2012 Olympics!

**Winkster** · 07-28-2012, 03:37 AM

Excellent - I can talk about it now!

I loved the whole ceremony, Very "British".

The Red Arrows flypast at the start (great shots of London as they flew by) set the scene nicely.

The themimg was genius!

I mean - sheep, cows, geese? Who'd have thought!

I'd read about these and was dreading the ceremony but I thought Danny Boyle worked them all in to an amazing opening piece - very rural and quintessentially British (though we don't all dance around Maypoles I hasten to add!).

Jerusalem (English), Danny Boy (Irish), Flower of Scotland (Scottish) and Cwm Rhondda (Welsh) all sung by kids from their own nation as the "British" scenes of country pursuits, horse and carriages, dancing etc went on in the stadium was inspired!

I thought the Industrial Revolution part was amazing. The dancers and actors, sights and sounds were fanastic - and I loved all the drummers. It reminded me a bit of the Tapestry of Nations parade at Epcot and created a real buzz. Loved the smoking chimneys rising up from the ground as "Isambard Kingdom Brunel" (suggestions are that some American commentators thought Kenny Brannagh had come as Abe Lincoln!!) and his gang looked on with (suffragettes in the background!). Very dark and atmospheric.

The "forging the rings" was amazing too - seeing the "molten metal" forge the rings and then have them lift up glowing and spitting sparks. The ariel nighttime shots looked stunning.

And then of course James Bond collecting the Queen from 'Buck House, only to parachute in - love it!!

Thought the kids signing the National Anthem was a nice idea too - shame the Queen couldn't have looked a bit more enthusiastic though!

I thought the NHS tribute was a bit random - but done really well. The Neverland sequence was really cool - and I loved the huge Voldemort as JK Rowling read her bit ad Mary Poppins and the Child-Catcher danced around - random!!

And Mr Bean on Chariots of Fire! Great idea!! Loved the video sequence too. Reports here are that he stole the show but I loved the whole thing.

The music and TV section was great although I'd have liked to have seen more of the clips projected onto the side of the house. Loved the people forming the Peace sign though.

Once Brazillian commentator described The Jam's "Going Underground" as "that music from John Travolta's dancing film in the 70s" - DOH!!

And who thought to have Tim Berners-Lee (invetor of the internet) there? It really was a showcase of all great Britons (and Dizzee Rascal).

Then "Becks" screaming down the Thames on a speedboat carring the Olympic Torch held aloft by a leading ladies footballer (soccer player to you guys). I loved the shots as they sped under Tower Bridge under a cascade of sparks.

Then in came the teams - and really nice to see the USA getting the second biggest cheer of the night! Lots of coutries that I'd never even heard of though. Maybe we should show this to kids in geography lessons?

Then of course in came the Brits to huge applause, led by a tearful looking Sir Chris Hoy - as David Bowies "Heroes" belted out. No favoritism shown there then - but a proud moment for us Brits anyway (and we did give you guys a big cheer anyway!).

Loved the flying birds on the cycles - more genius creativity!

The speeches were surprisingly rousing too - Seb Coe and Jacque Rogge did a great job - although getting the announcements in French first was a bit annoying considering which side of the channel we were on!

Muhammad Ali looked a shadow of his former self but amazing none the less - really inspiring.

Then in came Sir Steve Redgrave - our greatest Olympian, only for him and a host of other legendary UK Olympians to hand torches to the young athlete to light the cauldron as a nod toward the future - more genius stuff and a great touch.

Personally, I thought the cauldron was the star of the show (although I was waiting for it to break down at any moment). Luckily it didn't and I thought the effect was amazing - by far the best torch lighting ceremony I've ever seen at any Olympics - and a neat answer to the question of what were all those bowls the kids were carrying in with the teams!

I'd been expecting the worst from the ceremony but was blown away by it in the end.

Sure, as a Brit, I'm competely biased but I thought it was an amazing night!

**englanddg** · 07-28-2012, 04:09 AM

The Queen did seem a bit grumpy. But, here's what I think was running through her mind:

/me runs away quickly

In all seriousness, everyone keeps trying to compare these ceremonies to the extremely impressive one from China. While China's opening was indeed a spectical, I found this one far more enjoyable.

It didn't take itself too seriously, but had plenty of "wow" moments (the "Ring Forge" scene was amazing!)

