Rio 2016 Opening Ceremony Verdicts and Reviews

[Sir Rols]

BTW - did anyone notice, at the start of the ceremonies, the fireworks spelling out Rio? I haven't noticed anyone mentioning that, it was very brief, blink and you missed it, but I was impressed. Never seen that before. And I'm not a great fireworks fan.

[LOUIS]

About the the"bravo for the understated, quieter, less stellar tone" argument that i hear i a lot. The scale of Rio's opening was not a choice but a need.. Let's be honest, if Brazil wasn't in financial crisis, they would have taken the Beijing road...

[TheOtherRob]

4 minutes ago, Sir Rols said:

BTW - did anyone notice, at the start of the ceremonies, the fireworks spelling out Rio? I haven't noticed anyone mentioning that, it was very brief, blink and you missed it, but I was impressed. Never seen that before. And I'm not a great fireworks fan.

I saw a photo of that on twitter after it happened. I was pretty sure the cameras were showing the helicopter view of the fireworks at that point so it was missed. But you say you saw it live?

[Scotguy]

1 minute ago, Rob. said:

I saw a photo of that on twitter after it happened. I was pretty sure the cameras were showing the helicopter view of the fireworks at that point so it was missed. But you say you saw it live?

I watched the BBC version of the OC live and i seen the RIO firework spelling, didn't really mention it because it only happened, i think about 3 shorts times.

[Sir Rols]

2 minutes ago, Rob. said:

I saw a photo of that on twitter after it happened. I was pretty sure the cameras were showing the helicopter view of the fireworks at that point so it was missed. But you say you saw it live?

Yeah. Twice. They were very brief (as fireworks are). My hubby didn't spot them either.

6 minutes ago, LOUIS said:

Let's be honest, if Brazil wasn't in financial crisis, they would have taken the Beijing road...

Maybe so. But, IMO, they still did it with style. I didn't feel underwhelmed. More I think they got the scale about right for this day and age when the gigantism of the games is under such criticism.

Interestingly, the artistic segment wasn't really any shorter than most recent OCs. I've rewatched a few and am often surprised that it seems to be almost always only a standard hour or so for the artistic presentations, followed by the two plus hours of parade and protocol claptrap.

[Citius Altius Fortius]

7 hours ago, jawnbc said:

The athletes have to be staged a couple of hours before the parade, then are queued up and standing for probably a minimum of 2 hours. If I were competing in the next 2 days I would absolutely skip it. 

 

... and we stood and walked a lot also - it was really exhausting...

[Citius Altius Fortius]

I just can say that the ceremony was amazing - it was neither European, North-American, Oceanic or Asian - it was just "BRASIL"

It is a totally different thing to watch a ceremony on TV or to be there - everything worksd out fine and what was cool was that the crowd started to dance and sing...

For me it is one of the best ever ceremonies - on the same level as e.g. Sydney or Barcelona!

[plusbrilliantsexploits]

15 minutes ago, LOUIS said:

About the the"bravo for the understated, quieter, less stellar tone" argument that i hear i a lot. The scale of Rio's opening was not a choice but a need.. Let's be honest, if Brazil wasn't in financial crisis, they would have taken the Beijing road...

Well yes, but they could have made a complete hash of it - and it's not badly done at all. The ceremony (unwittingly or not) showed how a more modest ceremony can be staged. Brazil's problems may very well be the source for a new approach towards a fresher Olympics. We will just have to see...

[The Tower Bridge Fox]

The Creative section was very stylish but over reliant on projection,(London would have benefited form some projection)

The Athlete's parade seemed a bit sloppy(London's was better)

carnival section was good

the Cauldrom is a very attractive conetic sculpture

but London's Caulderon was  conceptually better
as the Caldrom and sculpture were one item

(London should have had a second cauldrum for those not able to get in to the stadium)

over all

the creative section was more stylish (and better directed)than London

but London had the better athleats parade ,Calderon and meadow set,

and London industrial revolution segment was the only part of London creative opening which was arguably better than Rio's.

