Olympic Opening Ceremony

[transportphoto]

Hi All, thought I'd create a separate thread to specifically discuss the imminent Opening Ceremony which will commence at 2100 this evening. @London2012 have just tweeted

There are no spectators. Everyone in the Stadium will be part of the #OpeningCeremony magic - they're learning their part right now!

... interesting, but could go horribly wrong!

• Who's watching it at the stadium?
• What's the atmosphere like in there?
• Who's watching it from their living room? On BBC1 tv?
• Are you looking forward to it?

I think we have a lot to live up to after Beijing 2008, but we can do this!

TP

 

[MidnightFlyer]

I'm playing my Football Manager Handheld 2012 save with Luton Town, listening to the Eagles' Desperado album and planning tomorrow's excursion most probably to Aberdeen or Stranraer. I have no intention whatsoever of looking at BBC1, their website or anything similar this evening. I'm not even checking Twitter.

 

[table38]

I'm going to Sky+ it and then I can fast-forward to the good bits tomorrow

 

[Darandio]

Watching it on tv and it is quite amazing, very creative. But best of all, it's completely different and that is what we are as a nation.

 

[transportphoto]

Watching it on tv and it is quite amazing, very creative. But best of all, it's completely different and that is what we are as a nation.

Exactly, what has just been shown is the makings of Great Britain. Supposedly the rings that were shown were made there and then forged from "red hot metal".

Giant Olympic Rings are glowing, having been forged from red-hot metal. They're rising high above the field of play #OpeningCeremony

The next section of the Ceremony is called 'Happy and Glorious' - we're about to see a very unique bit of acting #OpeningCeremony

 

[Heinz57]

Pretty good so far.


Am I the only one that wishes the queen actualy DID parachute in?

 

[chris89]

Watching it as well.

At the beginning it wasn't great, but since Brunel appeared and the industrial revolution scene it has got massively better.

Chris

 

[valenta]

Watching the Newcastle match on ESPN. Was tempted to watch the ceremony until I heard rumours Paul McCartney was going to be singing.

 

[transportphoto]

The only thing missing from the Rowan Atkinson scene was Teddy . This is just getting better and better

 

[LE Greys]

Well, it's a bit long and we're currently half-way through the bits they should have cut.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---

The only thing missing from the Rowan Atkinson scene was Teddy . This is just getting better and better

Well, there are some good bits.

 

[Heinz57]

The only thing missing from the Rowan Atkinson scene was Teddy . This is just getting better and better

Teddy was probably in that rucksack he had

Gotta agree, this is getting better and better. This modern/digital section is absolutly epic!

 

[MCR247]

The first half hour was boring. Really could have made it shorter

Got better towards the end though

Probably was a bit happier than I should have been when 'the Queen' jumped out of the helicopter!
But obviously it wasnt her
Then there was a parachute.

 

[transportphoto]

Team GB at last We've pulled off a brilliant Opening Ceremony! Well Done to absolutely every one involved

 

[Heinz57]

It was absolutly brilliant, it realy was. For the past few years everyone wonderd what we would do to compete with the Beijing Ceramony. And here it is!

And in my opinion, we topped it.

 

[transportphoto]

Good Speech from Lord Coe Didn't think I'd be saying that! There isn't one from BoJo is there? Also a nice one from the IOC President

 

[Crossover]

And there's Paul McCartney!

Can't help but think the EPG on the TV is like an LDB at the moment...finish time is getting pushed further and further back :P

 

[Lrd]

It's been a great ceremony! The cauldron looked amazing and now to finish off with Paul McCartney.

Best bit was Mr Bean though :P

 

[LE Greys]

Well, it went off OK in the end. The flame thing worked really well.

 

[transportphoto]

Well, thats it, looking at Greater Anglia's twitter feeds, last trains have kept on being put back... :roll: That was amazing! I can't really remember China but I'm sure we were better than them Lovely to see GOSH & the NHS celebrated, the scene changing through the first parts was amazing! The country welcome did get a bit boring after a while, I must admit. It was nice to see TeamGB arrive

I did note that the Met's job of turning on the torches had been handed over to the torch bearers lol

Night Night people! Please keep this thread going

TP

EDIT to Add: I wonder what the headline news will be in a couple of minutes on BBC News when BBC1 joins the BBC news channel

 

[Liam]

So the Queen couldn't be bothered raising a smile on what should have been one of the highlights of her reign. Even Charles, Camilla, Wiilliam and Kate were having a laugh and joining in the fun, the Queen just sat there as dour and disinterested as ever. Great image of Britain to put out to the world.

 

[Heinz57]

It was brilliant, it realy was.

