Paris 2024 Ceremonies - Verdict

[Bear]

3 minutes ago, mr.bernham said:

Please say sike this is so much better lmao. 

well its common these last couple of years for the Paralympic opening ceremony to be significantly better than the Olympic counterpart (see: Tokyo 2020)

[Sir Rols]

13 minutes ago, Olympics2028 said:

Although the music Dion sings is sort of forgettable

Forgettable????? Quelle Horreur!

“Hymn d’Amour” is absolutely iconic - one of Piaf’s greatest - and could hardly be more “Paris”. It’s been in my head all day.

I think Celine’s performance was worth every cent of her $2 million.

I might start a separate thread for the music in the next day or so. I’;d love to talk more about it and hope people post clips of the various songs. The whole soundtrack of the ceremony was one of my highlights.

[sebastien1214]

5 minutes ago, Sir Rols said:

I might start a separate thread for the music in the next day or so. I’;d love to talk more about it and hope people post clips of the various songs. The whole soundtrack of the ceremony was one of my highlights.

Clearly THE highlight of the ceremony for me. Victor le Masne's compositions were impeccable. The playlist of the athletes' parade was so rhythmic and French. And above all well placed. For example, when the French boat passed, it was Johnny then Michel Polnareff with "Lettre a France". For the French it means a lot and it had a powerful meaning.

[JesseSaenz]

1 hour ago, venuedesignlover said:

Could not put it better than this.

From a spectator perspective I am angry and want a refund. 

Just plain awful. Once the boats passed we all were glued to a tv screen in the pouring rain. 

 

Did we all just fly to Paris for the opening ceremony to WATCH IT ON A TV SCREEN!?

L.A. please don't **** it up. PLEASE.

[TorchbearerSydney]

I thought the execution was great..we are talking about Marie Antoinette 

[LatinXTC]

3 minutes ago, JesseSaenz said:

From a spectator perspective I am angry and want a refund. 

Just plain awful. Once the boats passed we all were glued to a tv screen in the pouring rain. 

 

Did we all just fly to Paris for the opening ceremony to WATCH IT ON A TV SCREEN!?

L.A. please don't **** it up. PLEASE.

My thoughts throughout this was how pissed those who paid a ticket to see it must be. Where were you seated based on the location of the artistic segments? 

[StefanMUC]

5 minutes ago, JesseSaenz said:

From a spectator perspective I am angry and want a refund. 

Just plain awful. Once the boats passed we all were glued to a tv screen in the pouring rain. 

 

Did we all just fly to Paris for the opening ceremony to WATCH IT ON A TV SCREEN!?

L.A. please don't **** it up. PLEASE.

Serious question: what did you expect from watching a boat parade?

[JesseSaenz]

Just now, LatinXTC said:

My thoughts throughout this was how pissed those who paid a ticket to see it must be. Where were you seated based on the location of the artistic segments? 

A few things. I paid slightly more because I just KNEW some of the outer sections would only see the boats. 

So I paid to be in Category "A" right where all the main acts are supposed to be.

However, you don't get to select your seat! So many of us were tucked in little corners or sections where we couldn't even get a good view of the pathetic little screen.

The rain was almost an after thought. 

The drag queens and last supper bit. My god. I'm not even religious but kept asking "Why!?" Was that necessary? On the biggest platform. 

Most of the Eiffel Tower was blocked so that really cool laser show wasn't visible by the vast majority of ticket holders.

I knew it would be difficult but boy am I completely let down. Keep it in stadiums in a singular location. 

LA has a lot to learn from this. So many things to avoid. 

What a shame.

[LatinXTC]

23 minutes ago, Bear said:

well its common these last couple of years for the Paralympic opening ceremony to be significantly better than the Olympic counterpart (see: Tokyo 2020)

I'll have to check it out. I don't give the paralympic OC much attention since the production quality is significantly less. All things considered i enjoyed the Tokyo oc but definitely not in the top 5 of my favorites. It's shocking how worse Beijing's was, and I know it's for a winter games but China is not one to cheapen out on an OC as we saw in 2008.

[LOUIS]

17 minutes ago, StefanMUC said:

Smurf Dionysus made me cringe a little, though of course the diversity, feminism, LGBTQ+ themes were a huge middle finger to lots of „dignitaries“ from many countries and probably had both Marine LP and the Saudis cringe simultaneously - you win‘t see that in Riyadh 20XX. Kudos to the creative team for being so brave there.

Is an olympic opening ceremony the ideal setting to give a "huge middle finger" on ideological grounds? 

[JesseSaenz]

3 minutes ago, StefanMUC said:

Serious question: what did you expect from watching a boat parade?

Well the thing is that we weren't even assigned seats until very recently. So it was difficult to know if your seat was even worth the money you paid for it. By far and large the answer was "no"

It was great on paper terrible execution.

Glad I could be part of a historic day in Paris and one that they worked so hard for, but overall the opening for me was a total let down.

I'll be at the closing and hand off. Hopefully having it at Stade de France helps.

