Opening Ceremony: London 2012

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Beaudacious

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#1  Edited By Beaudacious

Well if i were an individual to get caught up in national pride, followed by being a British citizen, I think i would be quite embarrassed right now.

Is anyone else watching this train wreck? What is going on? Maybe the Beijing organizers should just do every opening ceremony from here on out.

I feel like this is a bad dream, being turned into a movie that flops opening weekend.

Can someone at least explain the metaphorical intentions behind these " artistic" pieces. I got the hospital since it was spelled out for me, but geez the rest is an lsd trip.

Edit: I figured out what this reminds me of, a bad high school themed dance. God dammit the Beijing ceremony was epic, heroic, and represented the Olympic spirit so well.

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Funkydupe

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#2  Edited By Funkydupe

Prodigy. :)

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tallTuck94

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#3  Edited By tallTuck94

Is it really that bad? I'm a Brit but I'm going out of my way to avoid everything about the olympics. It's a waste of money.

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Ravenlight

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#4  Edited By Ravenlight

More like Opening Snoremony, amitire?

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CaLe

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#5  Edited By CaLe

Even though I'm British, and have enjoyed previous Olympics, I just don't care about this one for some reason. Couldn't even be bothered to watch the opening. Too bad it sucks I guess?

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sumbog

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#6  Edited By sumbog

If people were less against forced labour every opening ceremony would be amazing! I know China may not be ethically the best, but fuck can they put on a show.

Also China just screams that badass, honourable, warrior spirit attitude, they are a hard act to follow.

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the_OFFICIAL_jAPanese_teaBAG

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Im from Vancouver.  If you live in London, dont ignore the Olympic games....  The 2010 Olympics was an really fun experience and probably one of the best moments of my life.

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sockemjetpack

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#8  Edited By sockemjetpack

I have two words for all the naysayers:

Boombox House

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Dagbiker

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#9  Edited By Dagbiker

@Beaudacious said:

Well if i were and individual to get caught up in national pride, followed by being a British citizen, I think i would be quite embarrassed right now.

Is anyone else watching this train wreck? What is going on? Maybe the Beijing organizers should just do every opening ceremony from here on out.

I feel like this is a bad dream, being turned into a movie that flops opening weekend.

Can someone at least explain the metaphorical intentions behind these " artistic" pieces. I got the hospital since it was spelled out for me, but geez the rest is an lsd trip.

Edit: I figured out what this reminds me of, a bad high school themed dance. God dammit the Beijing ceremony was epic, heroic, and represented the Olympic spirit so well.

At least its a James Bond movie...

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Mushir

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#10  Edited By Mushir

That was absolutely terrible. I'm a sucker for Rowan Atkinson though so I enjoyed his part a bit.

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BrickRoad

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#11  Edited By BrickRoad

It wasn't terrible in my opinion, it was pretty great. The transformation from old Britain to the industrial revolution was pretty cool. I'm not even sure what people were expecting, frankly. A moon shot? Britain isn't China, it's a small country with a rich and varied history. That's what we got tonight.

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RainbowCarnage

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#12  Edited By RainbowCarnage

Just do what this guy did

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AlianthaBerries

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#13  Edited By AlianthaBerries

@BrickRoad said:

It wasn't terrible in my opinion, it was pretty great. The transformation from old Britain to the industrial revolution was pretty cool. I'm not even sure what people were expecting, frankly. A moon shot? Britain isn't China, it's a small country with a rich and varied history. That's what we got tonight.

Agreed. Although the interpretive dance before the teams coming out was boring as fuck. I am British and I respect the dead but that was just... boring.

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TaliciaDragonsong

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I liked it, not the beginning mind you but after that with Bond and the Queen, the humour and the music trip.
That was fun.

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mnzy

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#15  Edited By mnzy

I think it was pretty good, actually. Only watched liked 30 minutes, though. 

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TheVampireBoy

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#16  Edited By TheVampireBoy

@Beaudacious:Agreed, I'm sat in my living room, watching the opening ceremony on a 40 inch HD plasma screen with my dad. And we both look at one and other thinking "We're both seeing this... Right?" The section where the lad and girl are dancing in the fake attic made me think "What would really top this off would be that she gets herself pregnant." So what defines Britain is our countryside, Dizzie Rascal and the chemical brothers... I'm freaking mortified. I would have had the entire opening ceremony a gigantic Edinboro royal military tutu.

At least that way it would have been a ceremony I would have been proud of.

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PeasantAbuse

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#17  Edited By PeasantAbuse

Euros gonna euro.

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thomasnash

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#18  Edited By thomasnash

The ode to british music was a bit rubbish and anodyne, and although it was a bold attempt at something, the "British history" bits noticeably shied away from any of the horror of it, even if there was a certain distaste for the industrial revolution, what with the Paradise Lost reference and Kenneth Branagh chomping on his cigar, and that. There were a few genuinely incredible moments I thought, though.

