Olympic Ceremonies

[epcot.girl]

The director was trying explain our recent history (an agrarian society which kick starts the world wide industrial revolution, moving through to the world wars and beyond) & to celebrate the things that we British try to feel proud about (although this isn't really in our nature). If the NBC hosts didn't explain what was going on then perhaps they weren't very good or very well prepared? There were two full dress rehearsals during the week that they could have sat in on. I understand that your version was also highly edited and full of commercials which I think would be very jarring and ruin the fluidity of the whole thing.

Alas some people aren't going to get every reference, especially those with no interest in other countries. To make it completely understandable to everyone on the planet I guess we could have held a North Korean style Mass Games event - lots of spectacle and thousands of well drilled people performing gymnastics and throwing balls in the air. What do you think?

Inevitably there were going to be British references in the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic Games and I don't think we were being self-centred to include things which not everyone might understand. However I won't expect the Rio games in 2016 to be devoid of any Brazilian content that I may not immediately get, in fact anything curious would likely pique my interest and make me want to find out more.

Agree, especially the bolded.

 

[Shutterbug]

The fact that the Brits on here say they understood it makes it even worse. This was supposed to be a show for all countries, all of the billion people watching it.

Oh like when the US hosted it and had the parade of pick up trucks during the ceremony? *face palm* now that was embarrassing.

I enjoyed it.

 

[sittinpretty]

There were bits I didn't like, the texting/romance part of it was lame and should have been dropped and the Great Ormond Street Childrens' Hospital/NHS thing went on too long but I enjoyed the rest. I'm just pleased that it didn't rain and soak everyone - up until a week ago we in the UK have had about 4 months of sunless wet weather and it has been cold too. It got sunnier and warmer about a week ago which was a relief to everyone.

 

[Hrhpd]

The director was trying explain our recent history (an agrarian society which kick starts the world wide industrial revolution, moving through to the world wars and beyond) & to celebrate the things that we British try to feel proud about (although this isn't really in our nature). If the NBC hosts didn't explain what was going on then perhaps they weren't very good or very well prepared? There were two full dress rehearsals during the week that they could have sat in on. I understand that your version was also highly edited and full of commercials which I think would be very jarring and ruin the fluidity of the whole thing.

Alas some people aren't going to get every reference, especially those with no interest in other countries. To make it completely understandable to everyone on the planet I guess we could have held a North Korean style Mass Games event - lots of spectacle and thousands of well drilled people performing gymnastics and throwing balls in the air. What do you think?

Inevitably there were going to be British references in the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic Games and I don't think we were being self-centred to include things which not everyone might understand. I won't expect the Rio games in 2016 to be devoid of any Brazilian content that I may not immediately get, in fact anything curious would likely pique my interest and make me want to find out more as I like to learn about other cultures.

Well, we all have our opinions. I thought it was disjointed, poorly orchestrated, and just plain bad overall.

And, FWIW, I grew up in Europe, so I am well aware of the history of the European continent. My opinion has nothing to do with not being interested in other cultures.

I expected British elements in the ceremonies. I just thought it was poorly done. Every review I have read on facebook and other social media that the organizers seemed so intrigued by agree that while there were some good elements, for the most part, just ho-hum. We are all entitled to our opinions.

I agree that NBC had very poor editing with too many cuts to commercials. However, the hosts did attend both rehearsals, so I was glad for their drivel as it at least gave some meaning to what was going on.

Hopefully the closing ceremonies will be redeeming.

 

[Hrhpd]

Oh like when the US hosted it and had the parade of pick up trucks during the ceremony? *face palm* now that was embarrassing.

That was quite embarrassing. The Atlanta opening ceremonies were just as bad.

 

[luvavacation]

I am so glad this thread is here, as it explains so much for me!

First, let me say that I absolutely detest the coverage we get here in the states on NBC, especially now hearing how certain things were left out. Someone made a comment that the anchors sounded like they were covering a Thanksgiving Day parade - YES!

Second, my family really like what London did with the opening ceremony! I expect the opening ceremony to reflect upon the country that the Olympics are taking place in, and for me, that is what I saw. I did not understand everything that was done, did not get all of the symbolism, but enjoyed it nonetheless.

