To say I loved the opening ceremony?

[scottishheather86]

I really enjoyed the show last night! It was bold and ambitious and all
Encompassing! It was a shame about the rain, but I think overall it was really great! But shocked how many utter miserable responses to it there have been!

I'm shocked that people are still complaining that there were trans people performing and a cheeky scene that insinuated a threesome! Love, passion and style are all big French themes! Can we get past the British stiff upper lip and just enjoy it for what it is?

Remember, we had David (not holier than thou) Beckham driving a boat up the Thames and loads of weird and quirky things at our opening ceremony, that would have gone over the heads of most of the rest of the world.

The God Dionysus, they were the Greek gods on Olympus with Helios at the centre

German, American, Brazilian press all praised it highly.

And the British press... did we? Hell no. Course we didn't 😂
But that's our mealy mouthed media isn't it....

🤣🤣🤣

It felt under rehearsed and poorly paced. I saw same people going around that 'fashion' show 4 segment times or more and wondered when they were going to cut away to something else. Anything else.

The horse was ok for the first few minutes, but it went on for aaages!

And the torch bit at the end felt very thrown together and, again, very poorly paced.

It was lacking in cohesion or narrative. Just terrible overall.

It must have been bad, they are usually all over Drag like a rash.

I just thought it was boring.

And the flotilla of boats was really rubbish. I mean, come on. They could have dressed them or something. It looked flat and really half hearted.

Yes I do agree with that, some of the boats looked really shit!

Or maybe because it was better, as were the opening ceremonies at other olympic games.

I thought the French would do more to celebrate their "Frenchness". It wasn't as entertaining as other ceremonies and the bits that were good like the horse on the Seine went on for far too long. I felt it dragged. We kept watching hoping for it to improve, but it didn't.

Bag o’ shite. The French do many things very well. Not that though.

The Olympics will come to an end within 20 years anyway, thank fuck. Terrible circus.

I don't think it will.

@NeverHadHasHave that's fair enough. I absolutely loved our London one being a Londoner myself but I'm sure there were other countries that didn't understand parts of our ceremony or wondered what all the 'toolmakers' were doing, or didn't agree with our royal family bits etc...but it's very British 😊. The Beijing one was amazing too, very much showing their manpower and history. I guess this is the way Paris want to show themselves - will not be for everyone I guess.

I thought that some of the staged bits were excellent, others less so but then that is just a matter of taste I suppose. The finale, the horse, the balloon and Celine in particular were stunning. Overall I found it a bit disjointed and I think the rain did get in the way quite a bit. I read today that some of the roof top staging had to be cancelled because it was too dangerous in the wet but there were other bits that looked quite dangerous in the wet too.

You may be right. But the corruption, greed and bullying of the IOC and the rampant cheating of the nations and athletes is hurting it badly.

Anyway, does anyone care any more who wins the 1500m or the modern pentathlon or the race walking or the welly boot throwing?

There were mixed reviews internationally. It wasn’t just the British press that didn’t like it - and I would say that other than the Daily Mail, even Brit media tried to be positive. No one really listens to the Mail anyway because they hate everything.

If you look at how the world media described the event, the words used were quite careful. Phrases like “very French” and “unique” were used - it’s what you say when you’re trying to avoid being critical.

But there was also plenty of overt criticism, setting aside the complaints over the sexualisation and religious parodying. Some of the international press described it as tedious and bloated, and pointed out that loads of spectators left before the end, which is virtually unheard of.

Everyone tries to be positive about these events. No one wants a shit Olympics - we all want it to be good. The fact there has been criticism from multiple publications around the world, including left wing publications, indicates that it’s not been a resounding success.

I do. I love the Olympics and so do the dcs.

pointed out that loads of spectators left before the end, which is virtually unheard of i mean, that was obviously due to the weather.

I felt embarrassed for them, it was pretty bad. Very trashy, amateurish. Most of the dancers were really poor, I can't believe they were the best France could come up with. As for the weird drag thing and the pervy smurf guy, I mean wtf? What have men dressed up as women got to do with the Olympics and the celebration of the incredible things humans can do? None of them looked like they could run for a bus. I did quite like the galloping horse though, and the light show. I got bored and turned off before the end so missed Celine and the balloon so maybe that would have changed my mind.

I’m sure the rain was a factor but if it was a sizzling atmosphere it would still have been packed out to the end.

Plenty of reports saying spectators were complaining of being bored. Very little live action, the same music being repeated, nothing to see, and only option was to watch on screens - which obviously isn’t the point of attending.

I’ve seen plenty of events take place in the rain with jam-packed audiences.

I can see why some TV viewers enjoyed it - but it’s supposed to be an occasion, an event, not a production that’s better watched on TV.

It was a man and a woman holding the torch at the end. Marie-José Perec and Teddy Riner.

I don’t think the concept of using the city really worked. The athletes were too distant, too slow, too bored. Everything looked spread out and disconnected. There was no atmosphere.
I don’t really understand why they had so many non french people in really prominent roles.
I thought the cancan dancers and the drag act were shit. If you must use dance then you must have people who can dance, a choreographer, and practice. The cancan should have been fabulous and it just wasn’t. The drag was hideously cringe and dated. It’s not “inclusive” to present something that women, Christians, children and anyone with any artistic taste, don’t want to be watching and it’s certainly not “diverse”. It’s a world show, not a time to pretend it’s 1992 and you are writing a comedy drama staring Timothy Spall trying to turn around the fortunes of a rough gay pub in a decaying northern town. I think drag is shit anyway, but this was shit drag. They were bad at it, and they should be embarrassed about showing it to a global audience.

I liked the wee angel playing the accordion, the people on poles, the Bizet, the poor bloke on the piano the La Marseillaise from the roof.

I don’t understand the minions and thought it was a bit soon for an exploding submarine. Celebrating the reign of terror was a bit odd I thought too.

I LOVED the balloon cauldron - and not just because it signalled that I had endured enough and it was finally over. All in all it was boring, which is the one thing a show really can’t be.

Exactly.

Why on earth would you think that?

Me. At least while it’s on. It’s people who have trained to the peak of what’s possible.
I don’t give a fuck about the football World Cup, but I don’t think that will make it end.

What? That the opening was shit or that the Olympics is a discredited and unwelcome farce?