I guess we’ve all got our views on the opening ceremony of the London Olympics. There were a few curmudgeonly comments, most, however praised the originality of the event.
I wonder if my view of the event the majority view. Here’s what wandered through my brain as the opening event unfolded:
- Britain’s green and pleasant lands depicted at the beginning. The fluffy clouds amused, as did the cattle. The stadium converted to a countryside scene of yesteryear. Yep, I got that. But, was that going to be it?
- No, the green and pleasant land was brilliantly removed to be replaced by scenes of early industry and smoking chimneys, which eventually led to the forging of the Olympic rings. That they rose up to form the Olympic logo was so, so clever.
- I was now starting to understand that it was all about telling a story, our national story. A story of progress. Women’s suffrage, I got that too. Although I remain a touch bemused by the extent of the depiction of the NHS. If it was a metaphor for a society that replaced war with caring, yes, I got that. But, I’m not exactly sure that was the message.
- Sir Tim Berners-Lee and the creation of the world-wide web, now that was excellent. A clever way of encapsulating the importance of technology and communication in the modern world.
- Absolute genius, James Bond and the Her Majesty the Queen. How many of us looked at Bond entering the Queen’s study, and saying. It isn’t, is it? It couldn’t be, could it? Wow, it is the Queen, and with her corgi’s. Magnificent.
- Both the Queen and Bond are seen on-screen to leave by helicopter to get to the stadium. Then the helicopter appears over the stadium for HM the Queen’s stunt double in the peach dress, and Bond to parachute into the stadium. And then – moments later, the Queen appears in person in exactly the same dress. Fantastic.
- I’m losing track of the sequence of events. The Olympic flag arrives, carried by, among other, the secretary-general of the United Nations. Amazing, and surprisingly uplifting.
- The choice of British pop songs….. ah, well. Wern’t my choices. But, fine anyway.
- Rowan Atkinson’s Mr Bean skit, wonderfully amusing. Coming at the right time in the proceedings, too.
- A clean-shaven Beckham accompanies the arrival of the torch to the stadium in a launch. Loved it.
- Also loved the use of youngsters to light the Olympic cauldron.
- Finally, the lighting of the cauldron, or petals. Truly, truly amazing.
Obviously, in the four hour plus of the event there were many more images and impressions. Just too many to list. Oh, one final comment. I did think that the whole event, spoke about Britain and not the nationalism of Scotland.
Recent Comments