[Mr Tickle]

Got up at 7am to watch the ceremony. If I was a Brazilian I would be proud of the show. It was colourful and vibrant with some lovely moments.
It didn't totally feel like an Olympic opening, and I thought some sections seemed a little too simple.

Good
+ I really enjoyed the opening video of people and sport all shot from above. Really stylish and well produced.
+ I liked the shapes in foil. Simple and effective but wasn't impressed with the countdown projection.
+ I really liked the bit with the plane, really, really nicely done.
+ I loved the rings in the fauna and the whole athletes planting their seed in the towers, thats a lovely idea, but reminded me slightly of the UK's seed pavilion at Expo. And I liked the carnival after the athletes but it didn't seem to know what to do once it had marched in.
+ Oh and I loved the parkour city rising projections.
+ The music was great and it set a great mood for what I guess will be the most photogenic games ever.
+ For me the best bit was the ribbon forest section and the arrival sequence, that was really wonderful.

Poor
- I didn't rate the Supermodel walks across the stadium floor bit at all, they could have done more with such a great song.
- I didn't think the environmental message was well done either. That could have been really profound but to me it wasn't inspiring at all, felt like lots of generic stock footage.
- Great choice of cauldron lighter but the cauldron, is it just the bowl? And the sculpture was there as a backdrop? I saw that sculpture ages ago so it feels a bit off the shelf. 

 

Everything else if I haven't mentioned it its because it was just ok.

For me there was just no WOW moment. I won't want to re-watch any of the elements which I always usually do.

Well done Rio, its a 7 out of 10 from me. Great music, great colour but nothing new. Let the games begin!

 

[illustrado]

19 minutes ago, The Tower Bridge Fox said:

The Creative section was very stylish but over reliant on projection,(London would have benefited form some projection)

The Athlete's parade seemed a bit sloppy(London's was better)

carnival section was good

the Cauldrom is a very attractive conetic sculpture

but London's Caulderon was  conceptually better
as the Caldrom and sculpture were one item

(London should have had a second cauldrum for those not able to get in to the stadium)

over all

the creative section was more stylish (and better directed)than London

but London had the better athleats parade ,Calderon and meadow set,

and London industrial revolution segment was the only part of London creative opening which was arguably better than Rio's.

 i don't think we should compare this OC to London 

lookin back i think i'm suffering fromolympic blue balls.

these no money shoot like the three previous ceremonies. the opening was wasted on that 'peace sign'

and yes they had great ideas but not one moment that i would put in a montage of great OC.

[mattygs]

Having watched the ceremony again, I feel like I can identify exactly what left me a tad unsatisfied. I guess my taste of ceremonies has evolved, and this is purely my personal taste, but I guess I like some overarching narrative to the ceremony,

This one felt like they were having a bob each way, at first it seemed like it was going to be a Sydney 2000 esque chronological story of Brazil, but then they felt the need to save the world. The thing I loved about Athens and London is that they had very clear narratives, they had touchstones that the whole ceremony could refer to. In Athens it was the amazing Mythstorema 3 poem, and in London it was that concept of  Britain's revolutions. I actually feel like Rio should have made more of one of the most beautiful parts of the ceremony, the reading of A Flor e a Nausea. In fact, I wonder if they could have made this their touch stone. Constantly referencing this, not only with a video presentation, but in regards to the action on the field. 

Still, I do like the ceremony more each time I watch it, I just feel like there was the potential to make it even better. 

[thorbr]

5 hours ago, Gonzo said:

Duller than dull

And I don't need to be force-fed Climate Change propaganda from one of the most polluted places in the world with human faeces and corpses floating in their city

We are far from being one of the most polluted places in the world. Brasil has Done a lot in terms of preserving enviroments like the Amazon. We are reference in the international discussions About enviromental issues. Please try to read a bit more. Problems concerning the water in the Guanabara Bay in Rio can not represent the whole country. Don't forget we are a devoloping country still dealing with many issues. We should go back to the cycle of explotation of our natural resources to understand that.

