I could watch the whole ceremony again all six hours. The worst Atlanta R u talking about the placard bearers? The last time national costumes were worn was in Lillehammer when the placard bearers were a combination of men and women (and sometimes children, in combinations of 2 or 3) marching in front of the national flags, in their Norwegian traditional costumes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olympikfan Posted September 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 The way the Koreans did was very disciple. The best winter opening ceremonies Lille hammer 1994 Seoul ceremonies were in the morning I think that was the last time they were held in the day. (Korea land of the morning clam) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baron-pierreIV Posted September 18, 2011 Report Share Posted September 18, 2011 Seoul ceremonies were in the morning I think that was the last time they were held in the day. (Korea land of the morning clam) Last ALL-daylight Opening Ceremony was Nagano 1998; the last Games of the 20th century. It went to the Dark Side after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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