Rate the Opening Ceremony out of 10

[Johnny Canuck3]

Do you mean a nasty piece of work?

I don't know about nasty, but definitely a piece of work.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I would: 'and she could really do the Brontosauris....' ​

Well you've lost me now so I'm going to bed

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

I don't know about nasty, but definitely a piece of work.

but she'll also forever be known as the girl who mimed

 

[Quartz]

It's neither: it's the power of the medical and health insurance lobbies in the US.

There's that as well, but they way they do it is to highlight the problems that the NHS has, avoiding all its triumphs; and to evoke John Bunyan et al, avoiding the times great Americans have come together for the betterment of Americans, like the signing of the Consitution.

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

Well you've lost me now so I'm going to bed

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

but she'll also forever be known as the girl who mimed

When she gets older, her nieces will say, 'My Aunt's a mimer'.

 

[Minnie_the_Minx]

Goodnight

 

[Johnny Canuck3]

edit: dumb

 

[wayward bob]

i only watched the first bit up to the athletes but i was expecting it to be shite (never watched an opening ceremony before, so no idea how it compares to others) but was generally very taken by how entertainingly batshit it all was. as a volunteer taking part it must have been a proper once in a lifetime thing and who couldn't do with a few more of those

 

[QueenOfGoths]

Thought it was great, very quirky, very British. Might me laugh and get a bit weepy too

 

[RoyReed]

I loved the fact that they featured the NHS and Tim Berners-Lee. I'd have given it a 10 except for Mr Bean (yes, I know the rest of the world love him) and McCartney (who looked like a sad tired old git - and wtf does Hey Jude have to do with the Olympics - surely that's a weird choice even if you do like Macca). They lost a point each, so I gave it 8.

Why couldn't they have got Bowie singing Heroes for the finale.

 

[metalguru]

Thought it was cliched.

The social media bit/Tim Berners-Lee bit was weak and I didn't make it through to the Paul McCartney end-bit.

 

[zenie]

Awesome I thought Boyle surpassed himself, the chimneys rising out of the ground and the Industrial Revolution was interesting, how we fucked and polluted this green and pleasant land

Loved Emili Sande's Abide With Me, and had a huge grin on my face watching Dizzee up there, he's come a long way.

I thought the choreography and musical vibe overall was spectacular!!

Shame they used a new mini, and Macca went out of time, and yes the hair haha!!

 

[wayward bob]

Thought it was cliched.

the alternative being what? something utterly random that would have left the "4bn" global audience going wtf ?

 

[Citizen66]

McCartney got the whole place singing a song that everybody in the world knows. It was the perfect ending.

Let it be would have been better. Could have had ahmadinejad and Netanyahu swaying side by side with cigarette lighters lit singing along to it.

 

[Lord Camomile]

All You Need Is Love, surely?

 

[QueenOfGoths]

I loved the fact that they featured the NHS and Tim Berners-Lee. I'd have given it a 10 except for Mr Bean (yes, I know the rest of the world love him) and McCartney (who looked like a sad tired old git - and wtf does Hey Jude have to do with the Olympics - surely that's a weird choice even if you do like Macca). They lost a point each, so I gave it 8.

Why couldn't they have got Bowie singing Heroes for the finale.

I enjoyed Mr. Bean as i thought it was funny and it was fun a surprise at what I thought was going to be a bit of a boring, worthy section.

Agree with you about Macca though, would have prefered Bowie or the Stones. Or at least Macca could have sing "All You Need Is Love" which would have been more in keeping with the Olympic ideals.

Still loved the thing as a whole though

 

[Kaka Tim]

I've only seen a few highlights and read reactions. I was expecting it to be cringeworthy, tub thumping cliche ridden bollocks but by the sounds of it Boyle and his team went for a mad cap, OTT clelebration of people's history and culture (rather than shakespere this, Nelson that and good ol winston) that has given hard bitten cynics lumps in their throats and tory cunts spitting about multi-culturalism and lefty liberal propogandor. So clearly a bit of a pleasant suprise. I mean - the sex pistols in the sound track? Plus the massive massive plug for the NHS - and the ideology behind it.

If the tories had commissioned this they would have had Andrew Lloyd Webber and Michael Gove running the show and we'd all be passing the sick bag.

 

[wayward bob]

oh and i thought the organisation was *staggering*. i guess you wouldn't really notice small cockups in an event of that scale but it appeared to go like clockwork and i loved the way that it worked on so many scales. i'd love to hear from someone who was there in the audience how it looked/felt.

eta: and i was fucking stoked for them that it didn't rain

 

[Kaka Tim]

Apparently the brookside 'lezza kiss' featured in the cermony - and was broadcast live to saudi arabia. Thats got to worth a few points on its own!

 

[Spymaster]

8/10 which is far better than I expected. 2 points off for Macca's singing, Coe and Rogge's speaches were boring, and the whole gig was about an hour too long. There were some fantastic sections, the industrial era and forging the rings was awesome, Becks on the boat was a good laugh and the whole 007/Brenda thing was inspired, as was Mr Bean.

Some of the dancers were awesome, anyone notice the group of Victorian gents who every now and then broke into club routines? The whole thing was superbly choreographed and seemed to run beautifully.

Bloody good show chaps, what what!

 

[wayward bob]

we were a bit "what has abe lincoln got to do with the industrial revolution?" , but when i saw them all grouped up i predicted imminent breakdancing and i wasn't far wrong

i adored the jiving nurses and the professional jivers/lindy hoppers

 

[Citizen66]

anyone notice the group of Victorian gents who every now and then broke into club routines?

I liked how at least one of them was black.

 

[zenie]

Apparently the brookside 'lezza kiss' featured in the cermony - and was broadcast live to saudi arabia. Thats got to worth a few points on its own!

I must have totally missed that?!

 

[Lord Camomile]

I must have totally missed that?!

It was very brief during the romantic montage on the tellyhouse, but yeah, bloody good going to get that in there. There were lots of little things like that which were nice subversive touches. Still can't believe they actually got the Pistols' GSTQ in there!

 

[wayward bob]

i only heard pretty vacant, did they really have gstq?

 

[Gingerman]

Even a cynical aul cunt like me enjoyed it,funny,silly,quirky and more than a little eccentric ,9 outa 10 for me

 

[Lord Camomile]

i only heard pretty vacant, did they really have gstq?

I missed it last night (fucking digibox *spits* ), but I'm pretty sure it featured somewhere, possibly in the countdown to the start of it.

 

[wayward bob]

I liked how at least one of them was black.

we were counting the closeups on the token ethics and disableds in all the kids choirs. the welsh ones didn't have much ethnic diversity except for gingers, but they did have a girl with a bright pink cast: mr b was speculating on exactly how that came about

 

[wayward bob]

does anyone have a video link for the nhs segment? mr b missed it.