[kevzz]

OK just woke up and rewatched some bits. Here's my uncollected thoughts on last night's ceremony:

- The best opening video montage ever, even better than London's eccentric journey through the Thames. The drone footage depicting various sports in different places in Rio is super cool accompanied by bossa nova music. The opening shot of the green sea, waves on the beach and then people running into the sea will be my lasting memory of the ceremony. 

- The opening segment seems to miss the momentum by not having the countdown right from the start. It didn't have the impact of a proper countdown. Metallic foil cushion concept is pretty neat esp paying tribute to the paving design pattern in Rio/ Copacabana (?).

- Break away from protocol with early national anthem. Love the rendition and kids draped in flags a nice touch. One of the best national anthems ever. After Sydney perhaps.

- The microbes segment a bit arbitrary with some skeletal creature crawling around and ends abruptly.

- Indigenous segment is my favourite and up there amongst one of my fave scenes in all Olympic ceremonies. It is truly beautiful, mesmerising and hypnotic. Perfect use of simple props, music, light and for once the floor projection really serves the concept well. It has the grandeur and simplicity of Athens. Was really excited and moved by this segment.

- Arrival section could do with more performers and props. Obvious comparison is with Sydney's, though it's more restrained and underwhelmed by it. Poignant slavery scene with African's chained to weighted feet. Nice touch to Japanese population as they were the last to exit the field with some nice circular formation. This is also the segment when the floor projection began to overwhelm and overload.

- Parkour segment was interesting for like 5 seconds and then becomes tired. 

- Can see the point of the Favela boxes stage when parkour dancers climb up and down the boxes with images of the apartment behinds. The boxes look bigger than I thought and I like the juxtaposition of the scale between boxes and human.

- Gisele was fabulous. A fitting tribute to the iconic song. Wished there's more performers on the field emulating life on Ipanama beach while Gisele walks through them. But perhaps it's this simplicity that works.

- Airplane sequence pretty cute. The shot when the plane took off was quite illusional, mainly because of the moving floor projection and the crowd lighting. For few seconds trying to figure out what's going on with the perspective. Had me there and another occasion where the floor projection works well. First and only time I can see it's actually a film director in charge of the ceremony with the beautiful out of stadium flight sequence though Rio's night scene. Quite dreamy.

- Samba dancing and singing section just lost me. Was truly bored of it.

- Was sceptical about the athletes parade at first of them not going around the stadium but went straight into the middle of the field. But after a while can see the point, was clever they trying to emulate Rio carnival street procession. Love the trikes, very cute. And why not with the seed planting at least it gives the athletes something to do.

- Olympic ring formation was simple yet effective. Wished the lower right ring was formed better, it didn't make a complete circle. A move away from the usual grand gesture with Olympic ring and it works still.

- Don't like the climate change segment. It really is a kill joy. Feels like a science lecture out of nowhere. Very doom and gloom. Understand the opportunity for huge audience but this feels very much like a propaganda. A misstep by the organiser.

- Horrible speech. The organising committee head's speech was so OTT and annoying. Bach's not much better. The whole thing just went down ever more with that Laurel presentation and speech. Dull as ditchwater.

- Arrival of flame shows so much promise again when it arrives outside the stadium along the concrete columns. 

- Cauldron lighting is the most anti-climax in history. Horrible music, no cresendo, no buildup. Just a guy limping up the stair, holding the torch with both hands (is he ill or something?), and then lighting the most uninspiring looking (witch's) cauldron (bowl). What was that? The gimmicky sun contraption doesn't impress me. Felt they are trying to hard and justify it with being sustainable. It's just some flame for goodness sake, how much energy can you save compared to building stadiums etc. The worst cauldron in my opinion, up there with Atlanta. A giant disco ball. I know Brazillians love to party but do they have to take it so literally?

