Paris 2024 Ceremonies

[FYI]

4 minutes ago, Red Centaur said:

unlike how Atlanta's Mississippi segment looked like a cheap white copy of the brilliant Mediterranean segment in Barcelona.  

[FYI]

11 minutes ago, Red Centaur said:

unlike how Atlanta's Mississippi segment looked like a cheap white copy of the brilliant Mediterranean segment in Barcelona.  

Still couldn't have been as bad as those DREADFUL pick-up trucks!! 

[Red Centaur]

Just now, FYI said:

Still couldn't have been as bad as those DREADFUL pick-up trucks!! 

Anyone else notice the male cheer leaders looking up the skirts of the female cheer leaders? 

And why on earth were the walking sticks they were dancing with so short? were there budget cuts?? Baron, you're a self proclaimed expert on OC budgets... what's the story and why did Atlanta look so cheap?

[Sir Rols]

For fun…

Paris‘ last OC

 

 

[FYI]

OMG. that guy on the podium, towards the end, with the salute, almost looked like Hitler there! 

[Sir Rols]

Yeah, the old “Olympic Salute“ really did look like the Nazi one. It’s uncomfortable seeing it now.

Edited July 26 by Sir Rols

[baron-pierreIV]

53 minutes ago, Red Centaur said:

Anyone else notice the male cheer leaders looking up the skirts of the female cheer leaders? 

And why on earth were the walking sticks they were dancing with so short? were there budget cuts?? Baron, you're a self proclaimed expert on OC budgets... what's the story and why did Atlanta look so cheap?

After calling my book "terrible," now you're asking for my opinion.    OK, I'll bite.  I'll answer with a question: how can you compare a proud, millennial city like Barcelona with hundreds of years of history and, financially, with the backing of the Spanis gov't vs. a younger city like Atlanta (and I'm not from Atlanta) one of whose proudest moments in history was its Burning -- and blighted by slavery and racism?  Two different scenarios.  There really wasn't much to work with.  That's why the whole the centerpiece of the evening was the mythical Life on the River, the Rebirth and an allegorical tale of the Sun, the Moon and the Rebirth of spring after the Civil War.  It is what it is.  (Frankly, I hated the young high-steppin' Welcome to Atlanta portion -- but that's how they showed young, contemporary Atlanta.)  I don't think it was fair to compare Atlanta to Barcelona.  yes, there were similarities and they followed the same template but in essence, they're really apples and oranges. It is what it was.  Could you have done better -- given the palette, the budget and the background material you had to work with?  Maybe, maybe not.  

BTW,  insofar as "self-proclaimed," were there others tracking the same things as I did and was able to put them together in one compendium?  None that I was aware of.  I have studied the genre for decades -- and I have tracked the budgets when no one else as far as I know-- was doing that.  Excuse me for following  my passion.  Yeah, I couldn't get that degree from that  PyeongYang College -- the only "educational institution" at the time "teaching college courses" in Ceremonies as we know them today.     And why don't you pursue your own without having to diss others who have not harmed you in any purposeful way.  

Edited July 26 by baron-pierreIV

[Olympian2004]

Hi everyone, like the old cat that strolled around the house for way too long, I am back in time for a new edition of the Games. Good to see you, @baron-pierreIV, @Sir Rols and everyone else again! And I must admit: Besides the overall Seine/boat concept, the alleged performance by Céline Dion and a few foreign dignitaries that will be present during the ceremony, I know absolutely NOTHING about the opening ceremony tonight. And maybe I won't read too many of the previous posts here or in the live chat to maintain a certain level of surprise. But we will see.

Something that seems to be different for me is that there has been no dress rehearsal footage released to the media this time around. Or am I wrong? At previous Olympics, we always had a glimpse of some of the artistic and/or ceremonial segments by this time. Sorry for asking a question that might have been discussed here before.

[baron-pierreIV]

3 minutes ago, Olympian2004 said:

Hi everyone, like the old cat that strolled around the house for way too long, I am back in time for a new edition of the Games. Good to see you, @baron-pierreIV, @Sir Rols and everyone else again! And I must admit: Besides the overall Seine/boat concept, the alleged performance by Céline Dion and a few foreign dignitaries that will be present during the ceremony, I know absolutely NOTHING about the opening ceremony tonight. And maybe I won't read too many of the previous posts here or in the live chat to maintain a certain level of surprise. But we will see.

