Was it just me, or were they disappointing?
At first glimpse of the arena, set to look like a historic English countryside, I was excited and had high hopes that this storytelling opening would be memorable. But then the scene transitioned forward in time to the Industrial Revolution era in what seemed to take the same amount of time as when it actually occurred. After watching volunteers rip up and carry sod offstage and smokestacks rise out of nowhere, we paused to pay respects to those who served and memorialized WWII.
The rest was a blur- James Bond pretended to parachute into the stadium with the Queen for her royal introduction. The Queen entered, showed no emotion, and it was awkward. There was a quick glimpse of Will, Kate & Harry. Then Voldemort and Captain Hook frightened children trying to sleep, before they were chased away by 10,000 Mary Poppins. Doctors and nurses danced on stage and there was a big creepy baby. Cut to some teenagers in love and horrible dance groups that looked like badly prepared flash mobs. Said dancers attempted to depict 30 years in 13 minutes. Teenagers like cell phones and FaceBook, and they kiss. Mr. Bean plays the piano. Cut to David Beckham driving a boat down the Thames carrying the Olympic torch.
Cue Olympic Parade of Athletes. Spoiler alert: Dominica has 2 Olympians while Australia has 410. I’m not a mathematician, but that seems to me like a slight disadvantage. I am going out on a limb to say Australia walks away with more medals. Also, this just in- Usain Blot may have competition this year…from another Jamaican. Shocking, I really saw the US having a shot this year. I’m cheering for the Independent Olympic Athlete Team who evidently are actors in their free time as they put on quite a good show for their entrance.
Sorry London, but I found the opening ceremony to be slightly like the country: gloomy and a bit ordinary. Had you showed a montage of Will & Kate’s wedding, Harry Potter, Bridget Jones Diary and James Bond, it would have been enough. If you would have added the Beatles music into the Queen’s entrance, the night would have been complete.
Maybe Beijing just set the bar too high with their textbook ceremony in the 2008 summer games? Or are my expectations unrealistic? What were your thoughts on the Opening Ceremony?