The Opening Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics


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I seem to recall certain Commonwealth posters being upset when William/Catherine/Harry took on the role of Team GB Ambassadors. Best for HM to look neutral or some people would be checking to see if she smiled brighter for Team GB than she did for Canada/Australia/NZ/Barbados etc.
 
You can remain (publically) neutral and still look interested. Again, as the Queen isn't someone who fakes her emotion, I suspect it was all just another day in what is a very large 'office'.
 
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I have a feeling she would of been much more engaged if she'd of been watching one of the Equestrian events.


LaRae

I have no doubt about that. To me, she looked more tired than bored, and I can definitely understand why. She hosted a big reception just a bit earlier at Buckingham Palace, and prior to that, was doing the last part of her Jubilee Tour and did another reception on Monday. She has a lot of energy, but I think that even she can reach her limit. Yes, it's disappointing not to see her smile more (she really does have a lovely smile), but I think we can give her a break. She's been working extra hard this year, and I venture she's more than ready for some nice, relaxing time at Balmoral, or Windsor.
 
For the most part, I thought the Opening Ceremony was well done and very moving. Favorite parts were the rising of the forged Olympic ring(s), the Queen becoming a Bond girl, and the lighting/forming of the Olympic Cauldrin. The only part that dragged for me was the 'National Heathcare/Mary Poppins fights the Bid Bad Monster' bit. And maybe it's just because of my age, but I don't see the appeal of Paul McCartney. He doesn't seem to be that great of a singer.
 
I have no doubt about that. To me, she looked more tired than bored, and I can definitely understand why. She hosted a big reception just a bit earlier at Buckingham Palace, and prior to that, was doing the last part of her Jubilee Tour and did another reception on Monday. She has a lot of energy, but I think that even she can reach her limit. Yes, it's disappointing not to see her smile more (she really does have a lovely smile), but I think we can give her a break. She's been working extra hard this year, and I venture she's more than ready for some nice, relaxing time at Balmoral, or Windsor.

i too thought she was tired... a long day at the office. and she had to be on for all day -she had just got finished hosting all those heads of stte at her place and then had to go look interested for 4 hours - and Im sure she would have much more enjoyed the history of the isles portion more than Frankie and June.
 
Sir Paul certainly is a fine composer, and I think his voice has held up well - I hope I can still sing when I'm 70.

HM did look tired, but a lot of people did (even some of the athletes).
 
Great show, my fav was the James Bond & Queen stunt.

The Queen herself looked as if she was way past her bedtime. Picking her nails when Team GB marched in ... well, of course she is forgiven everything. How cool of her to do the trailer with Daniel Craig.
 
i too thought she was tired... a long day at the office. and she had to be on for all day -she had just got finished hosting all those heads of stte at her place and then had to go look interested for 4 hours - and Im sure she would have much more enjoyed the history of the isles portion more than Frankie and June.

I totally agree with you. Furthermore, Her Majesty has been working all over the 3 days prior to the Opening Ceremony yesterday: IOC Committee Reception on Monday, lunch at Downing Street on Tuesday, Isle of Wight Diamond Jubilee visit on Wednesday and then the Heads of State & Gov Reception earlier yesterday. Plus remembering that she still has engagements on Saturday with the Olympic site visit & a visit to London City Airport! It'd drive me crazy let alone the Queen is already 86 years old & has been extremely busy over the last 4-5 months. She must have been burnt out by this stage but she still carries on with it. Another side note, i also saw that Her Majesty had the same earplugs like the Diamond Jubilee Concert yesterday, so it may prevent her from noticing that it's GM team parade. It was a really long ceremony plus a parade of more than 200 countries and by the time of after 10PM, we can't expect an 86 years old lady to have 100% focus like when she was young.
 
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/28/s...l?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-londonlive

this is what I mean, they looked sharp but there should have been a bit of softness to the cloth too, to be a bit more appealing.


................Making their entrance at the London Olympics on Friday night, members of the United States team, wearing their controversial blazers and berets by Ralph Lauren, invited comparisons to a wayward flock of paratroopers sent on a mission from Gatsby country. While their outfits had been roundly criticized for appearing militaristic, and for having been made in China, the sight of the 500 athletes in their spiffy dress uniforms ultimately gave them an advantage when seen on television: they looked really intimidating..............
 
I truly had a wonderful time watching the opening ceremony. Excellent job! :flowers:
 
it will just cause a bit of sniggering around the world, he can not really have meant to make a nazi salute, that would be too stupid, it is the camara that caught the moment.

If this was really a German diplomat, his career ended exactly this moment. How dare he!!
 
