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London 2012 Opening Ceremony - What did you think?


  

143 members have voted

  1. 1. What are your feelings on the Opening Ceremony?

    • It was fantastic, up there with the best if not the best!
      37
    • It was really good, maybe not one of the best but London did it's self proud!
      40
    • Was good, could have been better.
      34
    • Meh, did not like it.
      9
    • It was poor, was disappointed.
      14
    • Was really bad, one of the worst iv seen.
      9


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And I do really like the idea to introduce Sir Tim Berners-Lee, really he's the one that create the world as today, thanks to him i could watch the ceremony at youtube... so really really good idea to introduce him

That was kinda ironic..".connecting the world" supposedly. Except #1, DB and LOCOG struck the fear of God into the volunteers about 'leaking' any info about the show; and #2 - the IOC clamped down so quickly on the renegade YouTube rehearsal clips like Stalin and Castro's governments were in full police mode. That was 'connecting the world'?? :rolleyes:

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Seeing it for the second time - because I expected so much of this ceremony and now I really want to love it - I believe the execution was unpolished and failed to live up to the concepts. The over detailed rural stage and its animals, little houses and figures were outrageously underused and fast dismissed. Same with the bell. It felt like Boyle just had too many ideas and decided to cramp it all together without care for a narrative thread. The Sgt. Peppers crew in the middle of the Industrial Revolution segment was... what was that?

Better choreography and direction of photography could've made The NHS and the Industrial Revolution parts look much more impressive. And this is nothing against the London or british way, it's a tecnical issue: one could have no idea what NHS or GOSH meant but any well executed piece of artistic work can be appreciated for its presentation if not for its themes. The neverending digital romance part was so futile and random rubbish it looked like it came out of the 2010 YOGs. Overall it looked uncohesive and all over the place.

Now some good stuff: the music was spot on for the most part. The humour was genius and Mr. Bean, Bond and the Queen were awesome. The rings were iconic but maybe the context lacked a little more energy, like Tin Symphony had 12 years ago. The parade of nations was nice and fast! Abide with Me was haunting in an interesting way.

The cauldron summed up all about the ceremony: it was creative, warm, innovative, truly unique and deviated from all the british stereotypes of pomp and circumstance, but maybe the less obvious choices made the lighting little solemn and forgettable.

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Thinking more as the dust settle ... I'm getting more and more disappointed in what Boyle offered

Britain has such a deep history and tales of the NHS, Mary Poppins & a Eurovision house party is the best they could come up with?

Should've began with William Shakesphere style telling of the story of the joining of Britain and the creation of the Union Flag then roll into the countryside, the great fire of London & the Industrial Revolution & rebuilding of London, Queen Victoria & the Victorian Age, WW1, the London Blitz and then the Queen enters making the beginning of her reign and Britain towards 2012

Wasted opportunity

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Kinda

Seeing it for the second time - because I expected so much of this ceremony and now I really want to love it - I believe the execution was unpolished and failed to live up to the concepts. The over detailed rural stage and its animals, little houses and figures were outrageously underused and fast dismissed. Same with the bell. It felt like Boyle just had too many ideas and decided to cramp it all together without care for a narrative thread.

Quite agree. You didn't even see the townspeople kick up their heels or have young lovers stealing away a kiss behind a hedge or something...because the next thing you knew, Branagh and the grimy working masses came in, kicked the villagers out, and had them rolling up the grass and the hedges and the animals away in no time at all. I am sure it took longer to set up that set that to dismantle it since that was a precision operation. (I should;ve bought Velcro stock. :lol: )

It also started to have the feel of an Oscar show; very filmic -- nothing bad about that, but an Olympic ceremony should be grand and glorious and lofty!

I hope Rio doesn't go that way, because God-willing I want to go down there.

So, Adrienne and FDL, which ones were you? .

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I have decided not to give any more opinions on the Opening Ceremony as it seems that if you have any opinions that are not positive ones then you get shot down and criticised for having any negative views on London's Opening.

I am now going to enjoy the competitions, and see what the usually 'less spectacular' closing ceremony will hold.

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I'm sorry but I can't sign off on this. This was way more a closing ceremony than an Opening ceremony. A really fun closing ceremony but not an opening ceremony at all. I was completely disappointed.

Well, on my 2nd viewing tonight--w/ commercials-- my reactions were still the same.

Green-Pleasant -- too abruptly cut

Dark Satanic Mills -- very turbulent (and that might've been intentional...but made it tense for the viewer)

Happy & Glorious - OK

NHS - cute, fun portion. Can't get over those radioactive beds & bedding. I mean they will have deformed kids in the future...

Chariots of Fire - funny (and I normally don't like Mr. Bean)

Frankie & June -- not my cuppa tea.

Liked the Sande-Heaven ballet.

Cauldron-Lighting -- something a little cold about it.

They could've at least given the Old Lady some uppers so she could've smiled a little. Or was she just plain bored??

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Am I the only one that felt the rings didnt seem right to be in the Industrial Revolution segment? Glowing red steel forged with sparks all over hovering over toiling masses and zombies dancing the Macarena felt ominous.....like its the begining of a really scary movie.....Any thoughts on that?

Plus it was a spectacle more appreciated if you are underneath or over the rings themselves and not for those in between.

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Am I the only one that felt the rings didnt seem right to be in the Industrial Revolution segment? Glowing red steel forged with sparks all over hovering over toiling masses and zombies dancing the Macarena felt ominous.....like its the begining of a really scary movie.....Any thoughts on that?

Plus it was a spectacle more appreciated if you are underneath or over the rings themselves and not for those in between.

It was predictable. And somewhat flat to me because you knew the pyro effects would only flow w/ gravity, downward...so it wasn't really a gravity-defying feat. The Beijing one drew more gasps of wonder than this one.

