A big bell, William Blake, Brunel (played by Branagh), Burners-Lee, Bond, Mr Bean, The Beatles, Bohemian Rhapsody, bouncing beds, balloons, bicycles, Becks and "Betty" .... bloody brilliant Boyle, but perhaps just a bit bizarre and baffling to much of the world's audience. Just what was Slumdog Millionaire's director, Danny Boyle, trying to portray with his 'Isles of Wonder' Olympic opening ceremony?
If you missed the point, read more about it here and here.
.... high jacking the great "Chariots of Fire"!
Not forgetting the Queen's cameo role, being stirred but not shaken by Bond... James Bond.... before she "parachuted" into the Olympic stadium......
And that grin on Beck's face from the back of the speedboat, ferrying the Olympic Torch on its final leg of the 70-day tour of the British Isles....
...before the lighting of that magnificent cauldron by aspiring young athletes - the next generation of Olympians, nominated by previous generations of Olympians ....
Read more about "Betty" (code name for the cauldron) over here
Other nice touches were acknowledging the Suffragette Movement - this being the first Olympics in which every participating country includes women in its team; paying tribute to the nurses of the National Health Service, and the wonderful work of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, and a pause to remember the casualties of both World Wars and the victims of the July 2005 London bombings.
I found the whirlwind tour of Britain's pop culture a bit disjointed and chaotic, and I was not too struck by the illustration of the social networking evolution (Girl meets Boy via Facebook), on the back of the tribute to the British inventor of the World Wide Web, Tim Berners-Lee.
Of course, with 204 countries taking part, the athletes passing out parade was always going to take a while. I passed the time playing the "Been there! Been there! Going there! Born there! Lived there! Didn't know that was even a country!" game until Team GB finally made their appearance in... er... rather Elvis jumpsuitesque outfits!
I do wonder what Her Majesty made of it all....
Photos obviously not my own
Did you watch the Opening Ceremony? If so, what did you think?
Great post - great opening - loved it. Fx
ReplyDeleteGreat post Nat.
ReplyDeleteIt was absolutely breathtaking. I stayed up till after 2am in the morning to watch it and wasn't sorry. Just a pity it takes so long for the teams to walk in but on the other side everybody gets their moment of glory doing so.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed it more here. I do not think it came across so clearly on the TV, and I imagine a lot of the world would be confused by many of the elements. I liked the bits you picked out. Do you think people will think we hang around in scruffy long dresses with bonnets and shawls and wander in the fields?
ReplyDeleteWe certainly did, I'm a huge Danny Boyle fan and I was even more impressed than I thought I would be. Loved the focus on the Industrial Revolution, it actually made us Midlands based Brits feel included! xxx
ReplyDeleteYeah we never got see the 7/7 tribute here in the US because they cut it out - you can see my rant about it on my blog. Was good otherwise just NBC ruined it with their poor commentary and their cutting.
ReplyDeleteI recorded it, but haven't had a chance to watch it yet. I've been told it was amazing!
ReplyDeleteI watched and loved it ... and your post !!
ReplyDeleteHope you saw the Pride of the Sunshine marching
band from University of Florida.. right here in little
ol Gainesville Florida.. the Gator band was the only
US band invited to the Olympics... quite an honor.
We do love our GATORS... hope ya'll did too !!
I could not WAIT to watch the opening and sat with bated breath at the sight of it all! I think those moments you highlighted in the beginning were the moments I was most at awe and LOVED. A huge Boyle fan, I have to admit there were a feel moments when I thought . . . "huh???" But I did find the industrial revolution just amazing, and loved the music highlights. I am glued to the various competitions now, and can't seem to make through a single sport without bawling my eyes out! Amazing sportsmen and women here, absolutely amazing! Will you be at any of the events?
ReplyDeleteI thought it was a jolly good show! (to be continued)
ReplyDelete