I apprecate the intricacies of transforming the stadium from a pastoral, Lord of the Rings setting (according to my DD), to an industrial setting. I thought the kids were a lot of fun, jumping on the hospital beds, but was thinking that there was no way that would happen in America, because if a child fell off, the parents would sue the Olympic organizers!

I am so not a fan of the Beatles, but to me it seemed like Paul McCartney was a bit choked up, perhaps overwhelmed to be playing in a manner to show off his country to the world? Or maybe I was just placing myself in that situation, because that is how I would feel!

Every Olympic opening ceremony, DH and I critique it against Albertville. This was so, so much better, at least for us. Great Britain showed off what it felt was important about the country, and while China may have shown off how big of a spectacle they could put on, Great Britain went with something more basic and "British". We liked that!

And I still really detest NBC.

 

[KristaTX]

I'm surprised to read that so many people hated the US clothing. I thought they looked classic, regardless of where they were made or the Polo on them. It felt old-time Olympics-ish to me, but then I like old-timey and preppy. They were my second favorite outfits after the Swedes and their rugby outfits .

Overall I enjoyed watching despite it being somewhat disjointed, but that could just be NBC and how much their editing stinks. And whoever chose the camera shots did a mostly horrible job. The show looked good, but the filming was just not good at all except for some of the broad shots.

I miss the days when ABC had the Olympics. The only thing NBC is good for is Parenthood.

 

[epcot.girl]

And, FWIW, I grew up in Europe, so I am well aware of the history of the European continent. My opinion has nothing to do with not being interested in other cultures.

That's nice (and I love the rest of Europe) but the UK isn't part of the continent so I hope you weren't referring to British history and culture in that statement.

Every review I have read on facebook and other social media that the organizers seemed so intrigued by agree that while there were some good elements, for the most part, just ho-hum.

And yet I've only come across a small number of negative reviews - and I've seen plenty of non-British positive comments. But you're right in that we're all entitled to our opinion. You can never please everyone unfortunately.

I do believe NBC messed it up for the US audience.

 

[disneyjunkie]

There were a few good points, but for the most part it was BORING,BORING,BORING.

The commentary was horrible.... Even when the athletes came in....not enough stories about the athletes .

They did say they had to skip over many of their notes because the athletes were coming in so fast.

 

[declansdad]

All in all, I found it disjointed, hard to follow and not very good. I agree that if the majority of your audience needs a cheat sheet just to understand, it was poorly played.

The fact that the Brits on here say they understood it makes it even worse. This was supposed to be a show for all countries, all of the billion people watching it. Gearing a show so that only the Brits know the inside scoop is rather self centered and not in the spirit of the International significance of the games. I appreciate that they were celebrating their history, but it could have been done so that everybody understood better.

That said, there were a few good moments. Getting the Queen to participate was fun. Mr. Bean was entertaining and the forging of the Olympic rings was spectacular.

But really, kids' nightmares for an Olympic theme? The whole technology skit was bizarre. Found it ironic that the beginning of the skit, they were all holding IPads, a decidedly American piece of technology. It was also small in scale, all being played out on one side of the house. Can't imagine what the audience behind the house thought since they couldn't see through the house. Too much video for a live performance. The children's choirs representing the 4 countries would have been much more effective if they were singing in the stadium live.

And I hope that at 70, I will have half the energy of Sir Paul.

Not my favorite opening ceremonies. If they wanted a show full of innuendo just for the British people, they shouldn't have invited the rest of the world. Just my opinion, of course.

If you had actually got to see the whole thing live without many interuptions you probably could have followed it. I'm not British but we did get to see it live and it was easy to follow the story. There were some parts that did seem to drag but still easy to follow.

 

[diznygirl]

First, let me say that I absolutely detest the coverage we get here in the states on NBC, especially now hearing how certain things were left out. Someone made a comment that the anchors sounded like they were covering a Thanksgiving Day parade - YES!

My husband started adding, "And Santa Clause!" when Merideth and Matt were telling us what was coming up next!


