Rio de Janeiro 2016 Ceremonies.

[baron-pierreIV]

I know that movies are useful sometimes like the arrival of the flame, but that thing with Mr Bean and the Queen in London was exaggerated. Still using London as an example, they started so well with the rings and the artistic part, but when used movies and projections in that house, I almost fell asleep on sofá.

The producers can't please ALL the people ALL the time. They can only try to do the best they were hired for.

Sometimes, it's a hit; sometimes it's a miss. That's just a natural law of the universe.

[luizfernandobr45]

Well, I really loved all parts of London 2012 OC and CC. We have to admite that those ceremonies had a new concept.

[TorchbearerSydney]

The extended videos in London- opening, Mr Bean and James Bond were very tiresome. Must have really broken up the show in the stadium. Other ceremonies like Sydney did not need to use any as far as I remember.

[josejose50]

Being in the London for the OC, the Mr. Bean and James Bond were definitely well received in our section. Both had a decent sense of comedy mixed in (which was a nice break from the big artistry in the first part), and flowed with the ceremony ( I personally don't like Mr. Bean but it worked if only for the Chariots of Fire section). The only part I think we were confused on was the four choruses singing the songs of Scotland, Wales, etc. at the beginning just because it wasn't really explained at first and the sound didn't come through well in our area.

[phandrosis]

The extended videos in London- opening, Mr Bean and James Bond were very tiresome. Must have really broken up the show in the stadium. Other ceremonies like Sydney did not need to use any as far as I remember.

As far as I remember I think these were kind of intermissions between different large scale segments of the ceremony so they could set up everything.

[Bezzi]

Well, I really loved all parts of London 2012 OC and CC. We have to admite that those ceremonies had a new concept.

That is the problem. Watching the giant skiing athlete formed by people in Torino was much more impresive than the way the showed the same sport in Vancouver as a projection or Sochi, fomed by lights. Maybe it's just nostalgia. I was delighted with Barcelona, Sydney, Athens. The first ceremonies that I followed. I still have the moments of these ceremonies in my mind. Something is missing in recent ceremonies.

[LatinXTC]

I know that movies are useful sometimes like the arrival of the flame, but that thing with Mr Bean and the Queen in London was exaggerated. Still using London as an example, they started so well with the rings and the artistic part, but when used movies and projections in that house, I almost fell asleep on sofá.

Those videos were quite loathsome and killed the fluidity of the pageantry in my opinion. Say what you will about older ceremonies, but at least they didn't spend so much time showing videos as time killers and found creative ways to transition from one segment to another.

Well, I really loved all parts of London 2012 OC and CC. We have to admite that those ceremonies had a new concept.

Yes, to try and see how much they can suck as far as Opening ceremonies go. It wasn't a problem for the closing ceremony because naturally it's supposed to be the more informal of the two, but dear god you'd swear you were watching a ceremony for a Pan American games, or Commonwealth games lol

[LatinXTC]

That is the problem. Watching the giant skiing athlete formed by people in Torino was much more impresive than the way the showed the same sport in Vancouver as a projection or Sochi, fomed by lights. Maybe it's just nostalgia. I was delighted with Barcelona, Sydney, Athens. The first ceremonies that I followed. I still have the moments of these ceremonies in my mind. Something is missing in recent ceremonies.

lol oh god I thought the showcasing of the sports in both Vancouver and Sochi were totally unnecessary, especially at Vancouver because it was followed up by a flat slam poet who was so out of shape even for curling lol.This is when the overuse of technology goes wrong in ceremonies. Just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should.

Yes I'm more of a fan of the ceremonies you mentioned, and it's probably because they had to be far more creative with what they can do because the technology at the time was more limiting for such ceremonies compared to the ones these days. The videos now are more of a perfect time to take a bathroom break, they don't really add anything to the performance on a whole.

[baron-pierreIV]

Some people here post like they know better than the experienced production companies who stage the shows and like they could've done better.

[Faiyez]

Something is missing in recent ceremonies.

Yeah: your impressionable and young self.

[baron-pierreIV]

Something is missing in recent ceremonies.

I thought ALL 4 Ceremonies of Sochi 2014 were terrific; absolutely world-class. Even the Hand-over show to PyeongChang 2018 was so lyrical and poetic -- something Koreans don't normally do. If that's the calibre of Para/Olympic ceremonies, I don't think there's anything to complain about.

I do like the FILMED segments, esp, in Beijing (which explained the origin of the making of paper), the pseudo-ancient connections of the Sochi area to ancient Greece, was very well filmed and provide the necessary narrative sections. Furhter, it shows that the producers think multi-dimensionally. (I would have thought posters who communicate via memes would've appreciated the filmed segments since they do not involve the written or the spoken word.)

[Nacholympic]

Personally, I think that we will be impressed again by making "human ceremonies" more than technological ones.

Vancouver projecions were well received, since it was the very first ceremony based only on projections (despite it was a resource used from many years ago)

But we miss Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney styles ceremonies... and may Rio could bring back that old way .... and more impressive...