The bit with Mr Bean was the best bit. He had me laughing the second he came on screen.

I just wonder what it would have involved if they had the Top Gear team directing the ceramony. It probably would have involved alot more fire.

 

[Drsatan]

Wow, thought the opening ceremony was decidedly epic! However, I was surprised Danny Boyle decided not to cover the history of Britain's railways in more depth given that the Stockton & Darlington railway was the world's first fully steam-worked public railway, and Britain's been responsible for lots of railway firsts (Pen-y-Daren, anyone?)

I also thought the scene featuring what is supposedly a typical night out was rather cringeworthy.

 

[yorksrob]

Well, Queenie was doing the solemn bit. But Prince Harry represents the fun

 

[ainsworth74]

Cracking opening ceremony, thoroughly enjoyed it from almost the start (I agree with another poster above that it only got going when Brunel made his appearance) to the finish. Looking forward to the main event now.

 

[LE Greys]

So the Queen couldn't be bothered raising a smile on what should have been one of the highlights of her reign. Even Charles, Camilla, Wiilliam and Kate were having a laugh and joining in the fun, the Queen just sat there as dour and disinterested as ever. Great image of Britain to put out to the world.

Well, she's probably seen more than enough events in her lifetime, and she is a very old lady who was probably up far beyond her usual bedtime. Mind you, she always did try to retain a 'dignified detachment', unlike most of the rest of her family.

And she might have been dreading what Prince Philip was going to say next as well.

 

[Ivo]

Absolutely brilliant.

When they started with hymns and the like I felt nervous to say the least but within a few minutes it was obvious that those really weren't that prominent in the piece, and the various transitions in scene - in particular the onset of the Industrial Revolution - were masterful. A very creative means of lighting the flame too. On the other hand, I never was that big a fan of Mr Bean - but my word, was that funny. Rowan Atkinson at his very best, and in a classic setting as well.

Rio have a lot to live up to.

 

[TheJRB]

Tremendous ceremony and it really has made me feel proud to be British. The way in which the "steel petals" came together was truly amazing. The whole thing was so much better than I was expecting.

The only part in which it dragged as usual was the 1 hour 30 minute walking out of all the countries but that of course was to be expected. Great job and I'm looking forward to seeing more!

 

[yorksrob]

Indeed. A very good job all round (and a bit of Dark Side of the Moon as well ).

 

[jon0844]

the Queen just sat there as dour and disinterested as ever.(

She does smile. By all accounts from people who have met her (especially at less formal engagements) she's a really chatty and friendly person that's surprisingly down to earth.

She's also old.

I think it's unfair to have some close-up shots of her looking disinterested, which will no doubt get Tweeted a million times and end up in the papers, when I am sure she felt very proud.

 

[Greenback]

Watching it on tv and it is quite amazing, very creative. But best of all, it's completely different and that is what we are as a nation.

To my surprise I found myself quit eintereste dinw atching the ceremony after all the tedious waffle and preamble had finished.

Watching the Newcastle match on ESPN. Was tempted to watch the ceremony until I heard rumours Paul McCartney was going to be singing.

Unfortunately, the rumours were true. Well, half true, because he did make an appearance but I don't know if the croaking noise he wa smaking could really be descrbed as singing in the traditional sense.

The first half hour was boring. Really could have made it shorter

I though the first half hour was excllent, it;s what persuaded me to watch the whole thing. I thought I'd be bored after five minutes and go online, but no!

It was absolutly brilliant, it realy was. For the past few years everyone wonderd what we would do to compete with the Beijing Ceramony. And here it is!

And in my opinion, we topped it.

As I didn't see Beijing I can't make any comparisons, but I thought, on the whole the show was brilliant.

I couldn't understand why French was used so much though.

Well, it went off OK in the end. The flame thing worked really well.

I thought the cauldron was a brilliant idea that was executed flawlessly.

So the Queen couldn't be bothered raising a smile on what should have been one of the highlights of her reign. Even Charles, Camilla, Wiilliam and Kate were having a laugh and joining in the fun, the Queen just sat there as dour and disinterested as ever. Great image of Britain to put out to the world.

She does smile. By all accounts from people who have met her (especially at less formal engagements) she's a really chatty and friendly person that's surprisingly down to earth.

She's also old.

I think it's unfair to have some close-up shots of her looking disinterested, which will no doubt get Tweeted a million times and end up in the papers, when I am sure she felt very proud.

Indeed Jon. I am no great fan of the monarchy but I think it is a little unfair to criticise the Queen for not smiling. She comes from a different era to most of us, one where dignity was far more important in public figures than it is today.