During the parade of nations it was 5 minutes of coverage and 2 minutes of commercials back and forth for a long time. It was sooooooooo annoying! And they only seemed to have one camera angle.

I wish we had been more prepared and arranged to watch it live on BBC. It would have been so much better.

 

[Jennasis]

Exactly. I understood the whole thing without commentary because I'm British. But I would have been clueless about the Beijing opening ceremony without some commentary.

Well the lead designer is British: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Ive Or it could have been a touch of incorporating other cultures. Or just because iPads are everywhere in the UK and part of our culture, along with nearly every other developed country.


I heard NBC edited out some bits including the lesbian kiss and the tribute to the 7/7 victims. Nice.

The kiss was not edited out. We saw it.

 

[Imzadi]

well its major parts of the history of GB - which obviously those who don't take interest in other countries history won't know about.

Alas some people aren't going to get every reference, especially those with no interest in other countries.

Interesting. Is this a famous catch-phrase in Britain?

Maybe, other people just aren't all that interested in all the major history about YOUR country?

Exactly. I understood the whole thing without commentary because I'm British. But I would have been clueless about the Beijing opening ceremony without some commentary.

Well, you'd know if you took interest in other countries history.

Thought the grassy hill with the planting of all the country flags was a nice touch and getting the next generation to light the torch.

And of course, you DO know, being up on all the history & tales of your own country, that the grassy hill is Glastonbury Tor, a famous site having legendary connections to the King Arthur legend. I found it interesting that the Tor was placed at the center of the ceremony.

All in all, I found it disjointed, hard to follow and not very good. I agree that if the majority of your audience needs a cheat sheet just to understand, it was poorly played.

The fact that the Brits on here say they understood it makes it even worse. This was supposed to be a show for all countries, all of the billion people watching it. Gearing a show so that only the Brits know the inside scoop is rather self centered and not in the spirit of the International significance of the games. I appreciate that they were celebrating their history, but it could have been done so that everybody understood better.

Shh! We uncultured ignoramuses are being put in our places.

I'm glad that these posters attitudes aren't representative of the the majority of the British posts & posters here. It's been great reading the other posters take on their own country's ceremony last night.

Thankfully, the British sites I visited when I was there, I wasn't hit in the head with ALL the British history I was supposed to know about before getting there.

Like most Americans, I hated out uniforms. Really didn't care that they were made in China, but thought that the Ralph Lauren logo over the heart was dumb. The flag should be over the heart. Ralph Lauren logo also shouldn't have been bigger than our flag. Personally, I think they looked like they were all getting ready to assist people as they fly the friendly skies. Very American Airlines Stewardess-like. Luckily, United Kingdom came out a bit later and took all the heat off of our uniforms. Yikes.

Yes, that was funny. Nothing like not looking so bad after all, in comparison to something much worse.

The ending was edited out on NBC, such as the Arctic Monkeys preformed 2 songs and the Olympic oath by the athletes and the officials were not part of the broadcast.

That's too bad. According to a PP, the ceremonies, without commercials was 3 1/2 hours long. NBC added a full hour of commercials. They should have kept the Olympic oath in.

 

[HelenaB]

If the US tv channels delayed broadcasting the event until several hours afterwards - why didn't they just edit in the commercials without missing any of the actual ceremony?

After a few hours reflection I still liked most of the ceremony.

We love our history and our NHS and our Comedy and our Music - oh and sport of course.

One thing I can say on behalf of the whole UK that we DO NOT love is shiny white and gold hoodies (I need you to know that!!).

 

[sam_gordon]

If the US tv channels delayed broadcasting the event until several hours aftwerwards - why didn't they just edit in the commercials without missing any of the actual ceremony?

I had HEARD (don't know if it's accurate), the ceremonies went 45 minutes over the planned time (with no commercials).

I also was wondering if the directing choices were from NBC or from the IBC and handed out to all the various broadcasters. Cutting between the live events and the taped events (especially during the boy/girl scene) was too clean to have multiple directors IMO.

 

[epcot.girl]

Maybe, other people just aren't all that interested in all the major history about YOUR country?

