Ceremonies on UTube, Part 3

[TorchbearerSydney]

42 minutes ago, panamfan said:

WOW! Opening Ceremony of the 1991 World University Games in Sheffield, GBR. From Sheffield City Council TV! Enjoy! 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UdFFdD-2VU

Did they edit out the dropping and extinguishing of the torch at 1.19.00? That was the best part!

[panamfan]

30 minutes ago, TorchbearerSydney said:

Did they edit out the dropping and extinguishing of the torch at 1.19.00? That was the best part!

Unfortunately, yes. No annoying TV announcers though!

[Ikarus360]

Nice find, panam! After watching the ceremony I can see some parallelisms with the opening ceremony of London 2012 , including the raising props/chimneys and the Industrial Revolution themes. Overall, despite the massive fail of the torch, the opening ceremony was actually quite decent.

Also that European Union segment, considering the current events, did not aged well at all.

[Ikarus360]

Opening Ceremomny of Euro 1992 in Sweden, at the old Rasunda Stadium

 

[Ikarus360]

Musical number at the Opening Ceremony of the 1995 IAAF World Championship in Gotheburg

 

[Griff]

Moscow 1980

Parade of Nations:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe1RuTOjRqw

Artistic Section:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5QvGawX1Us

Closing Ceremony:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDm-7eSV3J8

 

[baron-pierreIV]

I don't know if this has been posted here before (and I am just starting to watch it) -- but it looks like another spectacular ceremony.   Easily another $75-80 million ceremony, just for a minor set of Games.  The Lighting of the Cauldron is also one for the "FAKE Lightings" column.  The torch never really touches the first device.  And it then has the zip-wire lighting a la Atlanta, Athens 2004 Paralympics, Torino 2006 style to the horse-head on the roof.  

I never thought I'd find myself saying this, but the "spectacle and all the folk dances" are just mind-numbing.  I thought you can never have too much spectacle -- but they have obviously over-done it here.  Maybe 10% of the Turkmen/women population took part in this show??  Can't wait to see how another 3rd world -stan (Kyrgiztan and Uzbekistan still have to host their own spectacles) host a Chess championship.  

 

Edited August 8, 2020 by baron-pierreIV

[TorchbearerSydney]

Turkmenistan is a funny place...went a few years ago....sometimes ranked BEHIND Nth Korea in freedom indexes! But unlike Nth Korea (and the other Stans) it is enormously wealthy with gas. 

And they blow the money on crap like this, streets lined with marble palaces etc...

[baron-pierreIV]

14 hours ago, TorchbearerSydney said:

 And they blow the money on crap like this, streets lined with marble palaces etc...

You gotta spend it somewhere.  I guess better on mindless, harmless spectacle than on pornography, black/white/brown slavery and nuclear weapons.  

[Olympian1010]

Ashgabat 2017 was a really successful multi sports games. Turkmenistan hired a mostly foreign workforce that had experience working on Olympic organizing committees, and other large international events. They wanted the Games to look and feel like a miniature Olympics/Asian Games. The OCA even invited all of the Oceania NOCs to compete for medals at the Games. 
 

I remember watching that ceremony live. The artistic segments were very good, but the “President” of Turkmenistan got something like 20 minutes of applause. I believe the host broadcaster (IGBS) started their broadcast on delay so they could edit down a bunch of the gratuitous applause for the president and other dignitaries. 
 

The opening ceremony media guide is still available for download on the Ashgabat 2017 website if you want to understand what you’re watching.

As much as the 2017 AIMAG were a success, Turkmenistan should not be awarded with further chances at hosting multi sports games. Their human rights and press freedom record is on par with, or worse than, North Korea. If you’ve seen any footage of sports events from the Games, you’ll see that the government of Turkmenistan essentially forced their citizens to fill all the arenas during the Games. They even trained them up like the North Korean cheerleaders we saw at the 2018 Winter Olympics. Plus, Turkmenistan added a bunch of Belt Wrestling events to program, so they could artificially inflate their medal total to win the medal table and make their country look great in front of their citizens. It’s also worth nothing that special event was to the equestrian (a sport which was neither held indoors nor a martial art) program at the last minute. This event was the Akal Teke Cup, which featured only traditional Turkmeni Akal Teke horses. The President of Turkmenistan owns almost 600 Akal Teke horses, and some claim he even has a fetish for them. Of course many of the horses used in the event were owned by him. So he essentially held a pageant for his favorite children, and then awarded medals for that. 

[baron-pierreIV]

/\/\  Great feedback, input and sharing of your experience at the actual event  Really gives context and insight into this event. 