Great bits:

  • The forging of the olympic rings. It looked great, but...
  • what really made that moment for me was seeing Kenneth Branagh looking genuinely amazed and exhilarated to be seeing it.
  • The NHS bit was a bit rubbish in a lot of ways, but kudos for getting it in there as the service is privatised under our noses.
  • The Olympic Torch. When the parade started Huw Edwards said something like "I won't spoil the surprise of what the copper petals are for" and me and my gf were both like "oh, so they will make a giant flower, then." So it was a nice surprise to see the way they'd designed the olympic torch, visually stunning and conceptually solid

The funniest moments were probably

  • Giant Voldemort Nip-slip
  • Czech Republic athletes in wellie boots
  • The independent athletes dance routine
  • The bit where Kenneth Branagh stood on this weird platform, looking for all the world like he was about to reprise his role in Wild Wild West and start riding a giant steampunk spider.

I enjoyed it, I think that of all the things to complain about realting to this Olympics, this is one of the less offensive things, and it was bookended by a couple of really incredible images that will stay with me for quite a long time.

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gamer_152

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#19  Edited By gamer_152  Moderator

I don't give a damn about the Olympics, in fact I think economically they're a very poor move for the country right now, and I've never been one to get caught up in national pride, but that being said I thought the opening ceremony was fantastic. Watching all the countries file in is always boring and there were bits here and that were kind of lame like the idealised English countryside, the bit where fake status updates were flashing all around the screen and Dizzee Rascal's performance, but there were so may entertaining and amusing moments.

Guys with top hats and mutton chops making huge chimneys spout of the ground, Mr. Bean playing in the orchestra, James Bond and the Queen parachuting in, the dreamscape (including giant Voldemort and Noel Fielding on roller-skates dressed as the Child Catcher), the forging of the Olympic rings, the music history sequence, the giant rave house lifting up to reveal Tim Berners-Lee inside. How can you not love that stuff?

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Contrarian

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#20  Edited By Contrarian

I din't watch it, as I hate everything Olympics, but I will go with cultural cringe. You are never going to make everyone happy with such an event. I felt some cutural cringe with the bits of the Sydney games I saw.

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cap123

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#21  Edited By cap123

I thought it had a great start and a great end, with a boring, bad middle (the facebook/texting music part I mean, although the internet creator reveal was great).

I was really happy with the way it came out, corny and cheesy but so different from every other opening ceremony. I could totally understand if people outside of england had no idea what was going on as well, though.

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Tylea002

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#22  Edited By Tylea002

Shit was dope, yo. Not perfect at all, but all in all, they pulled it off.

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cookiemonster

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#23  Edited By cookiemonster

I thought the start was a bit shit and boring, but it got much better and I really enjoyed it in the end. It was something for me and my mates to take the piss out of for a good 4 hours or so. The fake queen parachuting out of the helicopter was so ridiculous it was good, and the Mr. Bean segment was brilliant. Arctic Monkeys' cover of Come Together was really good. I was surprised by the lack of Zep though.

@Gamer_152: Me and my mates were joking about how the Child Catcher looked like Noel Fielding. It wasn't actually him was it?

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zombie2011

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#24  Edited By zombie2011

The Industrial Revolution part was amazing i thought, everything after that apart from the Rowan Atkinson bit was quite boring.

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Drebin_893

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#25  Edited By Drebin_893

I actually thought it was pretty amazing. Somewhere Mark Knopfler's pissed though.

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Captain_Insano

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#26  Edited By Captain_Insano

The thing I love about all Olympic opening ceremonies is that it is essentially the only time in four years, anywhere in the world that interpretive dance is accepted as a legitimate medium.

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Freshbandito

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#27  Edited By Freshbandito

It was alright, pretty good. dragged in places and a touch difficult for those outside the uk to understand the metaphors but I enjoyed it. The industrial revolution opening was strong.

Of course Brits will still say it was awful and complain because we can't be happy unless we're being miserable and complaining about national endeavours.

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Arbie

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#28  Edited By Arbie

It sounds like I missed the only good bits. I started watching it from the children singing bit until the parade. I thought it was pretty awful . . . The majority of what I watched seemed to be young folks going out clubbing and dancing and that whole romance thing between the two main people was just dull. I liked the Child Catcher being there, that was pretty awesome. But I wish they'd done some awesome reenactments and theater epics, and sure show how the music scene has changed but did it really need that kissing rubbish?

Christ, I had to have a cuppa tea after just to calm my nerves!

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stinky

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#29  Edited By stinky

@tallTuck94 said:

Is it really that bad? I'm a Brit but I'm going out of my way to avoid everything about the olympics. It's a waste of money.

it makes money,why do you think people compete for its location?

because the olympics are cool? hardly.