You (generic you) don't have to be interested in our country. Really, who cares? But those people have no place getting bent out of shape when the London Olympics opening ceremony focuses on OUR culture and history and they don't understand it. Again, the editing and commentary provided by NBC probably made the problem 10x worse than it would have been otherwise.

Well, you'd know if you took interest in other countries history.

You missed my point. I don't know much about the history of China so I didn't completely understand the Beijing opening ceremony without commentary, but I also didn't expect them to cater to me. I expected it to be based on China. There's nothing wrong with that, and there's nothing wrong with last night's opening ceremony focusing on British stuff. I don't really know/understand what the naysayers were expecting. The people who didn't click with it probably don't click with British culture in general, and that's fine. Different things for different people.

What I got from the whole thing was, 'This is where we come from. These are some of the things we've done (good and bad). Here is some stuff we're proud of. Yes we don't take ourselves too seriously sometimes. This is where we are now. Welcome to our country. Let's inspire the next generation.'

ETA: Danny Boyle (the director of last night's ceremony) just tweeted: There are always going to people who will criticise what you do. You can't please everyone.

 

[islandmum]

Maybe, other people just aren't all that interested in all the major history about YOUR country?



.

well then don't complain how you were confused by it all. London Olympics - you're gonna get London/GB history

I suggest you start reading up about Brazil from now if you want to watch their ceremony and not be confused by their show.

 

[epcot.girl]

NBC's opening ceremony mess: the top six cringeworthy moments - The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/us-...g-ceremony-cringeworthy-moments?newsfeed=true

NBC's opening ceremony mess: the top six cringeworthy moments
From Meredith Vieira's jokes about her own ignorance to the station's frequent ad breaks and mindless chatter

After getting a storm of criticism over social media for not broadcasting the Olympic opening ceremony live, the American network also got hit for some of the edits and content of its delayed coverage.

Here are some of the more cringeworthy moments:

Punk goes pop
The Sex Pistols have long passed away from being subversive and instead become quintessentially British. But perhaps not as far as NBC was concerned. Their song Pretty Vacant only made snatches of the broadcast either side of a break and was largely cut.

Tim Berners-Lee – who dat?
NBC co-host Meredith Vieira failed to do her homework and thus did not recognise the importance of the inventor of the world wide web. "If you haven't heard of him, we haven't either," she said. "Google him," joked co-host Matt Lauer.

Removing memorial
NBC also failed to broadcast a video tribute to relatives and friends of those in stadium who had passed on. The memorial video – which reportedly included shots of Danny Boyle's own father – was also introduced with a reference to tragedy caused by the terrorist attacks in London in 2005. That made the omission doubly offensive.

Meredith sings!
Vieira attempted to add to the vocals of Mick Jagger as the Rolling Stones' (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction got an airing in the music montage segment. It wasn't a high point as she must have realised, as the karaoke effort lasted a mere few bars before she went back to straight commentary.

Now what's Uganda famous for?
Most nations have their unfortunate figures from history that it is bets not to mention at events like Olympics opening ceremonies. So it is with Uganda and former dictator Idi Amin.

Sadly no one told NBC host Bob Costas who cracked out an Amin reference at the sight of the Ugandan team.

Windrush airbrushed
For those overseas it might not be the best known moment of British history but the arrival of the Windrush in 1948 was also cut. The Windrush brought the first major wave of West Indian immigrants to Britain and, given the heavy multicultural leaning of the entire ceremony, its omission from the NBC broadcast left a hole.

 

[islandmum]

I don't know much about the history of China so I didn't completely understand the Beijing opening ceremony without commentary, but I also didn't expect them to cater to me. [/B]

Ding Ding we have a winner!

The Olympics brings everyone together, yes, but the opening ceremony is the host country's party to throw, how they want.

And Stella - your tracksuits SUCKED! GB, USA both looked bloody awful in their team outfits imo, the berets were a huge blowout, like the GB gold hoodies

 

[islandmum]

NBC's opening ceremony mess: the top six cringeworthy moments - The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/us-...g-ceremony-cringeworthy-moments?newsfeed=true

good god! does she get outside her studio much??