I'm not one for opening ceremonies, but being Canadian I figured I better watch.
The poet I think you had to be Canadian to get a lot of what he was saying.
As for other artists, I think that the emphasis on the native community was a good choice. A few stars like k.d. lang (looking a lot like Wayne Newton) were great, but I think the focus was on the country and not the artists.
The fact that there were 5 people lighting the torch was really cool, even though one statue broke.