Was that the lamest Opening Ceremony EVER?

[crazy canuck]

The Queen as Bond girl, Tim Berners-Lee and Rowan Atkinson more than made up for the over-long bitty musical sequence and the bloody awfulness of Paul McCartney once again missing his cue and key.

What do you furriners make of having young athletes rather than a sporting hero light the flame? Indecision or a statement on self-effacing Britishness?

I really enjoyed the opening ceremony.  The whole CC household had a good laugh when Atkinson did his bit.  Although I wondered how well the whole thing would play in the US - ie would they get the references.  Berkut answered that question.

As for the lighting of the flame, I thought it was a bit disappointing as the crowd never got a chance to let loose and cheer on some national hero.  But as you say, on reflection, it was typically British and the opening ceremonies are, above all, for the home crowd.

I say a job well done.

[Neil]

Question:  Who would be a British sporting hero?  The guy who came in second at Wimbledon maybe?  All their soccer players are tainted by failure.  What sort of sports does Britain do well at?

[Martinus]

Question:  Who would be a British sporting hero?  The guy who came in second at Wimbledon maybe?  All their soccer players are tainted by failure.  What sort of sports does Britain do well at?

Cricket.

[Ed Anger]

NBC is laughing at the time delay whiners, as their ratings are coming in strong for the opening ceremony. 

UPDATE 10:30 AM: Last night's opening ceremony of the London Olympics drew 40.7 million viewers to become the most watched Summer Games opening ceremony ever and the most watched non-U.S. Olympics opener. Overall, it is the second most watched opening ceremony behind only the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter games. Vs. the last two Summer Olympics, Danny Boyle's show, highlighted by the Queen's skit with James Bond, drew almost 6 million more viewers than the 2008 Beijing Olympics (34.9 million) and 15 million more than the 2004 Athens Olympics (25.4 million), the last games held in Europe.

[crazy canuck]

Question:  Who would be a British sporting hero?  The guy who came in second at Wimbledon maybe?  All their soccer players are tainted by failure.  What sort of sports does Britain do well at?

Roger Bannister for one.

[Martinus]

What does it say about the UK today when you can't find six service men and women who can march in step? 

That it's not a fucked up country of North Korean kind?

[Neil]

What does it say about the UK today when you can't find six service men and women who can march in step? 

That it's not a fucked up country of North Korean kind?

[mongers]

I was pleasantly surprised. 


Though Macca needs to put out to grass.

[Warspite]

Question:  Who would be a British sporting hero?  The guy who came in second at Wimbledon maybe?  All their soccer players are tainted by failure.  What sort of sports does Britain do well at?

Steve Redgrave would be one. Has five golds in five consecutive Olympiads - in rowing.

[Tonitrus]

What does it say about the UK today when you can't find six service men and women who can march in step? 

That it's not a fucked up country of North Korean kind?

[mongers]

I never thought that I would look back at the Beijing Olympics with nostalgia.

WTF was that? Giant baby heads? Voldemort menacing children in beds?

Seriously, that was the weirdest and then the smarmiest thing I think I may have ever seen.

Strangely the international reaction seems to be generally positive:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19025686

Sarah Lyall, The New York Times:

"Britain presented itself to the world Friday night as something it has often struggled to express even to itself: a nation secure in its own post-empire identity, whatever that actually is... It was neither a nostalgic sweep through the past nor a bold vision of a brave new future. Rather, it was a sometimes slightly insane portrait of a country that has changed almost beyond measure since the last time it hosted the Games, in the grim postwar summer of 1948."

Anthony Faiola, The Washington Post:

"If the opening ceremonies of the London Games sometimes seemed like the world's biggest inside joke, the message from Britain resonated loud and clear: We may not always be your cup of tea, but you know - and so often love - our culture nonetheless. The themes showcased Britain, past, present and future, capturing the mind-set of a nation seeking to redefine itself through these Games after nearly a century of managed decline. A great empire, gone. Military might, ebbing. Sense of humour, very much intact... For an audience across the Atlantic, it seemed like the rock-and-roll Olympics, an event celebrating the shared culture of the English-speaking world — so much of it thanks to these relatively tiny isles."

Le Figaro, France:

The display "reminded a billion viewers of the best contributions that Britain has given to the world for over a century: its sense of humour, its music, and of course sport".

Greg Baum, The Sydney Morning Herald:

"Boyle's vivid and vibrant pageant set the tone for these Games and perhaps even a new direction for the Olympic movement. Rio has a hard act to follow, which won't deter it at all... His show did not take itself too seriously, but was never trivial. It was irreverent, but never disrespectful. It was clever, but did not outsmart itself. It was at once subversive and sublime. This is a country of royals and aristocrats, but Boyle's show rejoiced in the commoner."


The Peninsula, Qatar:

London did a "spectacular job"... Boyle "succeeded in defining Britishness in a surreal, moving and for some, confounding affair because of the jumble of ideas and an effort to tell a thousand small stories, which may not have been understood fully by the international audience."

