As someone who is British and very much a fan/friend/lover of London, it has been literally impossible to avoid the Olympic spirit. I really, really like it actually- for many reasons including the fact that it will probably never happen again in my lifetime. Despite not having any tickets whatsoever, I am "feelin'" London 2012. The fact that a sporting event can captivate the minds and hearts of billions worldwide is amazing, and to have it on home turf is even more incredible.
Firstly, let me (belatedly) review the opening ceremony. Again following on from the once-in-a-lifetime theme, I really wanted to experience being in London for the occasion, and went to the Big Screen Festival Event (BT London Live) in Victoria Park - East London and literally next to the Olympic Stadium. As you may be able to tell from the photos, it was packed! We queued about 2 hours just to be let in, and security checks were immensely thorough. Once on the other side, however, the grass was greener. Literally. Food stalls, badminton court, zorbing, trampolines, zipwire, a ferris wheel and most importantly, the big screen.
Gathering in such a large crowd gave the ceremony an even greater buzzing, electric atmosphere. At the Queen's highflying entrance, we could glimpse the helicopters,and the crowd went wild; I imagine people did everywhere! (Own up, did you laugh/squeal/scream at your TV screen?). Union jacks flying in the air, belting out the National Anthem (including a second verse I've never known in all my years of living), this was patriotism at it's finest.
The start of the ceremony was such an excitement to look at - scenery and staging-wise. I did wonder, many many times, how the heck are they doing this!? At times it was very British (too British?) - I found that Mr Danny Boyle's creation relied heavily on Britishness - albeit slightly bonkers Britishness - to entertain the audience. I still vividly remember the amazing artistic masterpiece of Beijing 2008, where the performers were on-the-dot-to-the-second perfect. They were, each and every one of them, masters of their craft. I can't say the same about London, but it was refreshing to see volunteers, nurses and ordinary folk..extraordinary!
Anyway, the spectacular ceremony had me in breathless squeals of "ooh" and "ahh" (if you don't believe me, ask the poor people around me!) The visual change from peaceful countryside to industrial factories was so seamless but a powerful image. And only Britain would bring in the founder of the Web and celebrate social networking. Bonkers, but combined with a celebration of music, it was music to my ears.
But my favourite part was the comedy. We export genius comedy, and the British sense of humour is absolutely classically unique - like no other in the world. Maybe I'm being biased here... Cue the Queen. A parachuting kick-ass Queen was the funniest surreal thing I'd seen in a long time - I was thinking, "There's no way that woman will be the Queen when she turns around! Decoy! Decoy!" I was gladly wrong. And then more humour provided by Mr Bean, my favourite kind of bean. Chariots of fire = classic. Chariots + Mr Bean = comedy genius.
Ultimately, it felt like a Great British Party. Putting the Great into Britain indeed. I missed the fireworks and lighting of the flame, but the highlights showed it looked pretty epic. And the fireworks were real this time!
The London 2012 slogan is "inspire a generation"; well, ladies and gents, consider me inspired.
Bev x
- Monday, July 30, 2012
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