Thoughts on Olympic Opening Ceremony?
The summer Olympics are underway. What did you think of the opening ceremony?
More than 80,000 people filled the stands at Olympic Stadium to watch the ceremony in London and NBC estimates more than one billion people watched it on television.
The show began with a history lesson of sorts, showing the progression of British history. Through short videos, dances and excerpts from famous books, the opening ceremony had a little of everything. Queen Elizabeth made her debut with actor Daniel Craig, who played James Bond. The two were in a short video together, which made it look like the Queen and the legendary actor arrived by jumping from a helicopter. Soccer star David Beckham brought in the Olympic torch via a motorboat, and of course, the ceremony included the parade of athletes.
The opening ceremony went on for three hours. What did you think of the ceremony? There was a lot of talk about the last opening ceremony in Beijing, was this better or worse? What did you like? Dislike? Let us know what you thought in the comment section below.
Linda RossmanLmrossman
11:00 pm on Friday, July 27, 2012
It felt like the longest half time show and not opening ceremonies. Boring and disappointing if you didn't know the music.
Ritesh Patel
11:34 pm on Friday, July 27, 2012
I watched the Live version on the BBC...as a Brit I am proud but I can see how it can be completely lost on the rest of the world. I am now watching the NBC version, and can easily understand why it will be lost and disappointing to the USA audience. As a Londoner (from the East end of London where the Stadium is) I am proud. You wont all get the story and some of the quirky britishness of it all...but who cares. It's the olymoics, it's fun, it's not about the opening ceremony, its about some of the most dedicated athletes on the planet, doing what they have lived their dreams for. I say forget the ceremonial stuff, but remember the competitors. They have put everything into this (well maybe not the basketball team). :O) Enjoy everyone...it wil be a great 2 weeks of summer.
John Lee
11:40 pm on Friday, July 27, 2012
I must have missed something - the only quirky thing in the American coverage was that annoying Bob Costas suggesting the Arctic Monkeys were a garage band! The story was brilliant!
John Lee
11:43 pm on Friday, July 27, 2012
I know the Roman Catholics think the Pope Mobile is pretty cool, but the head of our church just parachutted with James Bond and Opened the Olympics!
Holden MaGroin
7:29 am on Saturday, July 28, 2012
I'm Holden MaGroin and I am happy so far with the opening. I think so far my favorite performance, the one that makes me so proud to be an adopted citizen of this great country has to be to world-record breaking performance of Mr Romney in the back pedal.
Cecile Williams
7:35 am on Saturday, July 28, 2012
Look, everyone's a critic. Anyone who had to follow China's opening ceremonies had a lot of pressure to deliver a great show. Let the games begin!!!
Sandra Bolcar
10:47 am on Saturday, July 28, 2012
As a fellow-Brit myself, I watched the opening ceremonies and waited for the suprises I was informed were in store. I can see that some of the sequences could be confusing and a bit misunderstood by foreign audiences but, overall, once the pace picked up, the show delivered some fabulous scenes. The set got a bit busy and Sesame Street--like at times and I didn't care for the NHS stuff. However, most of it was very good. It's hard to compete with a highly technical show given by China and I know the Brits wanted a more personal, closer-to-the-heart theme. It would be boring to have all the shows the same anyway. It's the differences that make them so unique. I liked the fact that my cousin was in the front row at the Olympic Stadium sending back live shots on FB in real time. Her son was performing in the opening early-country scene standing by the old cottage. All of these extras worked gratis and practiced for months ahead of time. Now that's patriotic!
Sandra Bolcar - realtor at RE/MAX VILLAGE SQUARE, MONTCLAIR