I really enjoyed the opening ceremony and the Queen's bit with James Bond and the Corgis was priceless. I thought the lighting of the cauldron was magnificent, but really, Paul McCartney has lost what little voice he had- he is way past his prime and I felt so badly for him that he was performing at a subpar level. I like most of the uniforms, well the uniforms from GB were a little unusual but they did look comfortable. Anyhow, the British as always came through splendidly and put on a great show.
 
Is that appropriate? Dignitary gives questionable salute to German athletes as Boris and Camilla look on in a fit of giggles | Mail Online

here is a youtube clip of the waving, have to admit it is a bit strange way of waving, the faces of boris and camilla having fun about it are priceless, boris is soo charismatic


it will just cause a bit of sniggering around the world, he can not really have meant to make a nazi salute, that would be too stupid, it is the camara that caught the moment.
 
Photos
Ceremonia de inauguración de los Juegos Olímpicos de Londres 2012: Galería en Bekia

After having slept only for 4 and half hours I feel unwell. And I am angry to myself, why did I stay awake and watch the ceremony, because it was so disappointing. I love the Olympics and watch different sports there as much as I can, and the opening ceremomy gives me the olympic spirit that lasts during the whole games. This time it didn't happen.

For me the good things were
- the countryside at the beginning was good
- the children singing
- the parade with the olympic flag and the bearers of it: Haile Gebrselassie, Ban Ki-moon and others
- David Beckham and sir Steve Redgrave were honoured as the cauldron carriers, the Beckham part was filmed great, it looked very good: the river, the night, the lights and a handsome man. And the organizing committee succeeded to give Beckham a big role at the opening ceremony, although he wasn't at the stadium. And that was a good choice, he isn't an olympic athlete.
- One great music piece: Chariots of Fire, played by London Symphony Orchestra
- memorizing the World War and 7th July
- The speeches of lord Sebastian Coe and Jacques Rogge
- The athletes marching in and the royals and head of states cheering for them.

The negative things
- The Queen and James Bond. There was nothing good in it. Mixing the Regent of our time, The Queen, with a fictional figure was so vain and it took all the dignity from the opening ceremony. The Queen is unique, no other country has that. She could have entered in her normal way with a fanfare, that would have been dignified and grand. That would have given the final touch to this ceremony
- The wonderful music piece, Chariots of Fire, was totally destroyed by putting Mr Bean there, he could have performed with the Arctic Monkeys or with sir Paul.
- There should have been texts on TV so that one could have understood what happened. People like me, who don’t know the history of Great Britain very well and Harry Potter at all, didn’t understand much and it was boring. Our finnish commentators tried to explain it, but it didn't help.
- Almost all the music was bad, and sir Paul in the end wasn’t a highlight. I love sir Paul, but his “Hey Jude” was a tired performance and too melancholic to end the ceremony.
- Lighting the Olympic fire, perhaps the biggest disappointment. I was waiting for a great former british athlete to get the honour so that the moment would have been dignified and memorable. Now it wasn’t and it didn’t raise the Olympic spirit at all. If London wanted many lighters, they could have chosen seven great athletes to do it.
- The ceremony was too long. The first part before the inmarch of the athletes should have been shortened.
 
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This was a great opening ceremony! It was great to watch. :flowers:
 
If this was really a German diplomat, his career ended exactly this moment. How dare he!!

What has he done - the photo is blurred because he is waving his left arm in the air? So what has he done?
 
it will just cause a bit of sniggering around the world, he can not really have meant to make a nazi salute, that would be too stupid, it is the camara that caught the moment.
I don't think this was meant to be a Nazi salute. Seriously. He wouldn't be that stupid. Furthermore he was using his left arm. Maybe that's just his (indeed weird) way of waving.
 
The reaction to the Opening Ceremony here is surprisingly positive. Usually it's a marmite review with some loving and some hating but alot of people are saying the same thing; exceptional. I thought the change from the meadow to the Industrial revolution was staggeringly good, Her Majesty made the greatest PR move possible and is now being feted in all the newspapers (again!) and the Mr Bean skit has proved to be very popular too. Most of the praise is for the way the cauldron was actually lit which I thought was fantastic and most of the criticism has been levelled at Paul McCartney's appearance because of a bad choice of song but also the fact that he evidently wanted to mime and couldn't when the backing track started too early confusing everyone. My dressmaker lives in Stratford and called me when the fireworks began and the noise was deafening!
 
I do have to wonder what the designer of the UK opening ceremony uniforms was thinking...gold armpits? Not sure I follow that.

Watching the cycling this morning, looks to be a lovely day in the countryside, lots of sun and beautiful pastoral views. Great segment about/on the Isle of Mann.


LaRae
 
Sir Paul was abysmal, his voice, he missed his entry into the song, he is way past it. I am glad they only used Beckham for the transport of the torch over the river Thames and that was it. I loved the comment on the DM that the Tower Bridge had to open up if only for that big Ego of his.