Great vignette on those beautiful Akal Teke horses, I guess Turkmenistan's greatest pride.  I did wonder how strictly the Games could hew to the idea of "Indoor and Martial Arts Games"?   (And yes, I was stunned to see The Cook Islands, American Samoa, Vanuatu, the vanishing Nauru, FSM and EVEN TAHITI and the Maldives participating!! I guess they even paid for the airfare of those Oceania nations!  Of course, Israel is an absent spectre.) 

Do you have the souvenir program of the OC?  Thanks for sharing.  

Edited August 9, 2020 by baron-pierreIV

[Olympian1010]

4 hours ago, baron-pierreIV said:

/\/\  Great feedback, input and sharing of your experience at the actual event  Really gives context and insight into this event. 

Great vignette on those beautiful Akal Teke horses, I guess Turkmenistan's greatest pride.  I did wonder how strictly the Games could hew to the idea of "Indoor and Martial Arts Games"?   (And yes, I was stunned to see The Cook Islands, American Samoa, Vanuatu, the vanishing Nauru, FSM and EVEN TAHITI and the Maldives participating!! I guess they even paid for the airfare of those Oceania nations!  Of course, Israel is an absent spectre.) 

Do you have the souvenir program of the OC?  Thanks for sharing.  

Equestrian was obviously an egregious inclusion in a “Indoor and Martial Arts Games,” but the program was still composed of mostly of martial arts and indoor sports. Tennis even had an indoor arena for the Games.
 

It might be best to think of the AIMAG as the Asian Mini Games. In fact, the 2013 edition in Incheon served as a test event for the 2014 Asian Games.
 

I don’t have the souvenir program for the opening ceremony, but I do have the link for the media guide: http://media-cdn.ashgabat2017.com/ckeditor_assets/attachments/642/ashg2017_343_cer_opening_ceremony_media_guide_rgb_final_8_1_4_2.

[TorchbearerSydney]

Lets not forget that the Turkmen President famously won the nations richest horse race (what a surprise)...and then....( I can guarantee you that this video is not available in Turkmenistan!)

 

[baron-pierreIV]

/\/\  It looks almost like something that could've happened in North Korea, except pudgy Kim ain't going to try something as risky as that.  I wonder if they punished the horse for that?? 

Great find!!

Edited August 9, 2020 by baron-pierreIV

[TorchbearerSydney]

Notice how many black suited security guards rushed out!! Also I think this ''horse race'' at the time was the worlds richest- the President ""won"" millions for winning it!

[baron-pierreIV]

Also, just noticed that it wasn't a particularly competitive race.  Unless my count was off, there were only SIX horses.  I counted only 5 other horses going by after the Prez went down. 

I wonder who got assassinated or lost their homes or jobs after this debacle.  And the Akal-Teke isn't a particularly popular racing breed (yet) -- especially if they want to control its breeding.  I think it's just a beautiful show horse.  

[panamfan]

Here is a journal article I have had in my collection for years that gives some interesting behind the scenes of the 1990 Goodwill Games Welcoming Ceremony in Seattle, including comments from the producer - Barnett Lipton. I have reposted the links to the ceremony on youtube for anyone who wishes to re-watch the ceremony after reading the article. I think this article should be of particular interest to baron-pierreIV. Enjoy! 

PUBLIC RELATIONS JOURNAL - MARCH 1991

TRAVEL & TOURISM

Goodwill Games Welcoming Ceremony Put Glasnost Into Action
by Paul Maccabee

    Literally a cast of thousands performed last July  in the Welcoming Ceremony for the Goodwill Games in Husky Stadium in Seattle, Washington. The event, telecast to one billion people in 75 countries around the world, celebrated the friendship between the Soviet Union and the United States and set the stage for a week of friendly athletic competition among 2,000 athletes from 53 countries.
    In many respects, the Goodwill Games was the largest public relations event of 1990. More than 12,000 volunteers were involved in staging the games, including about 2,000 local performers in the Welcoming Ceremony. Since there was very little advertising money for the Games, publicity was the main means of attracting an audience and raising funds to pay for the activities.
    This example of Glasnost in action "is public relations on the highest level," according to event producer Barnett Lipton, president of EVENTURES, a New York City-based events management firm. "The communications purpose of the Goodwill Games is totally humanitarian. Bringing people together is the purpose of 'pure' public relations."
    The Goodwill Games were created by the Soviet Union and Turner Broadcasting System (TBS) in 1986, when United States-Soviet relations were at a low, following two consecutive Olympic Games boycotted by either the East or West. It was hoped that the institution of the Games would foster greater friendship between the two nations.
    Beginning in 1987, the Seattle Organizing Committee (SOC), a non-profit corporation, and TBS began the process of raising the more than $75 million necessary to produce 10 days of world-class sports, arts and other events.
    In December 1989, EVENTURES was selected to produce the Welcoming Ceremony on July 21. Unlike the Olympic Games, which have a very strict protocol for the presentation of the ceremonies, the second Goodwill Games had none at all. Thus, while the producer had no guidelines from which to draw, he also had free creative rein.
    The public relations challenges of producing the opening ceremonies for the Goodwill Games started even before EVENTURES won the assignment, Lipton noted. His firm was called in on short notice when it turned out local producers could not handle the demands of a massive stadium show. Members of the SOC helped defuse any bad feelings by keeping local producers involved in other events connected with the Games. Fortunately, the local producers also realized the need for outside expertise and cooperated fully with Lipton's people. It ended up being a "win-win" situation.