Something that seems to be different for me is that there has been no dress rehearsal footage released to the media this time around. Or am I wrong? At previous Olympics, we always had a glimpse of some of the artistic and/or ceremonial segments by this time. Sorry for asking a question that might have been discussed here before.

Hi there.  Good to have you back.  I don't think they're having ONE coordinated dress rehearsal per the old template--where there was a one-trajectory show in the stadium.  There are like 30 different things going in at so many places  that they can't be threaded together in one successive, consecutive dramatic arc.  It's all scattershot -- so each little segment must have had their own "dress rehearsal" oblivious of what the other 2 dozen little units were doing.  

[Sir Rols]

3 minutes ago, Olympian2004 said:

Something that seems to be different for me is that there has been no dress rehearsal footage released to the media this time around. Or am I wrong? At previous Olympics, we always had a glimpse of some of the artistic and/or ceremonial segments by this time. Sorry for asking a question that might have been discussed here before.

Welcome back! I had a feeling we’d see you for Paris - you always return for games time. I love when the “old gang” reunite at games time!

A bit mixed on the rehearsals front (no doubt because of its nature). There’s been boat rehearsals on the Seine and other rivers over the past few months. A bit of footage of some dance rehearsals. A number of pics of various sets around the Seine this past week. And a documentary on the making of (called “La Grande Seine - Paris” released this week - well worth watching, I’m sure it’s available in Germany. 

[Red Centaur]

14 minutes ago, baron-pierreIV said:

After calling my book "terrible," now you're asking for my opinion.    OK, I'll bite.  I'll answer with a question: how can you compare a proud, millennial city like Barcelona with hundreds of years of history and, financially, with the backing of the Spanis gov't vs. a younger city like Atlanta (and I'm not from Atlanta) one of whose proudest moments in history was its Burning -- and blighted by slavery and racism?  Two different scenarios.  There really wasn't much to work with.  That's why the whole the centerpiece of the evening was the mythical Life on the River, the Rebirth and an allegorical tale of the Sun, the Moon and the Rebirth of spring after the Civil War.  It is what it is.  (Frankly, I hated the young high-steppin' Welcome to Atlanta portion -- but that's how they showed young, contemporary Atlanta.  I don't think it was fair to compare.  Apples and oranges.  But it is what it was.  Could you have done better -- given the palette, the budget and the background material you had to work with?  

BTW, I have studied the genre for decades -- and I have tracked the budgets when no one else as far as I know-- was doing that.  Excuse me for following  my passion.  And why don't you pursue your own without having to diss others who have not harmed you in any purposeful way.  

You've misunderstood me Baron - I love you. I hate your book, yes, and your opinions are certainly different. 

Given I work in the industry, yes, I would have tackled an Atlanta ceremony differently. There are MANY ways to present a theme theatrically. At the time, I imagine the producers and creatives were stuck not wanting to be like LA1984, and also saw the wonderful Barcelona 1992 as a template. The Atlanta ceremony is of its time and defines ceremonies and Atlanta in 1996. I would be looking for the connection between southern culture and athleticism/sport. I would look at local artists: both visual, written and performance as the seeding of the ideas and begin the conversations about culture from this particular region. There is plenty of beauty in USA culture and this is what Id present - in a way that is pure USA. 

Anyhow, hope you can watch Paris with an open mind and not too many preconceived expectations. Let the Parisians tell their story their way - and yes, even i have to get past my opinions on GAGA and CECE. 

love you Baron. You are oldman energy.  

[Olympian2004]

Thank you for the warm welcome, @baron-pierreIV and @Sir Rols! It's really great to see the "old gang" and really reassuring in tumultuous and ever-changing times that there are still some constants left.  

Yes, I imagined that due to the unusual concept of this opening ceremony, "classical" dress rehearsal footage is hard to be even filmed. But I scrolled a few pages back in this chat and found the clip @PikyoK shared on page 55, and I think it conveys a little bit of the staging of this ceremony. I am excited to see how well that concept will play out on television. A ceremony with so much going on and so many separate "venues" sure is a challenge for any TV director. Not to forget the spectators along the Seine, they will probably depend on the screens - more so than previous opening ceremony audiences - in order to get a grasp of what is actually going on. But it sure is interesting that they try this concept instead of doing the "same old, same old". Only 14 hours to go!

