Most Olympics Opening Ceremonies are gorgeous artistic spectacles. Of course the most notable example was from the 2008 Beijing Olympics, a dizzying landscapes of colors, sounds, lights, and unbelievable precision. There was no way London could compete with that, but in the hands of British director Danny Boyle, the 2012 Opening Ceremony gave us something even more memorable: a pop culture extravaganza.
The 4-hour ceremony (I was forced to watch on NBC, replete with ads and god-awful commentary) started off slow. The stadium floor featured a pastoral landscape, complete with maypole dancers and live animals, in reference to Britain's agrarian roots. Kenneth Branagh appeared in a stovepipe hat and declaimed a passage from The Tempest - you don't get much more British than that. But from there, things got weird and wonderful fast. The Industrial Revolution arrived, bringing with it smokestacks, soot-smeared extras, extremely odd dancing, and quick destruction of all the greenery. There was a thumping score, lots of fire and sparks, and apparently they pumped in a sulfur smell into the stadium to give the audience an immersive experience (prompting Meredith Vieira to say, "Don't you wish you had Smell-o-vision?" Did I mention the god-awful commentary?). After the five Olympic rings were forged, we moved on to the truly goofy portion of the evening's entertainment.
The Queen and James Bond. By now, you've probably all heard what happened. Suffice to say, it was the most ridiculous thing one could expect at an Olympics Ceremony. And I mean ridiculous in a great way. After that skydiving entrance, the Ceremony launched into a parade of British pop culture, including the brilliant Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean, trying to sit still while playing in the orchestra for a rendition of Chariots of Fire. There was a tribute to the National Health Service combined with a tribute to iconic British literature that brought us the much-anticipated showdown between Lord Voldemort and Mary Poppins. And the digital portion, which was pretty weird but featured a soundtrack of iconic Brit hits through four decades, with scenes from renowned movies and television shows. They also showcased Tim Berners-Lee, the man who invented the Internet. A lofty claim indeed.
The Parade of Nations followed, set to some great music. The British electronic duo Underworld were in charge of the soundtrack for this Ceremony and they certainly delivered. As the commentators kept remarking, the Parade moved at a nice pace, probably spurred on by the foot-tapping music. The commentary on each nation tended to range from depressing news about their economic or political situation to snickering over their funny names (here's looking at you, Djibouti). Finally, Zimbabwe and Great Britain made their way around the stadium, all the flags were raised, the Olympic torch was lit up beautifully by 200-plus copper leaves that each nation had carried in, and the fireworks exploded over the London skyline while Paul McCartney sang "Hey Jude".
Thus began the London 2012 Summer Olympics and I thought it was the most entertaining Opening Ceremony I've seen. It wasn't an artistic triumph but it was a pop cultural acid trip. James Bond, Harry Potter, Mr. Bean, Shakespeare, the Internet, and the Beatles - the United Kingdom has a lot to be proud of, and last night, they let us know it.
The 4-hour ceremony (I was forced to watch on NBC, replete with ads and god-awful commentary) started off slow. The stadium floor featured a pastoral landscape, complete with maypole dancers and live animals, in reference to Britain's agrarian roots. Kenneth Branagh appeared in a stovepipe hat and declaimed a passage from The Tempest - you don't get much more British than that. But from there, things got weird and wonderful fast. The Industrial Revolution arrived, bringing with it smokestacks, soot-smeared extras, extremely odd dancing, and quick destruction of all the greenery. There was a thumping score, lots of fire and sparks, and apparently they pumped in a sulfur smell into the stadium to give the audience an immersive experience (prompting Meredith Vieira to say, "Don't you wish you had Smell-o-vision?" Did I mention the god-awful commentary?). After the five Olympic rings were forged, we moved on to the truly goofy portion of the evening's entertainment.
The Queen and James Bond. By now, you've probably all heard what happened. Suffice to say, it was the most ridiculous thing one could expect at an Olympics Ceremony. And I mean ridiculous in a great way. After that skydiving entrance, the Ceremony launched into a parade of British pop culture, including the brilliant Rowan Atkinson as Mr. Bean, trying to sit still while playing in the orchestra for a rendition of Chariots of Fire. There was a tribute to the National Health Service combined with a tribute to iconic British literature that brought us the much-anticipated showdown between Lord Voldemort and Mary Poppins. And the digital portion, which was pretty weird but featured a soundtrack of iconic Brit hits through four decades, with scenes from renowned movies and television shows. They also showcased Tim Berners-Lee, the man who invented the Internet. A lofty claim indeed.The Parade of Nations followed, set to some great music. The British electronic duo Underworld were in charge of the soundtrack for this Ceremony and they certainly delivered. As the commentators kept remarking, the Parade moved at a nice pace, probably spurred on by the foot-tapping music. The commentary on each nation tended to range from depressing news about their economic or political situation to snickering over their funny names (here's looking at you, Djibouti). Finally, Zimbabwe and Great Britain made their way around the stadium, all the flags were raised, the Olympic torch was lit up beautifully by 200-plus copper leaves that each nation had carried in, and the fireworks exploded over the London skyline while Paul McCartney sang "Hey Jude".
Thus began the London 2012 Summer Olympics and I thought it was the most entertaining Opening Ceremony I've seen. It wasn't an artistic triumph but it was a pop cultural acid trip. James Bond, Harry Potter, Mr. Bean, Shakespeare, the Internet, and the Beatles - the United Kingdom has a lot to be proud of, and last night, they let us know it.
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