Faced four major challenges
    There were four major public relations challenges:
(1) To create an event that would sell out 72,000-seat Husky Stadium (the SOC was using the production to help raise money for some of its other programs);
(2) To involve groups with diverse backgrounds and purposes, ranging from Native Americans to entertainers from the Soviet Union;
(3) To present an event whose message was significant and appealing to a global audience;
(4) To create a program with broad appeal to sponsors and advertisers who would, in essence, subsidize production costs.

Mega-event had six acts
    A Two-hour mega-event was created featuring international celebrities and public figures, as well as a cast of more that 2,000 local performers. It was designed to contain as many universally appealing, heart touching moments as possible. "Moments that reach people on an emotional, human level are strongest because thay transcend the barriers of language and cultural differences," Lipton stated.
    Although the ceremony ran continuously, for thematic purposes it was divided into six acts, each reflecting a specific message:
    Act I: "Frontiers of Friendship" included the singing of the American and Soviet national anthems, a team jump by American and Soviet skydivers, a segment honoring cooperative U.S.-Soviet efforts in a variety of areas from business to science, and an unprecedented joint flyover by U.S. and Soviet military jets. Distinguished participants included the late Dr. Armand Hammer, U.S. astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts.
    Act II: "A Message for Mankind" affirmed the need to revere the gifts of nature, underscoring that mutual well-being and survival are dependent upon a shared responsibility for the environment. Accompanied by the cadence of giant ceremonial drums, more than 300 Native Americans from across the continent performed a ceremonial ritual honoring nature.
    Act III: "Uniting the World's Best" celebrated the focal point of the Games themselves, the important role international athletics play in helping to transcend cultural and political barriers. Unlike other sports ceremonies, the athletes entered together as one team rather than as separate delegations.
    Act IV: "On the Wings of Peace" enacted a touching true story. According to Japanese legend, anyone who folds 1,000 paper cranes will be granted one wish. In 1954, 11-year-old Sadako Sasaki of Hiroshima found out that she had the "atom-bomb disease" - leukemia. Sadako, wishing for her own recovery, found hope in the legend and began folding cranes. Despite her desire to live, she only completed 644 before she died. Nevertheless, Sadako's faith and courage inspired her classmates, who folded the the remaining 356 cranes, buried them with Sadako, and raised money to create a monument in Hiroshima's peace park.
    Months before the ceremony, 1,000 groups of children from around the world created 1,000 garlands of cranes - 1,000,000 in all. These were presented during the ceremony, accompanied by Sadako's story in words and music. The audience was invited to bring Sadako's dream of peace to life through a stadium flash-card stunt, holding up colored cards which were pre-placed at each of their seats to form a giant picture of a dove carrying an olive branch, superimposed over an enormous rainbow.
    Act V: "The Spirit of the Games" reminded everyone of the need to further the cause of of human rights worldwide. Kenny Rogers, accompanied by the 600-member Goodwill Games Chorus, performed a rendition of an international human rights anthem entitled "Something Inside So Strong."
    Act VI: "The Grand Finale" began with a special composition jointly written by American and Soviet artists, "There's Always Love," performed by the U.S.S.R.'s Vladimir Chamber Choir and Goodwill Games Chorus. At it's finale, the sky was filled with pyrotechnic special effects including special shells which exploded to release international flags. The entire audience joined in the singing, bringing the ceremony to a joyous conclusion.
    Interspersed throughout were readings and performances by dignitaries and celebrities. These included a videotaped message from President George Bush and appearance by Ronald Reagan, Speaker of the House Thomas Foley, Ted Turner, Reba McEntire, Ben Vereen, Kenny G, Soviet rock superstars Gorky Park, the Moody Blues and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
    Timing and logistics are two of the most important aspects of pulling off an event this complicated, said Lipton. He used a crew of only 150, many of them volunteers, to coordinate more than 4,000 performers, including athletes. "It's important to have a reliable staff," he emphasized. The producer himself "called" the show and directed live action from a vantage point on the 50-yard line. He called all the cues which were relayed to performers. TBS' television director orchestrated the TV audience's view of the proceedings from a truck from whcih he directed 24 cameras.