 

[Citius Altius Fortius]

"Paris" had the intention to make an opening ceremony in the heart of the city for a wider audience than in a stadium. The organisers planned to include some iconic sights - like Tour Eiffel, Grand Palais, Louvre, Notre-Dame, ... They wanted to connect the live action along the Seine with Video footage and pictures of the teams on the boats.

That caused a lot of problems:

- you can watch the live action only, which takes place right were you are. The live action, which takes place at other places is only to be seen on big screens

- you can't follow live action taking place on rooftops, when you are at street-level. You have to watch it on big screens.

- the audience, which was there, didn't have the same experience: e.g. at the Conciergerie it saw the "Revolution segment" - at Trocadero it saw a laser show, listened to boring speeches and the flame for "five minutes" ...

The result: the video footage, the live action (where you were standing/sitting), the live action covered by live-broadcast on big screens (where you were not standing/sitting), the live action, which took place on rooftops, covered by live-broadcast on big screens for everybody made the story-telling a huge challenge and not very enjoyable for the audience at the Seine/Trocadero in my point of view...

This might have worked for the TV-audience, but the heavy rain made caused a lot of problems with the live action - the "can-can-dancers" looked not really professional - it was a huge chaos. The dancers on the bridges, the skaters on the pontoons and the catwalk was a wet mess.

The athlete parade on the boats flawed the outfits of the teams - due the cameras were to far away and couldn't show the outfits from different angles. Why didn't they show the French country-names on these "flags"?

I would like to end my "verdict" with the positives: fantastic costumes, the horse on the Seine looked amazing (but the segment took much too long), the laser show at Tour Eiffel was impressive (but nothing really new).

The idea with the balloon cauldron is nice, but I would have preferred a real flame.

Great intentions aren't equivalent to a great ceremony.

Edited July 27, 2024 by Citius Altius Fortius

[JesseSaenz]

10 minutes ago, LatinXTC said:

My thoughts throughout this was how pissed those who paid a ticket to see it must be. Where were you seated based on the location of the artistic segments? 

And the kicker was the RELENTLESS rain. It seemed to only get worse as the opening went on.

 

Truthfully, I wouldn't have cared if we were given a proper show, but we didn't even get that. 

I'll get over it soon enough. But man, I hope the French liked it because a lot of us visiting were visibly unsatisfied.

[Olympics2028]

1 hour ago, JesseSaenz said:

Once the boats passed we all were glued to a tv screen in the pouring rain. 

 

 

I'm not a fan of live presentations that cater way too much to TV viewers or favor canned filmed segments. This segment shows costumed participants in Paris's main library interspersed with mannequins on poles. Huh? Where's the kitchen sink?

https://youtu.be/TgzDfVfn6w8?si=_HpvPUJGzpp1c9Qz&t=291

In 2012, the segment with the actor who played James Bond filmed at Buckingham Palace, and that showed a woman (supposedly the Queen) jumping out of a helicopter, was another wacky moment that made those ceremonies seem less "Olympics" and more like a wild, crazy TV sitcom. 

[StefanMUC]

7 minutes ago, LOUIS said:

Is an olympic opening ceremony the ideal setting to give a "huge middle finger" on ideological grounds? 

Karl Popper: no tolerance for the intolerant. And who someone loves is only made ideological by culture war fetishists on the right.

6 minutes ago, JesseSaenz said:

Well the thing is that we weren't even assigned seats until very recently. So it was difficult to know if your seat was even worth the money you paid for it. By far and large the answer was "no"

It was great on paper terrible execution.

Glad I could be part of a historic day in Paris and one that they worked so hard for, but overall the opening for me was a total let down.

I'll be at the closing and hand off. Hopefully having it at Stade de France helps.

 

Yeah, can understand the frustration about the ticket assignment. That intransparency was a major flaw in the whole ticket sales programme. Still, as usual with a street (river) parade, you see someone marching (floating) by at where you‘re positioned and don‘t get to see what‘s going on elsewhere unless there‘s screens. Hope you will enjoy the rest of your stay more.

[JesseSaenz]

1 minute ago, Olympics2028 said:

I'm not a fan of live presentations that cater way too much to TV viewers or favor canned filmed segments. This segment shows costumed participants in Paris's main library interspersed with mannequins on poles. Huh? Where's the kitchen sink?

https://youtu.be/TgzDfVfn6w8?si=_HpvPUJGzpp1c9Qz&t=291

In 2012, the segment with the actor who played James Bond filmed at Buckingham Palace, and that showed a woman (supposedly the Queen) jumping out of a helicopter, was another wacky moment that made those ceremonies seem less "Olympics" and more like a wild, crazy TV sitcom. 

Which is totally fine. But for the prices it is completely unacceptable.

The organizers promised us a show and in the end we were better off watching it at a bar or viewing party indoors.

Again, I'm just glad I was a part of a historic day, but unfortunately the opening was a dud for me. 

 

Now I'm definitely worried for LA.