I loved the final, the fact that not one person was chosen but some great athletes who passed on the torches to the younger, unknown athletes to light the flame. Great idea.

This article has some funny "caption this" re the Queen's face
Queen Elizabeth II's Entrance at Olympics Opening Ceremony an Internet Meme? (VIDEO)

This one is great
http://images.christianpost.com/ful...-deal-loooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooool.jpg
 
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The actor hugh bonneville (lord grantham in downton abbey) receives various answers on his following question

Hugh Bonneville@hughbon
Why was the #OpeningCeremony not shown live in USA?

Hugh Bonneville@hughbon
RT @ChristinaBWho: @hughbon Well, according to NBC, Americans are too stupid to watch live. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/tv/showtracker/la-et-st-olympics-nbc-defends-blackout-20120727,0,6531230.story …

home sewn@home_sewn
@hughbon in case lesbians kissed.
Retweeted by Hugh Bonneville
 
Beijing was a masterpiece production and I for one thoroughly enjoyed the Opening Ceremony because of its militaristic precision. Not forgoing just how many people were a part of the performance and the artistic direction with which the ceremony was executed. It was an awe inspiring experience.

The London ceremony was indeed very different and rightly so. It's pointless to compare such events, rather, there will be some that resonate well with you and others that don't.


The Chinese Opening is supposed to be very impressive but I found it boring and now have a rather vague memory of it.

I thought the London event was wonderful!
But, eye of the beholder, I guess. :flowers:
 
NBC in their broadcast has edited out each of the nations being greeted by their Head of State/head of delegation with the exceptions of Spain, Russia and of course the US.

That's why I wanted to watch it live. American TV coverage of international events sucks.
 
Here in the UK, the bit that most people are talking about is the Queen and James Bond. I thought it was great fun, two icons recognised around the world together with the corgis who almost stole the show. Apparently the Queen got it right in the very first take, hence why she's known by those in the business who have worked on her Christmas speeches as 'One-Take Windsor'. A few people on Twitter were joking that she has the Best Supporting Actress BAFTA in the bag after that!

We had the traditional pomp and ceremony at the Diamond Jubilee lately. This was a more relaxed, informal, tongue-in-cheek in moment. The Queen is the most regal, the most dignified woman on the planet if you ask me. A two minute cameo in the opening ceremony doesn't diminish that in the slightest. In fact, I suspect it'll make her even more revered in this country and around the world.
 
I loved the Queen and James Bond segment. It does nothing to diminish her standing.


LaRae
 
that wa a nice Opening Ceremony:flowers:
I always love Princess Maxima catching energie:)
Queen Elizabeth ooked FABULOUS and the Trailer with Bond was so funny.
 
The wonderful music piece, Chariots of Fire, was totally destroyed by putting Mr Bean there, he could have performed with the Arctic Monkeys or with sir Paul.

Chariots of Fire could never be 'destroyed'; it stands the test of time, and I think the segment was actually a tribute to how iconic that piece of music has become.

There should have been texts on TV so that one could have understood what happened. People like me, who don’t know the history of Great Britain very well and Harry Potter at all, didn’t understand much and it was boring. Our finnish commentators tried to explain it, but it didn't help.

This is a problem for your Finnish commentators, not the organisers. All the commentators were thoroughly briefed beforehand, and had been provided with guides to what it all meant. At every opening ceremony, the commentators have to translate what's on screen to the audience. Here in the UK, I distinctly remember the commentators having to clue us all in on what was going on in Beijing. We had no idea what all those robotic drummers meant, until the commentators put it in perspective. It seems to me you were let down by your TV station.

Lighting the Olympic fire, perhaps the biggest disappointment. I was waiting for a great former british athlete to get the honour so that the moment would have been dignified and memorable. Now it wasn’t and it didn’t raise the Olympic spirit at all. If London wanted many lighters, they could have chosen seven great athletes to do it.

Clearly another failure of Finnish TV. Right from 2005 and the bidding process, the whole raison d'etre of the London Games has been to 'Inspire a Generation'. That's its motto. Trying to encourage a generation of young people more interested in Playstations to get off their rear ends and have a go at sport. That's why 7 young athletes were handed the flame by Great British Olympic legends, who had chosen the recipients, to light the cauldron. Handing over the Olympic spirit, from one generation to the next, that's what it was all about.

The ceremony was too long. The first part before the inmarch of the athletes should have been shortened.

The London OC was shorter than Beijing's which lasted over 4 hours. London's ran slightly long because the parade of nations took longer than expected, despite the organisers deliberately playing upbeat music during the parade to try and encourage a swift pace.
 
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