Provided international forum
    On an international level, the Goodwill Games was an important forum for the United States and the Soviet Union as well as TBS and the city of Seattle. In addition, the Welcoming Ceremony served as a public relations tool for the Games themselves, setting the inspirational tone and promoting ticket sales and international public interest for the 10 days of sports to follow.
    With a budget of approximately $1.5 million (less than 10% of what is now spent on an Olympic Opening Ceremony), the event had to rely on "message" rather than spectacle. At the same time, the participation of star performers was needed to interest ticket buyers and television advertisers, so a public and entertainment industry relations strategy was developed to generate support.
    After creating the six-act program, Lipton and his crew began contacting entertainers and dignitaries who had special interests in international affairs.
    As time progressed, word about the event spread and it became easier to interest other celebrities. In fact, the effect began to snowball until, as the day of the event approached, various dignitaries began calling to participate. (Ultimately, criteria had to be established for participation, limiting appearances to those who would fit logically within the framework of the event.) For example, in his capacity as chairman of the President's Council of Physical Fitness, Arnold Schwarzenegger called to ask whether he could speak on the importance of fitness and sports.
    The content of the ceremony and its participants were closely guarded secrets until most of them were on board. While there was some risk in this, it was felt that it would have a greater impact on ticket sales to make one big announcement rather than a series of smaller ones. In retrospect, this approach proved to be very successful. The ceremony alone generated an estimated net income of approximately $2 million.

Addressed local concerns
    Typical of most major events, the Opening Ceremony required constant public relations "fire fighting," Planners and sponsors had to address these issues:
(1) Will the event leave a deficit and will the public be expected to pay for it?
(2) Will there be increased traffic?
(3) What are the possibilities of protest and terrorism?
(4) Is there enough local involvement?
    Events like the Goodwill Games are typically a one-time proposition for a given locality. Since they have such a strong impact, the public tends to react as though a major international airport has been constructed in their back yard. The key elements which need to be reinforced are that the evet will promote and enhance the status of the community.
    The Goodwill Games had a positive economic impact on tourism, generated jobs and increased tax revenues, and due to their short duration, resulted in limited inconveniences. In addition, the event was of great importance to Seattle as a means of building community pride.
    Despite Seattle's reputation for traffic problems, the Welcoming Ceremony was little affected, according to Lipton. The reason was that Husky Stadium is a half hour away from downtown, where the congestion problems exist. Since athletes were housed at Washington University, right next door to the stadium, there was no problem getting them in and out. And the area around the stadium provided room for the cast and volunteers to gather.
    The fact that more than 2,000 volunteers were involved in the Welcoming Ceremony and 12,000 in running the Games as a whole speaks to the community involvement achieved. More than 1,000 Soviet citizens (not athletes) were invited to stay with Seattle families during the Games. This exchange program was immeasurably successful in breaking down cultural barriers and making all attendees feel more comfortable and secure at the event, Lipton said.
    While security arrangements were tight, they were not of the same magnitude as those imposed for more politically volatile events, such as party conventions, in Lipton's experience. Visitors to and participants in the Goodwill Games also cooperated very well with security-related requests, he pointed out.
    For example, at the last minute, Lipton and his crew were asked to provide  extra entertainment to hold the audience at the Welcoming Ceremony until all the athletes had exited. Lipton convinced the security people that the athletes would stay to watch any further activities. So the final solution was a simple request for the audience to "remain seated until the athletes have left the stadium." Somewhat surprisingly, the simple tactic worked.
 

 

[baron-pierreIV]

/\ Interesting.  Thanks.  We actually watched some of the Women's Indoor Volleyball matches in Spokane that July.  Then we flew to Seattle becuz we were then visiting my partner (Kathy)"s sister there.  There were no actual events in Seattle that I/we were interested in.  On the plane from Spokane to Seattle, the Russian women's volleyball team was with us -- and I have a picture with them (once we deplaned) somewhere in my files.  Will try to report it when I find it.  

