No this is not a spoiler.. As a "reward" for volunteering for the Olympics/Parlympics some of the Gamesmakers were invited, free of charge to a technical rehearsal of Fridays opening ceremony. We were asked to "keep the secret" which I am going to do other than to say ...IT WAS AWESOME. I realise many of you macho men out there will be saying...Opening ceremony....bah humbug....but this year give it a try. It is long...3hrs I believe, but that will include the parade of athletes and the official bits. We saw the entertainment bit last night, directed by Danny Boyle...the man is just a genius...It is so British, and with just the right amount of British off the wall left-side humour. There is so much in it, just everything you can think of from British life. AND Boyle has a wicked wicked sense of humour A slightly slow start, but it builds into one of the most fun spectacular events I have ever seen. Keep watching there are little salutes, humour, asides everywhere. We definitely didn't see it all....and I expect the real surprises were hidden from us too.. To those who are going to the Olympics The security was a doodle, it was handled by soldiers last night brilliantly Transport, less so. The central line stopped at 10.30 due to a broken train...but West Ham station is 20 min walk away and unbothered by Olympic fans Food costly (4.20 a beer, 1.20 a water) The queues for British fish and chips (looked nice tho) were round the block, but for salads were no existent. I had one of the most memorial times of my life last night Enjoy Friday, the television will be the best place to watch it
well done for volunteering is it true the opening ceremony had to be shortened so people would be able to use public transport before it is turned off for the night note to boris let the trains run all night(just a thought)
Thanks for that Beth. My mate has got tickets for the opening ceromony so i'm gonna show him your post to crank up his excitement. Should be a great spectacular
I am looking more forward to watching the opening ceremony than the olympics themselves So glad that the greatest pop star probably of all time is going to be there and its not Cliff Richard
Thanks, Beth. Haven't heard of anyone there last night who didn't think it was good, so I'll make sure I see it. I think the weather's holding up until Friday...just, which is a big plus
Just WOW. What a stunning event. A superb performance that made me proud to be British. Some of the stuff in it was amazing. A great opening to London 2012 - everyone involved should be proud!
It was a stunning event, I sat glued to it until the end. I thought it really was superb. One thing I wasn't too sure of was Mohamed Ali's sad appearance, he quite clearly didn't have a clue what was going on and looked shadow of his former self. I'm sure nobody wants to remember him like that.
Opening ceremonies are usually on a par with watching a chick flick for me, they are painful to watch but thats the 1st one I thought was decent even though I was only half watching it.
I thought it was great.... David B as Bond and some of our all time greats involved. think they have done themselves proud... Very very proud to be a Londoner watching that!! Well done to all
I was slightly cynical and did think it started off pretty slowly (hence the derogatory texts to my lads who do read this forum, in case they accuse me of being a hypocrite!). It improved with time and the idea of Redgrave passing the torch to nominated young athletes of tomorrow was absolutely inspired. The comments of the foreign press were interesting. One described it as quirky, but not in an unpleasant way. I think that was the key. We did not try to emulate the finely orchestrated razzmatazz of China last year, we were just being ourselves. That usually brings out the best in people. As a Monarchist and a Bond fan, well, enough said on that one! As an NHS worker myself, the moment of most irritation / sadness / frustration for me was when we celebrated the NHS. Cameron was watching and applauding while his lapdog Lansley is bleeding it dry and preparing it for privatization. However, that is probably for another forum and not this one! One commentator made the point that TV did not do it justice as one had to see the whole panorama unfolding in the live show to get the best out of it. Fair enough for the lucky few but the TV was still pretty good. The one thing I would definitely have changed is Macca. Sorry mate, there comes a time when every superstar has to hang up their boots / piano / bat / whatever and yours came before the Queen's Diamond Jubilee concert! Too many great young singers who can still sing to be wheeling out the old boys. This was also not compatible with the 'inspiring the next generation' ethos which Redgrave did so well. The flame of petals coming together at the end, together with the fireworks ,was a spectacular and fitting finale to a well constructed and truly impressive opening ceremony. Well done us!! Big well done to Danny Boyle - not a bad thing to add to the old CV?! I gather he took the time at one of the last rehearsals to personally thank all the volunteers and professionals who took part in the show. It took over 4 hours. That is a man who understands people and that impresses me as much as his show.
I think it is ridiculous that there is now a call for a knighthood for Danny Boyle. The man organised a show, for crying out loud. Just like Hoy rides a bicycle. Just like Redgrave enjoyed messing about in boats. Can the knighthood be devalued any further?
I didn't see it all but the bits I did see, I enjoyed very much. I was embarrassed for Beckham. He may have bond looks but he doesn't have a bond accent. The best bit was the range of music. Everything from Elgar to the Sex Pistols and everything in between. Well done London. Great show so far. The bike race yesterday was brilliant. Great to see so many people out watching.
