Does anyone have comments about the Olympic Opening ceremonies?

[Sheree Bobbins]

I managed to sit through an hour until the athletes had entered and were seated. Then I got bored.

Any thoughts on this?

 

[happygirl]

I managed to sit through an hour until the athletes had entered and were seated. Then I got bored.

Any thoughts on this?

I kinda like them coming closer to the begining. The ending was a mess.

 

[LisaR]

I am sure I am in the minority but I was not impressed at all. The girl that sung the Canadian anthem sang so slllooowww. It seemed as if the opera singer was lip syncing. Some of the acts started out fine but they just seemed to drag. I love Donald Sutherland and his voice is fabulous but his quotes just didn't cut it for me. The technical issues at the end seemed like the perfect way to end a flat performance. My family all voted it the least captivating opening ceremonies we have watched.

That said, NBC did a great piece on Canada and the pictures of Vancouver were breathtaking. Definitely a place I want to visit now.

 

[ncmickeyluvr]

I sat through the whole thing! yep..7:30 until 12:15. I think they should give out medals for that DD even sat through most of it. She fell asleep on the couch at about 11:45.

I thought it was good. DD wanted to know why "America" wasn't in the beginning with the other A countries instead of at the end....sometimes she's a ditzy girl.

The show itself was good. DD remarked that visually it reminded her a bit of Illuminations. I thought that was an interesting observation.

The technical malfunction at the end was kind of sad to watch. I kept thinking about all the hard work they had done for so long. Then to have that be the last image of the night was disappointing. Wayne Gretsky's face was priceless though.

I also think that they did a decent job of celebrating the opening of the games and tempering that with the sadness of the day and the loss of an athlete.

 

[janey99]

I am sure I am in the minority but I was not impressed at all. The girl that sung the Canadian anthem sang so slllooowww. It seemed as if the opera singer was lip syncing. Some of the acts started out fine but they just seemed to drag. I love Donald Sutherland and his voice is fabulous but his quotes just didn't cut it for me. The technical issues at the end seemed like the perfect way to end a flat performance. My family all voted it the least captivating opening ceremonies we have watched.

That said, NBC did a great piece on Canada and the pictures of Vancouver were breathtaking. Definitely a place I want to visit now.

I feel bad, but I'm with you - the whole thing was boring, uninspired and in some parts, it was downright silly (specifically, the homage to Canada's illustrious punkrock history (??) and the ode to the shoebomber).

By the time they had their giant rising pole malfunction at the end, I wasn't surprised at all.

I heard one talking head say at the beginning the goal the whole opening ceremony was to get people on the phone with their travel agents saying "book me a trip to Canada ASAP!" Well, I haven't picked up my phone yet today!

It did not resonate with me at all - I found it very self-indulgent and not very self-aware.

Jane

 

[merryweather20]

I'm hard pressed to find people who didn't enjoy them. There were so many unique touches like all the crowd involvement, and the spouting whales projected on to the floor.

I loved the crowd in light blue with the upper section forming international flags, Fantastic!

 

[marcyinPA]

I fell asleep after the countries paraded in, then woke up and caught some of the show (some of the special effects were really cool...like the whales and the water...). I fell asleep again, and woke up to the Shrek song, and wondered who the "guy" was who was singing it (I was half asleep). Googled it this morning to find out it was K.D. Lang....whoooops!

I turned the t.v. off after that, so I missed the torch debacle.

 

[Sheree Bobbins]

I'm glad to hear your thoughts. Of course, being from the Vancouver area, I would like for our city to make a good impression. We have had protestors too which has taken away the charm of the Olympics. Not to mention the shadow cast by the dead athlete.

A newscaster reported earlier in the day that a man from North Carolina bought an opening ceremonies ticket for $600. from a scalper. The price on the ticket was $1100.00. So the scalpers were losing money.

 

[marcyinPA]

I have to say that I had a particularly proud feeling when the crowd (which I was figuring was greatly Canadian) cheered so loudly for the U.S.A.

I hope the weather improves for the outdoor sports that need the snow....

