J. K. Rowling reading to the audience and a giant puppet Voldemort...
Who should light the flame?
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J. K. Rowling reading to the audience and a giant puppet Voldemort...
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
This Olympic ceremony is an outstanding piece of work. Absolutely stunning. I am really loving it, and big bombastic sound-and-light-and-dancing shows are not generally my thing.
FACTOID: Director Danny Boyle used to be in the same University of Wales Bangor drama group as I was (albeit some years before me!).
EDIT: And - the Queen met James Bond! Could do no wrong for me after that.
EDIT 2: And my favourite bit so far - the Legend that is Sir Tim Berners-Lee - inventor of Zoocha... er, the World Wide Web. True British hero.
FACTOID: Director Danny Boyle used to be in the same University of Wales Bangor drama group as I was (albeit some years before me!).
EDIT: And - the Queen met James Bond! Could do no wrong for me after that.
EDIT 2: And my favourite bit so far - the Legend that is Sir Tim Berners-Lee - inventor of Zoocha... er, the World Wide Web. True British hero.
Better than that - I.K. Brunel played by Ken Branagh reciting Shakespeare with Elgar in the background. Couldn't have been more British if he were queuing for a cup of tea at the time.
I agree with everything Maguari & ZG said, truly wonderful work from Danny Boyle!
(Even with the slight plug for Trainspotting...
)
I truly feel proud to be British. I.K.B, Bond, The Queen jumping from a helicopter,
the musical tribute, Rowan Atkinson, Elgar, the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Becks and Sir Steve, Mary Poppins, Arctic Monkeys (major surprise for me 
), The Royal Symphony Orchestra, Chelsea pensioners and even the slightly trippy tribute to the NHS... I loved it all!
Shame on Paul McCartney for ruining the end though, Hey Jude was such a cliche and the sound was terrible at the start!
EDIT:- How the hell did it come across to those not from our fair land? It really was very, very British!
(Even with the slight plug for Trainspotting...
)I truly feel proud to be British. I.K.B, Bond, The Queen jumping from a helicopter,
the musical tribute, Rowan Atkinson, Elgar, the child catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Becks and Sir Steve, Mary Poppins, Arctic Monkeys (major surprise for me ), The Royal Symphony Orchestra, Chelsea pensioners and even the slightly trippy tribute to the NHS... I loved it all!Shame on Paul McCartney for ruining the end though, Hey Jude was such a cliche and the sound was terrible at the start!
EDIT:- How the hell did it come across to those not from our fair land? It really was very, very British!
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I loved it. It's such a British quality to not take yourselves too seriously (I like to think Australia has inherited that trait) and this opening ceremony definitely showed the best parts of your culture and history.
Does anyone remember the opening ceremony for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games? That was properly weird in all of the wrong ways.
I'm glad it translated well, I also think that the Aussies have picked up our sense of humour. Always a good thing!
This is the first proper opening ceremony I've EVER watched (and can remember) but I wouldn't mind a recap, if I like what I hear then I may even hunt it down on Youtube.
So - who lit the flame and how?????
Andrew O'Keefe suggested on Australian breakfast television this morning that it might be going to be Her Majesty flicking a By Royal Appointment Benson and Hedges stub off the balcony. Is that what happened??? She probably needed a smoke after that helicopter jump!
Andrew O'Keefe suggested on Australian breakfast television this morning that it might be going to be Her Majesty flicking a By Royal Appointment Benson and Hedges stub off the balcony. Is that what happened??? She probably needed a smoke after that helicopter jump!
This is the first proper opening ceremony I've EVER watched (and can remember) but I wouldn't mind a recap, if I like what I hear then I may even hunt it down on Youtube.
All I can really remember is the floating, flaming ballerinas, the boy with a duck, and the flying trams. A lot of people complained that it celebrated Melbourne rather than the rest of Australia.
nanoboy
Well-Known Member
We learnt about him in uni, but we didn't learnt the most important fact about his involvement in the zoo!! Cool!
Don't think anybody went to the bookies and put their money on the right person [people].
What a fantastic extravoganza! The cauldron at the end truly was expertly done.
What a fantastic extravoganza! The cauldron at the end truly was expertly done.
I was sceptical, but the opening especially (the industrial revolution sequence) was outstanding and I've always liked Mike Oldfield. It did go off the boil a bit though, and the entrance of the athletes always seems to go on forever. The worst bits were the TV director missing the crescendo of the fireworks, and Paul McCartney's wailing - sixteen reprises of the Hey Jude chorus and I was about to reach for my shotgun. 
We watched the HD feed without any intrusive commentary, which I'd recommend to anyone who has access.
We watched the HD feed without any intrusive commentary, which I'd recommend to anyone who has access.
I was sceptical, but the opening especially (the industrial revolution sequence) was outstanding and I've always liked Mike Oldfield. It did go off the boil a bit though, and the entrance of the athletes always seems to go on forever. The worst bits were the TV director missing the crescendo of the fireworks, and Paul McCartney's wailing - sixteen reprises of the Hey Jude chorus and I was about to reach for my shotgun.
We watched the HD feed without any intrusive commentary, which I'd recommend to anyone who has access.
The bit with James Bond and the Queen skydiving is an all-time classic. I wish that I could have watched the ceremony without the inane commentary and commercials that NBC packaged the opening ceremony in.
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There was an inane commentary on the BBC too.
I thought that Paul McCartney looked like Angela Merkel.
Loved it all and congratulations to Danny Boyle. Enjoyed Mike Oldfield and Rowan Atkinson, Paul Mc. was bearable but inevitable. Really like the part of the persons carrying the olympic flag. A great international group, argentine Daniel Barenboim, un leader Bai Ki Moon, brazilian enviromentalist Marian Silva,ethiopian Haile Gebrsellassie, activist Sally becker, british activist Doreen Lawrence, liberian leymah gbowee, Shami Chakrabati, and the great, the brave and courageous Muhammed Ali.
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Sky and Freesat are carrying twenty-four HD Olympic Broadcasting Services feeds, including those from host broadcaster (the BBC). Last night, there was one with audio descriptions and one without any commentary at all. Therefore technically, there was an option to watch the BBC without the inane commentary.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/rogermosey/2012/04/since_the_start_of_our.html
zoogiraffe
Well-Known Member
Now you see to me Sydney's opening ceremony was not as good as Atlanta's,but then everyone has a different point of view.But then how can any opening ceremony compare with Bejing.
That said the London opening ceremony was a very British thing,what other country could have played through in a few hours nearily 300 years of their history,that the world had heard about,I can only think of one and that is Great Britain!
That said the London opening ceremony was a very British thing,what other country could have played through in a few hours nearily 300 years of their history,that the world had heard about,I can only think of one and that is Great Britain!
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