Despite the world class ceremony in Sochi, the aereals, the giants structures.... I insist nobody wowed about it, since it had a totally lack of innovation (It was a "Russian Vancouver" ceremony)

[neneu10]

hmmm, some people that were on rehearsals said that will be many projections on the floor and also on the LED cubes on stands

[baron-pierreIV]

hmmm, some people that were on rehearsals said that will be many projections on the floor and also on the LED cubes on stands

As I predicted before. Regardless of who likes it or not, that's the way to go these days. It's cheaper, tells a story very efficiently and doesn't present too many logistical problems. And Maracana doesn't have too much space around it to store large props like London's Closing and only have Maracanaiho (or however that's spelled) where the 9,000 athletes will sit and wait until they're called and where maybe the five or 6,000 cast members also wait their various turns before and after performing.

The Maracana park is probably the smallest and tightest area in recent years where they have presented the major Ceremonies with only 1 auxiliary stadium beside to act as a staging area/holding tank for the athletes and cast members.

For Closing in which I assume they will recreate Carnaval to some sort of degree, they will probably close some streets around the stadium in order to keep the large floats waiting until it's their time to appear. (Probably the same situation as in 2007/)

Edited June 27, 2016 by baron-pierreIV

[Mauricio]

Well, I really loved all parts of London 2012 OC and CC. We have to admite that those ceremonies had a new concept.

Yeah. Beijing Games Opening Ceremony was impressive by the grand scale everything was thought and done. There were unbelievable things happening throughout the whole ceremony. However, the scale Beijing used had two side. If it managed to draw everyone´s attention by magnificence, on the other hand, the OC seemed overwhelming, too technical and - let´s not forget the little girl - fake.

In 2012, it seems there was a choice for something simpler with regard to the massive use of technology. It seems, they chose a more humanistic approach of the country's history. They succeed. But, IMO, no OC was able to overshadow Barcelona.

[JMarkSnow2012]

Being in the London for the OC, the Mr. Bean and James Bond were definitely well received in our section. Both had a decent sense of comedy mixed in (which was a nice break from the big artistry in the first part), and flowed with the ceremony ( I personally don't like Mr. Bean but it worked if only for the Chariots of Fire section). The only part I think we were confused on was the four choruses singing the songs of Scotland, Wales, etc. at the beginning just because it wasn't really explained at first and the sound didn't come through well in our area.

The lyrics to the four national songs were given in the over-priced programme book, but they didn't explain (except in Danny Boyle's press briefing several weeks earlier) that the four maypoles in the "Green and Pleasant Land" which had live dancing during this segment also represented the four nations.

Personally, I think that we will be impressed again by making "human ceremonies" more than technological ones.

Vancouver projecions were well received, since it was the very first ceremony based only on projections (despite it was a resource used from many years ago)

But we miss Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney styles ceremonies... and may Rio could bring back that old way .... and more impressive...

Despite the world class ceremony in Sochi, the aereals, the giants structures.... I insist nobody wowed about it, since it had a totally lack of innovation (It was a "Russian Vancouver" ceremony)

There's a basic problem with stadium ceremonies based on people moving around on a large flattish surface:

The audience in the stadium itself can't change viewpoint the way the TV cameras can, and anybody fairly low down in the auditorium doesn't get the effect of any elaborate patterns etc. Hence the increasing use of vertical structures- and Beijing went about as far as reasonable in having people performing live on such a vertical structure (the globe- not seen in the above clip).

[neneu10]

Some Google Earth updates

[rodrigo_dpc]

Is There Anything Gonna Be Unveiled When We Get To 1 Month To Go.

Maybe the oficial song??

[rodrigo_dpc]

I twist by Vanderlei Cordeiro and I think he is by far the favorite.

I have personal reasons to cheer for him, because I know him personally. He lives in a town near the mine.

He was in my town just over a month. When I was in high school, he handed medals in Sport Games of my school unfortunately did not win the medal.

It would be very simbolic if that greek man that helped him in 2004, passed the torch to Varderlei light the cauldron

[baron-pierreIV]

It would be very simbolic if that greek man that helped him in 2004, passed the torch to Varderlei light the cauldron

Is the Greek man still alive? I bet it will be Pele who will light the cauldron. It has to be him.

[Mauricio]

Is the Greek man still alive? I bet it will be Pele who will light the cauldron. It has to be him.

I don´t think so, Baron. Pelé is not an Olympian and he has already taken part of the handover in London. That would be more of the same.

[Bezzi]

My bet is Oscar or Maria Ester Bueno.

[Mauricio]

My bet is Oscar or Maria Ester Bueno.

Good ones. I have the feeling that they won´t forget Lars Grael. You see, for all he is and has suffered, it is hard to find someone worthier than him. One may say it is not the Paralympics OC, but his career wasn't in paralympics too.

[TeamBlakeUSA]

Athens 2004 Opening For The Olympic Rings Was The Ring of Fire In The Water By The Flaming Arrow.

http://i.telegraph.co.uk/multimedia/archive/02289/Athens-opening-cer_2289301b.jpg

[neneu10]