 

If Paris with it's plethora of history and culture couldn't make it work, what on Earth is LA going to do!?

[jotagá caRIOca]

6 hours ago, MisterSG1 said:

Achei que seria óbvio escolher Zidane como o portador final da tocha...: de novo, ninguém fora da França sabe quem são essas pessoas. Eu sabia quem era Tretiak, por exemplo, quando ele acendeu a pira em Sochi, apesar da Rússia estar do outro lado do mundo.

In my opinion, it's not about being known outside of France or anything like that. It has to do with the representativeness that these figures have for the sport locally. And they're both very well known (at least here in Brazil).

[JesseSaenz]

Just now, StefanMUC said:

Karl Popper: no tolerance for the intolerant. And who someone loves is only made ideological by culture war fetishists on the right.

Yeah, can understand the frustration about the ticket assignment. That intransparency was a major flaw in the whole ticket sales programme. Still, as usual with a street (river) parade, you see someone marching (floating) by at where you‘re positioned and don‘t get to see what‘s going on elsewhere unless there‘s screens. Hope you will enjoy the rest of your stay more.

I must add that Paris as a host city has been EXCELLENT! 10/10. 

 

Everyone seems to know their role from the Metro workers, to security, to volunteers. On this end they deserve all the praise.

 

Merci to the people of Paris!

[jotagá caRIOca]

A fragile ceremony. The pace was too slow, due to the idea of doing most of the show on the river. The best part was when the ceremony passed by Champ de Mars, showing that it would be a great location for the whole ceremony.

[AustralianFan]

37 minutes ago, Sir Rols said:

Forgettable????? Quelle Horreur!

“Hymn d’Amour” is absolutely iconic - one of Piaf’s greatest - and could hardly be more “Paris”. It’s been in my head all day.

I think Celine’s performance was worth every cent of her $2 million.

I might start a separate thread for the music in the next day or so. I’;d love to talk more about it and hope people post clips of the various songs. The whole soundtrack of the ceremony was one of my highlights.

@Olympics2028 you said yourself you have not even watched the Ceremony, and yet here you are in a thread expressing your verdict on an event you have not even seen. Give me a break.

I agree @Sir Rols absolutely re Celine Dion and that song she sang was far and above the best vocal performance I have seen at an Olympic Ceremony for many years.  Truly majestic, emotional and spot on.

[Citius Altius Fortius]

1 hour ago, JesseSaenz said:

Which is totally fine. But for the prices it is completely unacceptable.

May I ask you, what did you pay for your opening ceremony ticket?

Edited July 27, 2024 by Citius Altius Fortius

[LOUIS]

7 minutes ago, StefanMUC said:

Karl Popper: no tolerance for the intolerant. And who someone loves is only made ideological by culture war fetishists on the right.

You proved my point exactly. In a OC you welcome the (whole) world. It 's not a platform for left-right debates...

[Olympics2028]

1 hour ago, JesseSaenz said:

If Paris with it's plethora of history and culture couldn't make it work, what on Earth is LA going to do!?

For one thing, SoFi Stadium is a visually airless setting, so that alone will make it come off like it's smaller than real life. The Super Bowl halftime show there 2 years ago indicated its limitations. Or just the opposite of the tiny figure of Celine Dion standing against the backdrop of the gargantuan Eiffel Tower.

Producers of entertainment in today's era also want big, goofy, noisy and unconventional. Tear down the old, in with the new, folks! That's why LA 2028 will be lucky if it at least keeps its budget under control. The only other thing likely to be memorable are if certain athletes manage to be charismatic breakout stars or (hopefully not) there's an act of terrorism.

I read a book several years ago about the Olympics and it mentioned how the 1984 games in LA opened in a way that was showy but, to the author, charmless. Any Olympics "charm" has been long suffocated.

[sebastien1214]

21 minutes ago, LOUIS said:

You proved my point exactly. In a OC you welcome the (whole) world. It 's not a platform for left-right debates...

Well, the Olympics have always been political platforms, starting with the opening ceremonies. Plenty of examples starting with Rio and the sequence on global warming. Maybe Paris did more, but basically nothing new.

[Bear]

20 minutes ago, Olympics2028 said:

For one thing, SoFi Stadium is a visually airless setting, so that alone will make it come off like it's smaller than real life. The Super Bowl halftime show there 2 years ago indicated its limitations. Or just the opposite of the tiny figure of Celine Dion standing against the backdrop of the gargantuan Eiffel Tower.

Producers of entertainment in today's era also want big, goofy, noisy and unconventional. Tear down the old, in with the new, folks! That's why LA 2028 will be lucky if it at least keeps its budget under control. The only other thing likely to be memorable are if certain athletes manage to be charismatic breakout stars or (hopefully not) there's an act of terrorism.

I read a book several years ago about the Olympics and it mentioned how the 1984 games in LA opened in a way that was showy but, to the author, charmless. Any Olympics "charm" has been long suffocated.

oh my god shut up already