[ThatGreenDude]

3 hours ago, Red Centaur said:

American does not equal the USA. American equals the continent. 

I once said this very thing to a Canadian and he looked me dead in the eye and said "No! You are American, I am Canadian." Point is, Canadians and Mexicans don't want to be considered Americans. 

[baron-pierreIV]

25 minutes ago, Red Centaur said:

You've misunderstood me Baron - I love you. I hate your book, yes, and your opinions are certainly different. 

Given I work in the industry, yes, I would have tackled an Atlanta ceremony differently. There are MANY ways to present a theme theatrically. At the time, I imagine the producers and creatives were stuck not wanting to be like LA1984, and also saw the wonderful Barcelona 1992 as a template. The Atlanta ceremony is of its time and defines ceremonies and Atlanta in 1996. I would be looking for the connection between southern culture and athleticism/sport. I would look at local artists: both visual, written and performance as the seeding of the ideas and begin the conversations about culture from this particular region. There is plenty of beauty in USA culture and this is what Id present - in a way that is pure USA. 

Anyhow, hope you can watch Paris with an open mind and not too many preconceived expectations. Let the Parisians tell their story their way - and yes, even i have to get past my opinions on GAGA and CECE. 

love you Baron. You are oldman energy.  

OK, you are half-forgiven.  You "hated" my book --your opinion but was there another one around the time that was as thorough and as comprehensive as it was?  I made it for me!!  If I saw it in a bookstore, I would've bought it.  And until the post was deleted -- the book pretty much met 95% of my estimated projections.  And it returned me intangibles which I had not imagined -- two of which I'll share publicly that I got invited to a backstage tour of The Olympic Museum in Lausanne (which they don't even extend to IOC members) and a similar invite from the Samaranch Olympic Museum in Barcelona--which I also graciously accepted.  So to me, I achieved what I wanted with the book and some sweet intagibles.  If you didn't like it-- c'est la vie.  

I'm open to what will unfold tomorrow in Paris -- but I think I already know what it will be like -- and to my mind, was the extraordinary effort really worth it?  Or is it just an irresponsible ego trip for one man--the new Napoleon of the 2020s?  (I wonder if they will portray him tomorrow?)  We shall see.  

Oh, and thanks for (back-handed) "ageist" rejoinder also.   You'll get there too someday. 

Edited July 26 by baron-pierreIV

[Olympian2004]

And just to add, and I am sure it has been mentioned here before: I think that Paris set itself a very high bar with the fireworks and drone show around the Eiffel Tower on July 14. Those were truly stunning, and I hope that they re-create that vibe (at least to a degree) tonight at the opening ceremony.

 

 

[PikyoK]

6 hours ago, Sir Rols said:

Sarah Brightman in Spain and Beijing. Celine herself at Atlanta. Bjork in Athens. Keith Urban, John Legend et al in Tokyo. I’m sure there’s more our ceremony fans can list.

Ricky Martin & Peter Gabriel in Turin and Martin Garrix in PyeongChang

[Anthony]

2 minutes ago, PikyoK said:

Ricky Martin & Peter Gabriel in Turin and Martin Garrix in PyeongChang

Ricky was in Torino?!

[FYI]

And there was a DJ in PyeongChang?! Oh yeah, that's what Paris should do, too!! Time to party!!! 

[Bear]

6 hours ago, Red Centaur said:

Furthermore, involving American performers could be perceived as cultural imperialism, overshadowing local artists who deserve the platform to represent their country on such a prestigious stage. This move might inadvertently convey the message that local talent is insufficient or less valuable, which is not the case. It is also insulting to French culture, suggesting that it needs to rely on foreign artists to be relevant or engaging.

please. this is france we're talking about, one of the OG (cultural) imperialists  😭

[krow]

"if i saw my book, which i wrote, in a bookstore i would have bought it"

amazing. 