All in all, theres some good bits which shows promises but mainly underwhelmed by it. Didn't get the feel that it's a film director at helm. Perhaps I need to acknowledge that due to budget constraint its unfair to compare this with other past ceremonies. Perhaps its time we start to learn to accept this level of ceremonies if we are to welcome more developing countries to host the Games. Hence I think for a country whos going through a tough time with limited resources, Brazil indeed did a good job that presents to us a ceremony that's quite innovative at parts but more important full of soul and human spirit. This should be encouraged more and it's about time we drop the expectation of big spectacle ceremony and start to accept this new approach. 

[Alexjc]

One of the saddest aspects of the Ceremony was the emphasis on the fact humanity is sliding towards a full blown War again. 

Ominous is the next three Olympiads have the potential to be in the middle of a massive hotspot in the near comming years...

[Bezzi]

Yes. WE poluted the bay. WE destroyed the Atlantic Forest. So the climate message fits in a ceremony that was made for us. And the seeds was a nice idea. This ceremony is still alive and when these trees grow everyone will remember how was born. I don't like carnaval but would not be a carioca ceremony without that, so it's ok for me. I was expecting more for the couldron design but I also can't say that is that bad. No visible glitches. Wonderful armosphere in the stadiums. A very brazilian ceremony. Perfect for us. I am proud. People here are proud. The comentors in TV was proud. This ceremony will be forever in our mind.

[baron-pierreIV]

4 hours ago, JMarkSnow2012 said:

Yes, at that point in the ceremony it should have been the rings. Which suggests to me they were making a sly political point.

The green rings execution was corny.  And they weren't perfectly formed either.  BTW, mirror idea was again Sochi's (closing).  

[baron-pierreIV]

2 hours ago, kevzz said:

Perhaps its time we start to learn to accept this level of ceremonies if we are to welcome more developing countries to host the Games. 

1

NOOOOOOOOO!!    Hold your tongue!!  Then civilization is lost and ISIL will have won!! 

Really missed an OVER-THE-TOP moment!!  (Just kidding; it was OK for a tame ceremony.)  

What was the aluminum foil section at the start about?  Pollution? 

[guilherme]

3 hours ago, Sir Rols said:

BTW - did anyone notice, at the start of the ceremonies, the fireworks spelling out Rio? I haven't noticed anyone mentioning that, it was very brief, blink and you missed it, but I was impressed. Never seen that before. And I'm not a great fireworks fan.

 

[paul]

I fell asleep.

Can someone post a picture of how the rings were formed?

...I think I found a picture?

Edited August 6, 2016 by paul

[JMarkSnow2012]

37 minutes ago, baron-pierreIV said:

The green rings execution was corny.  And they weren't perfectly formed either.  BTW, mirror idea was again Sochi's (closing).  

Yes, the whole mirror-box scheme was rather clumsy and underwhelming (though after my first half-dozen glasses of wine I find shiny things very appealing, so I didn't mind at all last night).

 

[neneu10]

26 minutes ago, paul said:

I fell asleep.

Can someone post a picture of how the rings were formed?

...I think I found a picture?

[JMarkSnow2012]

25 minutes ago, paul said:

I fell asleep.

Can someone post a picture of how the rings were formed?

...I think I found a picture?

 

 

Firework rings from the stadium roof, and the tree rings on the ground at the same time.

[paul]

oh I see, thanks.

So did the athletes put all those seeds in the lockers? are they going to be planted in the shape of rings or something? And how did each athlete carry in a seed or did all their seeds come in on the tricycles with their procession?

[JMarkSnow2012]

3 hours ago, The Tower Bridge Fox said:

The Creative section was very stylish but over reliant on projection,(London would have benefited form some projection)

 

Somebody will correct me with a middle-eastern or central Asian example, I'm sure, but as far as I can recall, the ceremonies which have successfully used large-scale floor projection have been in smaller football-type stadia. London had enuogh trouble projecting onto the vertical(ish) surfaces of the Big House.