And I really want to visit Vancouver some day! It looks like a beautiful city!

 

[Art 1]

The parade of nations was nice but it all went down hill after that IMO. Too much emphasis was put on the Indians. The songs were too long, slow and boring. The Canadian anthem is so very nice but the singer was too slow with it.

Hard to compare to what China did and what Rio will do.

 

[Mary Anne]

To the poster who mentioned the opening reminded her of Illuminations.... I am 95% sure that the VOICE of the announcer was the same voice that used to do the voice of Illuminations and announce the countries Did anyone else notice this?

 

[FireDancer]

I have no respect for any event that allows lip syncing of the songs. I don't care that there might be a malfunction, so be it. There could also be a malfunction with the recording, lights, screens, or anything else as evidenced by the conclusion.

I thought China's ceremony was better and Canada fell short. I felt like the march of nations was done in the middle of a Dances with Wolves stage production. I think the events themselves will be really well presented though. That area knows a thing or two about winter sports.

 

[hulagirl87]

I haven't watched it yet, I DVR'd it so that I can fast forward through the boring parts. I did hear though that there was a malfunction with the torch lighting thing.

 

[LisaR]

I have no respect for any event that allows lip syncing of the songs. I don't care that there might be a malfunction, so be it. There could also be a malfunction with the recording, lights, screens, or anything else as evidence by the conclusion.

I thought China's ceremony was better and Canada fell short. I felt like the march of nations was done in the middle of a Dances with Wolves stage production. I think the events themselves will be really well presented though. That area knows a thing or two about winter sports.

Yes! It was so.........um......odd??

 

[Aimeedyan]

Their budget wasn't anywhere near the Beijing budget so it's hard to compare. We sat through the whole thing. It really did drag through several parts... but I always find myself bored through parts of opening ceremonies

I liked that the athletes came in first - that was nice. The whales on the floor was really cool. The music was bad... I hate lip syncing. KD Lang was good, but the others were 'eh' - such great talent in Canada! Why those choices?

 

[joviroxx]

I think British Columbia is one of the most beautiful areas in the entire world. I love Vancouver, its one of my favorite cities.

I thought the ceremonies did a really good job portraying the history of Canada and what it's aboutl I, for one, can appreciate a country wanting to share what they are proud of. Its not always about technology and glitz.

To compare it to China is unfair as China has a bottomless pit of history to draw from and a MUCH larger budget. Not many Olympic opening ceremonies compare to what they did.

Again, for a country with the population less than the population of California, it amazes me how many talented, exceptional people they have blessed us with. To me, it says something about who they are as a people and I was happy to sit and watch how they expressed themselves.

Not the most outlandish ceremony, and a bit slow at times, but they were fine nonetheless. Most Olympic ceremonies have slow somewhat boring parts. I did feel awful for them with the glitch. It must really suck to have that happen after all that hard work.

 

[declansdad]

The parade of nations was nice but it all went down hill after that IMO. Too much emphasis was put on the Indians. The songs were too long, slow and boring. The Canadian anthem is so very nice but the singer was too slow with it.

Hard to compare to what China did and what Rio will do.

Please! What a terrible comment to make.

And nothing will compare to China with the 300 to 400 million they spent on the opening.


This opening was not the best but it was far from boring and the effects were fantastic. It was sad to see the technical problem in the end but in true Canadian fashion, it was overcome.

 

[NMAmy]

I guess I'm in the minority but I enjoyed it although I fell asleep after Sarah MacLachlan's song (that's what happens when you get up at 5:00 am.) I thought that honoring the First Nations was a fantastic touch. And the whales spouting through the floor was amazing.

 

[declansdad]

I have no respect for any event that allows lip syncing of the songs. I don't care that there might be a malfunction, so be it. There could also be a malfunction with the recording, lights, screens, or anything else as evidenced by the conclusion.

Then you must not respect many ceremonies of this nature because most of them use lip syncing.

 

[joviroxx]

Then you must not respect many ceremonies of this nature because most of them use lip syncing.

Including the SuperBowl.. The National Anthem is lipsynched each year.