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NateDestruction

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#30  Edited By NateDestruction

The show was great, and the bit with the torch at the end was beautiful. I figure there's nothing we can do about the Olympics so instead of whining like little bitches embrace it and celebrate how great the human race can be

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Sploder

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#31  Edited By Sploder

I liked it a lot, there was a rave and everything right next to the hill I live on in the shire so it represented Britain very well for me.
 Oh and how could you not love Hey Jude at the end? And the Bohemian Rhapsody and Starman parts? Shit was rad.

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#32  Edited By Jimbo

I missed all of it due to being asleep, but have seen some highlights and the ring forging bit looked alright as well as the fireworks at the end. Basically any part where shit went on fire. Fed up with Hey Jude being played at everything ever though - give it a rest already.

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penguindust

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#33  Edited By penguindust

I saw parts of it. The giant baby was weird. In fact, that whole sequence was a bit silly and felt like something created just to promote more J.K. Rowling.

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fattony12000

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#34  Edited By fattony12000

Not the biggest fan of the Olympics ever, I will watch a few finals here and there.

However, that ceremony was one of the very best I had ever seen. Yes, China rolled deep, but guess what? They have cool slavery and cool shit loads of money and cool Communism. Britain is a pokey little place and we're gettin hit hard by the reccession right now, Danny Boyle fucking killed it, nailed so many aspects of British life, little nods to all kinds of amazing thing. The fact that NBC cut stuff the 7/7 memorial and the lesbian kiss is fucking shameful (and I've never used those words ever in my entire life). Fucking. Shameful.

You start off with Kenneth Branagh (a great actor) as Isambard Kingdom Brunel (the world's greatest engineer during the 1800s), reading from Shakespeare's (the greatest playwright of all time) The Tempest, going all the way up to showing Tim Berners-Lee (the inventor of the World Wide Web, one of the greatest inventions in all of human history, and one that he gave away to everyone for free). Reppin stuff like the Windrush, the NHS, the suffragettes, James Bond and Mr. Bean and Pink Floyd all in the same show? Fucking brilliant.

@PenguinDust: That was a tribute. Please, please learn what the NHS and Great Ormond Street Hospital and Peter Pan are. Please.

@cap123: That's Tim Berners-Lee, the creator of the World Wide Web, not the Internet. It's so sad that people do not know who this man is ESPECIALLY ON THE FUCKING WEB. Unless you did know and you're just phrasing it in a weird way.

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cap123

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#35  Edited By cap123

@Fattony12000: Calm down, easy mistake to make.

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49th

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#36  Edited By 49th

I thought it was great, you guys are the worst.

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Jaktajj

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#37  Edited By Jaktajj

The Industrial Revolution bit during this song was amazing:

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fattony12000

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#38  Edited By fattony12000

@cap123 said:

@Fattony12000: Calm down, easy mistake to make.

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TheDudeOfGaming

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#39  Edited By TheDudeOfGaming

@Sumbog said:

If people were less against forced labour every opening ceremony would be amazing! I know China may not be ethically the best, but fuck can they put on a show.

Also China just screams that badass, honourable, warrior spirit attitude, they are a hard act to follow.

You're thinking of the Japanese, when I think of the Chinese, I think ants...and the future overlords of the world.

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cap123

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#40  Edited By cap123

@Fattony12000: I don't understand what you're trying to communicate to me.

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pweidman

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#41  Edited By pweidman

I thought it was fantastic and I was thoroughly entertained. It wasn't some giant collective perfectly and robotically performed on an incredible scale like in Beijing, but appropriately a very eclectic mixture of culture and history that is so reflective of the United Kingdom.

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Jrinswand

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#42  Edited By Jrinswand

I thought the American announcers were fucking morons. You thought it was a good idea to talk about Borat while Kazakhstan was marching? Seriously?!

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EuanDewar

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#43  Edited By EuanDewar

I thought it was pretty rad, Danny Boyle was the best choice to direct it.

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Insectecutor

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#44  Edited By Insectecutor

Yeah it was cool. Naysayers be damned. I'm British and couldn't give a toss about the Olympics, but the opening ceremony was great. Also Huw Edwards can suck a dick with his morose bullshit about every nation in the whole flag parade. I guess nowhere on Earth is as good as Wales, Huw, you asshole.

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Patman99

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#45  Edited By Patman99

I liked it a lot. I thought the Queen parachuting in with James Bond was a pretty nice touch. For the most part, my favourite part in every Olympics is the Parade of Nations followed by the cauldron being lit. London did a superb job with this. I thought it was great that every country had a bronze petal engraved with their name and added to the multi-piece flame cauldron.

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tallTuck94

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#46  Edited By tallTuck94

@stinky: Yeah but that 9 Billion could have been used for much greater things then tourism. I don't see Britain making a profit here.

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Clonedzero

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#47  Edited By Clonedzero

i didnt watch it. my dad did though, he said he really loved it. but he was pretty trashed at the time so i dunno lol