[panamfan]

Just found this new post on youtube: Joined in Progress unfortuneately, but the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Opening Ceremony. NOT the ABC broadcast but the ESPN re-air. I always thought when ESPN reran the Los Angeles broadcasts the following year that they simply used the ABC telecasts. However, as this video of the re-air shows they used the raw feed with commentary by ESPN announcers Bob Ley and Roger Twibell. Video starts in middle of parade of nations but is much cleaner audio wise than the original live ABC telecast. Ley and Twibell talk far less than Jim McKay and Peter Jennings did. Also, some things given short shrift on the live ABC broadcast are seen in full in this ESPN re-air. Specifically, LAOOC Pres. Ueberroth's speech is shown in full, wheeras ABC joined it in progress from commercial. Also, the Olympic Hymn is heard almost without voiceover and much more of the PA Announcements are heard without voiceover and the full "Reach Out and Touch" performance at the end is shown almost without voiceover. Enjoy!

 

[panamfan]

Two clips of the Montreal 1976 closing ceremonies:

First the native american cultural display and entrance of the athletes. Second clip Maynard Ferguson plays trumpet as Olympic Flame is extinguished.

 

[BTHarner]

Too bad that Bob Ley was never in a position to be a Olympic primetime host. Just my opinion, but he would have been far better than Jim McKay or Bob Costas.

[HeisPongsatorn]

Hello Folks!!!

10 years ago, Chonburi was hosted the 39th Thailand National Games.
and this is Footage of Opening Ceremony of that games from Prapassorn Wittaya School.(The School sent students for walking into stadium with Athletes parade.)

Part 1 - Before Opening Ceremony

Part 2 - Parade of the Athletes from 76 Provinces* (It's just Partial not Full)
PS. In that time Bueng Kan is not Province like today.

 

and This is Music during Parade of Athletes.

- Onward Golden Eagles 1 - John Cacavas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoyJ0vmb7Us
- Pushing the Limit - Network Music Ensemble
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AvmiV3aLWM
- Liberty: Americana - Network Music Ensemble
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsFsIczeO0A
- and Unknown Music Name (Because I've been trying to find those songs for many years, But not yet successful, but If you know you can tell me.)

Part 3 - Ceremonies/Lighting the Cauldron and Conclusion of Opening Ceremony

 

 

 

The  39th Thailand National Games "Chonburi Games" Ceremonies Created and Conducted by Supaksorn Team.(No.1 of Games Ceremonies Creator in Thailand, and same Creator as SEA Games 1995/2007(2007 is so Nightmare/1995 is the Best haha:),Asian Martial Arts Games 2009/Asian Beach Games 2014.)

And Next Year Chonburi will be Co-Host Cities of 6th Asian Indoor & Martial Arts Games with Bangkok. (I'm Thai and I hope it will not be postponed anymore.)

But, I felt intuitively the Ceremonies Created and Conducted Team it will be Supaksorn Team(Comm. Arts Production).
Why I think so, Because International Games was held in Thailand will use their team almost every events especially the Games with Opening & Closing Ceremonies, and after 2007, their team is not making the impression more like than before(This is some Thai internet users opinion).

But everything can happen until News released.

I hope you will enjoy the Videos.

Thank You.
ขอบคุณครับ

[TorchbearerSydney]

New Sydney micro detail...just in a story in the Sydney Morning Herald...

"Couri took long-service leave from his job as a controller at an industrial gas plant to volunteer, his main role as assistant for the Oman team.

He also helped Olivia Newton-John to her feet as she tripped over a cable during dress rehearsals for the opening ceremony.

"She fell arse over head, but she never stopped singing," he said."

Never heard this before!

[andrew_syd]

On 9/6/2020 at 2:55 PM, TorchbearerSydney said:

New Sydney micro detail...just in a story in the Sydney Morning Herald...

"Couri took long-service leave from his job as a controller at an industrial gas plant to volunteer, his main role as assistant for the Oman team.

He also helped Olivia Newton-John to her feet as she tripped over a cable during dress rehearsals for the opening ceremony.

"She fell arse over head, but she never stopped singing," he said."

Never heard this before!

Haha yeah, you may recall during Seven's pre-ceremony coverage they interview John Farnham. He mentions that Olivia slipped during the rehearsals.

[TorchbearerSydney]

If the Farnham comments were on TV just before the ceremony, I missed it as I was at the stadium hyperventillating with excitement!

I did notice that when Olivia walks down the steps in Dare To Dream, Farnham holds her hand and watches her feet so intensely, I suspected there may have been an incident in her heels!