[LOUIS]

 

Right now, it's not looking good...

https://weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/l/1a8af5b9d8971c46dd5a52547f9221e22cd895d8d8639267a87df614d0912830?traffic_source=footerNav_Hourly

[TorchbearerAA]

16 minutes ago, LOUIS said:

 

Right now, it's not looking good...

https://weather.com/weather/hourbyhour/l/1a8af5b9d8971c46dd5a52547f9221e22cd895d8d8639267a87df614d0912830?traffic_source=footerNav_Hourly

Last night it was morning and afternoon rain and evening no rain. And woke up this morning and looks likte other way around unfortunately. Especially around 23:00 more than 60% chance of rain. 

[Red Centaur]

5 minutes ago, TorchbearerAA said:

Last night it was morning and afternoon rain and evening no rain. And woke up this morning and looks likte other way around unfortunately. Especially around 23:00 more than 60% chance of rain. 

light rain actually amplifies the lighting effects, so it isn't a bad thing. 

[baron-pierreIV]

1 hour ago, Anthony said:

Ricky was in Torino?!

Indeed.  He sang at the Closing "party" portion after the Flame was snuffed out. 

[PikyoK]

6 hours ago, sebastien1214 said:

If Salma Hayek were at the opening ceremony, no one would cry American imperialism.

What about Snoop Dogg.

12 hours ago, Shiruba98 said:

Ahead of what will be a unique opening ceremony, our friends in LA have decided to celebrate this historic occasion tomorrow with a relighting of the Olympic cauldron at the LA Memorial Coliseum!
https://www.instagram.com/p/C92frsVJ60T

 

That's what Sydney Olympic Park does too with the cauldron water fountain. They did this for London, Rio, and Tokyo. They even did that for the 20th anniversary of Sydney 2000. I don't know if they'll do that for Paris and beyond.

10 hours ago, kevzz said:

Looks like it's true. Lady Gaga on a floating piano island. Just disappointed that they have to import two foreign stars to sing the quintessential classic French songs rather than have a French artist doing it.

 

 

Well, the rumours are true after all! It will be fun to see her rendition playing a piano in the middle of the river. 

7 hours ago, Red Centaur said:

The inclusion of American performers in the Paris Olympic opening ceremony undermines the cultural integrity and national pride inherent in such an event. The Olympics are not merely a global athletic competition; they are also a celebration of the host country's unique culture and heritage. Paris, with its rich history in the arts, fashion, and music, offers an unparalleled opportunity to showcase French culture to the world. Utilising local talent emphasises the host nation’s identity and promotes its cultural assets, fostering a deeper connection with international audiences.

Furthermore, involving American performers could be perceived as cultural imperialism, overshadowing local artists who deserve the platform to represent their country on such a prestigious stage. This move might inadvertently convey the message that local talent is insufficient or less valuable, which is not the case. It is also insulting to French culture, suggesting that it needs to rely on foreign artists to be relevant or engaging.

There are concerns that the ceremony could be used to push American artists' new projects, transforming the event into a marketing platform rather than a cultural celebration. The Olympics traditionally stand against commercialisation, and allowing the ceremony to be co-opted for promotional purposes contradicts this principle. The Games should remain a pure, untainted celebration of athleticism and cultural diversity, free from commercial exploitation. By prioritising local performers, the Paris Olympics can highlight the diversity and richness of French artistic expression, staying true to the spirit of the Games, which is to celebrate and honour the host nation's culture.

I agree but it will be more french if anything. It's not like they're getting acts from every part of the world to perform. It'll only be for 15 minutes.

7 hours ago, Red Centaur said:

Kylie Minogue may appear as she has a French sounding surname. 😏

I think she has Irish origins but yes it does sound French-ish.

6 hours ago, Sir Rols said:

Félicitations!

Le jour de gloire est arrivé!

C'est la fête commence! Allons-y! Vive la France, Vive la Paris, Vive la Jeux Olympiques!

5 hours ago, krow said:

and you'll never let us forget it. that was mentioned in every one of my french classes along with the fact that it's an official language of the UN and of 72 countries or some post-colonial nonsense. 

and the EU too.

4 hours ago, Sir Rols said:

Lol! Your keyboard knows you too well

Same with mine! From one Eurovision fan to another.

48 minutes ago, Anthony said:

Ricky was in Torino?!

Yes.