The Times of India:

"London presented a vibrant picture of Great Britain's rich heritage and culture as a colourful opening ceremony marked the inauguration of the 30th Olympic Games at the spunky Olympic stadium on Friday night."

The China Daily:

"Kaleidoscopic pageant sets London Games rolling: Britain's Queen Elizabeth declared the London Olympics open after playing a cameo role in a dazzling ceremony designed to highlight the grandeur and eccentricities of the nation that invented modern sport."

Al-Ahram, Egypt:

"Children's voices intertwining from the four corners of her United Kingdom ushered in an exuberant historical pageant of meadows, steel mills and megapixels."

[Ed Anger]

Sarah Lyall, The New York Times:

"Britain presented itself to the world Friday night as something it has often struggled to express even to itself: a nation secure in its own post-empire identity, whatever that actually is... It was neither a nostalgic sweep through the past nor a bold vision of a brave new future. Rather, it was a sometimes slightly insane portrait of a country that has changed almost beyond measure since the last time it hosted the Games, in the grim postwar summer of 1948."

Anthony Faiola, The Washington Post:

"If the opening ceremonies of the London Games sometimes seemed like the world's biggest inside joke, the message from Britain resonated loud and clear: We may not always be your cup of tea, but you know - and so often love - our culture nonetheless. The themes showcased Britain, past, present and future, capturing the mind-set of a nation seeking to redefine itself through these Games after nearly a century of managed decline. A great empire, gone. Military might, ebbing. Sense of humour, very much intact... For an audience across the Atlantic, it seemed like the rock-and-roll Olympics, an event celebrating the shared culture of the English-speaking world — so much of it thanks to these relatively tiny isles."

AMERICANTS JUST DON'T GET SOPHISTICATED HUMOR.

[Admiral Yi]

Strangely the international reaction seems to be generally positive:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-19025686

Sarah Lyall, The New York Times:

"Britain presented itself to the world Friday night as something it has often struggled to express even to itself: a nation secure in its own post-empire identity, whatever that actually is... It was neither a nostalgic sweep through the past nor a bold vision of a brave new future. Rather, it was a sometimes slightly insane portrait of a country that has changed almost beyond measure since the last time it hosted the Games, in the grim postwar summer of 1948."

Anthony Faiola, The Washington Post:

"If the opening ceremonies of the London Games sometimes seemed like the world's biggest inside joke, the message from Britain resonated loud and clear: We may not always be your cup of tea, but you know - and so often love - our culture nonetheless. The themes showcased Britain, past, present and future, capturing the mind-set of a nation seeking to redefine itself through these Games after nearly a century of managed decline. A great empire, gone. Military might, ebbing. Sense of humour, very much intact... For an audience across the Atlantic, it seemed like the rock-and-roll Olympics, an event celebrating the shared culture of the English-speaking world — so much of it thanks to these relatively tiny isles."

Le Figaro, France:

The display "reminded a billion viewers of the best contributions that Britain has given to the world for over a century: its sense of humour, its music, and of course sport".

Greg Baum, The Sydney Morning Herald:

"Boyle's vivid and vibrant pageant set the tone for these Games and perhaps even a new direction for the Olympic movement. Rio has a hard act to follow, which won't deter it at all... His show did not take itself too seriously, but was never trivial. It was irreverent, but never disrespectful. It was clever, but did not outsmart itself. It was at once subversive and sublime. This is a country of royals and aristocrats, but Boyle's show rejoiced in the commoner."


The Peninsula, Qatar:

London did a "spectacular job"... Boyle "succeeded in defining Britishness in a surreal, moving and for some, confounding affair because of the jumble of ideas and an effort to tell a thousand small stories, which may not have been understood fully by the international audience."

The Times of India:

"London presented a vibrant picture of Great Britain's rich heritage and culture as a colourful opening ceremony marked the inauguration of the 30th Olympic Games at the spunky Olympic stadium on Friday night."

The China Daily:

"Kaleidoscopic pageant sets London Games rolling: Britain's Queen Elizabeth declared the London Olympics open after playing a cameo role in a dazzling ceremony designed to highlight the grandeur and eccentricities of the nation that invented modern sport."

Al-Ahram, Egypt:

"Children's voices intertwining from the four corners of her United Kingdom ushered in an exuberant historical pageant of meadows, steel mills and megapixels."

It's all a question of em PHA sis.

[dps]

Question:  Who would be a British sporting hero?  The guy who came in second at Wimbledon maybe?  All their soccer players are tainted by failure.  What sort of sports does Britain do well at?

Roger Bannister for one.

I was going to suggest Daley Thompson, but yeah, Bannister is a good choice, too.

At any rate, I also found the opening lame.  In fact, I turned off the sound after about 2 minutes, then after a few more moments, looked away until it was time for the parade of nations.  In the past, the parade of nations has generally been the only part of the opening that I've actually enjoyed, but in other Olympiads I've been at least able to watch the rest of the ceremony.

[Eddie Teach]

Question:  Who would be a British sporting hero?  The guy who came in second at Wimbledon maybe?  All their soccer players are tainted by failure.  What sort of sports does Britain do well at?

They do really well at riding bikes in a circle.