Atlanta Opening Ceremony vs London Opening Ceremony (Washington, Berlin: deal, place)

[MathmanMathman]

Well,,,unfortunately...this is sort of like asking a father how pretty his daughter is...or how intelligent a parents' child is. You'd think everyone's child was above average.

I've heard a lot of people slam Atlanta's opening ceremony too. One thing they didn't like were the pickup trucks.

Beijing enjoys a level of control over its people that most countries (thankfully) don't.

Rio de Janeiro's Ceremony might be good because they have the "Spirit of Carnival" to top anyone else's. I'm sure it will be wild and colorful. More human and free than Beijing's Berlin like games.

Anyway...I'd like to hear criticism from unbiased sources.

[cabasse]

i definitely enjoyed it. my partner works for a company that has a construction management division, and we were lucky enough to actually visit the grounds last year while everything was still being built, so that probably adds a bit of bias, but regardlessly i was mildly blown away last night.

[midtown mile girl]

I did like how London did the cauldron, with each copper part representing each country attending the games. I also liked the fact that it used a group of young possible future olympic athletes to light the cauldron.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

There were parts I enjoyed better than others (i.e., Industrial Revolution), but NOTHING tops Beijing. That one was excellent entertainment from top to bottom. I expect the opening ceremony in Rio in '16 to not be as good as Beijing but better than London, especially since--like Beijing--Rio has something to prove since it will be the first games held in South America.

I agree that Beijing was the best in my memory. Pageantry, precision...an amazing thing to behold. l loved it. My DH and I were there two years ago and saw the 'Birds Nest'. A triumph.

[CraigCreek]

How many of you remember that the beautiful little girl with the spectacular, sweet voice who sang in Beijing's opening ceremony - was actually lip-sinking for the real singer, another little girl who owned the fabulous voice but was not quite as photogenic??

That said far too much about China for me...appearance was valued far more than reality. How hurt the real little singer must have been - and what a cruel thing to do to a child.

[Mattie]

I thought it was "eh" last night. I did love the way they lit the cauldron. The rest of it seemed disjointed, and it was hard to follow on TV, but may have been much different in person. The queen/James Bond bit was cute.

[Newsboy]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

That's every opening ceremony, LOL.



Uhhh, no. Atlanta's was nice, but wasn't the best. Beijing's was unparalleled.



Newsboy, LovinDecatur, and you say it was the production from hell. Me, Frankster87, and A_Lexus are saying that it was at least decent. Where's the outnumbering? Plus it's not like we have anything even remotely close to an appropriate sample size here anyway.

You take this stuff way to seriously, Mute.

[SEAandATL]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

1996 Atlanta Opening Ceremonies - Gladys Knight - YouTube


1996 Atlanta Opening Ceremonies - The Star Spangled Banner - YouTube


Opening Ceremony Olympics Atlanta 1996 - YouTube


Opening Ceremony - Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympic Games - YouTube

Thanks for posting these videos! I actually had no memory of the 1996 Opening Ceremony except for Muhammad Ali lighting the torch. I especially loved Gladys Knight singing "Georgia On My Mind."

Now I don't think the London Opening Ceremony was that bad, just a little strange (especially the Mary Poppins skit). I did like the James Bond scene, as well as the British-based music. I agree that the Beijing one was hard to beat. I think the next one in Rio is going to be awesome, I'm betting a lot of samba and bossanova music and carnival style parade/dancing.

[LovinDecatur]

Originally Posted by Mutiny77

That's every opening ceremony, LOL.



Uhhh, no. Atlanta's was nice, but wasn't the best. Beijing's was unparalleled.



Newsboy, LovinDecatur, and you say it was the production from hell. Me, Frankster87, and A_Lexus are saying that it was at least decent. Where's the outnumbering? Plus it's not like we have anything even remotely close to an appropriate sample size here anyway.

I never said any such thing. I said it was ghastly. Do not put words in my mouth.

[ovcatto]

Originally Posted by Newsboy

We're looking better and better as the years go by, huh? What a train wreck that was tonight! Thoughts? Feedback?

I'm sorry but a century of olympic failures will have to come and go before the reputation of the Atlanta games can even be even considered for rehabilitation.