I found these opening ceremonies simply enjoyable, worthy of watching again. I haven't felt that way about opening ceremonies since the 1984 LA Olympics with their flying saucer and epic John Williams score.

**MINI Mouse** · 07-28-2012, 05:34 AM

Lol, funny picture

The part where James Bond came to pick her up, together with the cute doggies can only happen in the UK I think ;-) Brilliant.

And I loved, loved the part with Mr Bean, great 'break' between amazing performences.

And wow, wow, the lighting of the Olympic flame was sooooo beautifull!!!!

And I love how the Tower Bridge looked, I love London, this really made me want to go back soon!!

**lionkingfanno1** · 07-28-2012, 05:54 AM

I'm a Brit and really do not like Britain if Im honest but the ceremony last night was good and the queen sat there being miserable totally expresses why I am not a fan of my home country even the british athletes weren't paying attention and texting away while the speeches were going on. We are known by America etc for being 'etiquette' and full of manners and unfortunately the queen and the athletes showed the world that we do not have any manners at all. Only downfall of the night

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**mouselove** · 07-28-2012, 06:27 AM

I think the ceremony was much better than I anticipated although I'm not a fan of the queen (hope i don't offend anyone). With all the controversy surrounding Ralph Lauren and the clothing being made in China, I must say he hit it out of the park! I thought Team USA looked fabulous!

**joanna71985** · 07-28-2012, 11:11 AM

I loved the Dream Squence of the event (although, giant Queen of Hearts and Voldy were just creepy!).

**MINI Mouse** · 07-28-2012, 12:03 PM

Originally Posted by joanna71985

I loved the Dream Squence of the event (although, giant Queen of Hearts and Voldy were just creepy!).

Oh yeah, almost forgot about that, and all the Mary Poppins, great

**joanna71985** · 07-28-2012, 02:34 PM

Been watching events all day! So far have seen men's archery (US vs South Korea, and US vs Italy), men's beach volleyball (Canada vs Britain), and currently watching swimming. I also watched a bit of biking earlier (there was a nasty spill from one of the bikers).

**That's So Raven** · 07-29-2012, 12:11 AM

I love the Olympics. I'm a huge sports fan (with a tattoo to prove it), so this is the greatest sporting event ever to me. I will watch everything, but my favorites are track, gymnastics, swimming, and well just about everything.

**Winkster** · 07-29-2012, 01:34 AM

I saw a great quote on Twitter about the opening ceremony which summed it up perfectly for me...

I think its main strength was it's utter confidence in the mosaic of our culture, past and present. Unapologetic, proud, joyful and wonderfully odd.

**MINI Mouse** · 07-29-2012, 03:20 AM

Originally Posted by Winkster

I saw a great quote on Twitter about the opening ceremony which summed it up perfectly for me...

I think its main strength was it's utter confidence in the mosaic of our culture, past and present. Unapologetic, proud, joyful and wonderfully odd.

Brilliant

I said before that I like to watch all sports, well, that's not exactly right, I don't like the fightingsports, forgot about that

But for the rest, bring it!!

And we got our first silver yesterday with ladies swimming (4x400) They were very disappointed as they won all the last races, but I think they did very well

**Winkster** · 07-29-2012, 03:50 AM

I can't stand boxing. How people can get entertainment watching others trying to knock each other out by punching them in the head is beyond me. It seems so barbaric!!

Congrats on the silver medal though - great start to the games!

**englanddg** · 07-29-2012, 04:11 AM

Football football football football football....did I mention...football?

This is my pre-World Cup fix!

(and for those other americans like me, I mean soccer, not hand-egg)

**disneymama2000** · 07-29-2012, 04:36 AM

Originally Posted by englanddg

Football football football football football....did I mention...football?

This is my pre-World Cup fix!

(and for those other americans like me, I mean soccer, not hand-egg)

I like watching track and field!

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**Curious Alice** · 07-29-2012, 10:05 AM

My thoughts on the opening ceremony:

My favorite part was the nightmare sequence...so bizarre! Loved Mary Poppins! Got a bit bored during the part about the two teenagers falling in love...yawn. James Bond and the Queen...so surprising and fun. Oh, and Rowan Atkinson...LOL The cauldron lighting was amazing. And the fireworks--WOW! But too bad the TV coverage did such a terrible job of showing it.

There are two really bad things about the London Olympics: The hideous font and that awful logo...what were they thinking???