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The reviews are coming in Down Under:

Totally agree with this review from the Sydney Herald.

Saw a Tweet where someone asked if the Opening Ceremony was on drugs LOL

Apart from Bond and Mr Bean, the Industrial Revolution part (of course this all started in Britain) was extraordinary as the Olympic Rings were molded.

With a no apologies for bias I give it 9.5/10 - of course it was a little bity and some elements worked better than others but an Olympic opening ceremony should be both memorable and inclusive - the fact that the detractors can recall so much is testiment to what it achieved.

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Did anyone of you noticed that before the second countdown (the one with the baloons) when the show the logos of the former olympics Berlin was missing.

After L.A. 1932 the next one was London 1948. Sure 1936 have been the Nazi-Games, but aren´t the part of the history anymore?

After all I would say that the O.C. was pretty good but missing those Goosebump moments.

It really felt more like an Closing Ceremony.

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I couldn't sum this up any better than Greg Baum of the Sydney Morning herald, who says :

"soaring, brilliant, funny, exquisite, breathtaking"

and he continues "Boyle's vivid and vibrant pageant set the tone for these Games and perhaps even a new direction for the Olympic movement. Rio has a hard act to follow"

It really felt more like an Closing Ceremony.

It seems, that was the whole point. As one journalist writes "Boyle's vision infused the athletes. Soon, the entering teams were acting as if this was a closing rather than opening ceremony"

It was a new take on how an opening should be done. Some will hate it, though as it turns out... some loved it.

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Firstly I’ll agree with CAF – seeing the show live in the stadium is a totally different experience. Many found the Vancouver ceremony quite cold however in the stadium it was all very moving. Did you get a program/audience kit? They usually show them before the show starts on the Aussie telecast but no mention of one tonight. Plus no-one has one on eBay yet J

After I watched an OC live in the stadium I think I can understand you better, TNMP - it was absolutely fantastic - it worked so well - the audience went nuts!!!

Well there were two things we got: a two page paper, with a short overview of the ceremony and a "3-d-glasses" - after the show I got the impression that these 3-d glasses were a joke about these new 3-d-cinemas - great British humor, since we were told, that we have to put them on in a segment to see something special - it looked great, but it wasn't 3 dimensional for me (but I am not a fan of 3 d movies)

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This was my first full watching an Opening Ceremony live on tv rather than on video. For what its worth i liked it, but did it seem a bit muddled, or was that just me? Hope you guys do not mind me giving my cent worth, as i not as knowing as you guys.

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Well, what can I say.....

From the very beginning I was sobbing like a child. Danny Boyle managed to give a true sense of Britain in one of the most "human" opening ceremonies I have ever seen.

The green and pleasant land opening resonated with me as a perfect depiction of British life. I loved the historical details and the transformation was typically British, not exactly slic but the whole ceremony seem to purposely do things in a uniqely British way.

I adored the historical references. I have heard some people mentioning that they felt there were not enough wow moments. I guess that really depends on what wow's you. I was wowed by the theatre and stage direction of the whole show. The passion and theatrics of it all really stirred me. I was very impressed at the attention to detail Danny Boyle had taken. The suffragettes were actually members of the Pankhurst family, along with so many other smaller details that will have been lost unless you are a true obsessive ceremonies fan. I wanted to stand up at some points in true pride. It didn't have the flow and scale of Beijing but in almost everything else it excelled in such a human and emotional way.

The setting of the industrial revolution was exactly as it should be - stark, industrial and bleak. The theatrics of the cast were incredible. I found them to be so believable at points and really felt swept up in the whole spectacle. The Olympic rings forming in the centre of the stadium will be a defining Olympic moment for me. It was truly breathtaking.

I expected humour to feature but it's a very hard thing to get right, especially when you are trying to entertain the whole world. I think they did a perfect job. Mr Bean and the Queen jumping out of the helicopter were typically British. I was shouting "wonderful" from my seat at some points.

Have to say that the Emeli Sande song was truly touching. Such a poignant moment with the dancers. There were suggestions of Beijing with that dance sequence...but with TRUE emotion.

The one bit that I wasn't so keen on was the disjointed musical medley. It did seem chaotic and badly put together and far removed from everything else I had seen. Other people in the room with me loved this section, it just goes to show how different we all are. Overall, I did think that there was a little too much music. However, I do find it funny when people say it was more like a closing ceremony. Why must people always have to have a checklist of what ceremonies should be like and feature? It is quite ridiculous to me.

I am glad London really decided to be different, something they have done througout the preparation to these games. It has not always worked but it represents what we are about, an inventive country always trying to push boundaries. That is what makes me most proud to be British. We could have tried to emulate China(badly) but that would have been such an un-British thing to do.

The Ali moment for me was hard to watch and I felt quite uncomfortable. He was too ill for it to be very poignant, a bad choice. I also didn't care much for the way that the announcers didn't really fit in with the cameras when introducing the Olympic flag brearers and the final torch bearers.

Absolutely loved the sentiment of the older athletes passing the torches onto the young athletes. The cauldron was just spectacular. I was crying as it was lit and not even Paul McCartney's terrible voice or some of the bitchy "English" comments from a certain member on gamesbids could spoil it for me. Fireworks at the end were just perfect. I have never seen London looking so beautiful.

Overall, I was wowed and in awe at such a spectacular show. Obviously many people will not get a lot of it because if it's absolutely British theme. However, Danny Boyle did exactly the right thing. He told the story of Britain and told the world "this is what we are". Whether you got it or not was a secondary concern. It was all about showing the true identity of Britain. I don't apologise for gushing in part here, it made me incredibly proud and I would love to meet Danny Boyle one day so that I can shake him by the hand.

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