The London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony has been shrouded in
mystery for the past couple of months, but now, that mystery has been lifted
and the world was treated to a spectacular show of events.
Directed by Danny Boyle, director of
Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire, we were taken on a historical journey of
Britain’s past. Starting with the
Victorian ages, we saw performances about the industrial revolution, the women
suffragettes of the 19th century and the introduction of the
National Health Service. There has been
a lot of talk and debate about whether London’s opening ceremony would be able
to beat that of Beijing's majestic display in the last Olympic games, but I
really think that the two are so different that it would be hard/unfair to
compare. Beijing’s opening ceremony was
timed perfection; it was great, it was spectacular, it was grand, and that is what the world loved about it.
Fast forward four years and we have London. Last nights opening ceremony was so different in all the right ways – it was a
well represented show of Britain. It was quintessentially British;
Heart-warming, exciting, informative, humorous and truly inspiring. I
loved that Mr Bean made a special appearance in the ceremony! My siblings and I
grew up watching Mr Bean on our TV’s and so to see him again on screen brought a great sense of nostalgia.
He was my fave.
Also, who knew that the Queen could act??!
It was quirky little moments like
that, I think, that really worked in tying to whole ceremony together. Credit where credit is due, Danny Boyle and
the thousands of volunteers, dancers and singers did a great job – I felt like
was watching something at the theatre, it was that theatrical. One of my favourite parts (apart from Mr
Bean!) would be the musical montage, showing the story of a typical family and
what they get up to, we saw the 60’s, 70’s, rock, The Beatles, and of course,
being in London and all, Grime/RnB from Dizzee Rascal himself. Dizzee Rascal performing at the Olympic Ceremony??
Erm what?? Who saw that coming!?
Emeli
Sande also performed ‘Abide With Me’ which was a beautiful rendition of the
song. One of the best artists around at
the moment, she was stunning.
Also, I’d like to take some time to acknowledge Tim Berners-Lee,
one of the guys who invented the World Wide Web. Yes. The World Wide Web. What an accomplishment that is!! He invented
the Internet, like, imagine. And he is British, here’s me thinking he was
American or something. If that isn’t inspiring theeeeen I don’t know what is.
The
Olympic Ceremony is always a majestic affair, no matter what country is hosting
it. When all the countries parade with
their flag and team mates you can’t help but think about the diversity of humanity.
With 205 countries participating in this year’s Olympics (Team Nigeria and Team GB represeeeeeeeeent...) it was great to see
all the teams, the big and the small, walk on with each other, in all the many
outfits. The Olympics shows us diversity
in all different colours, genders, religions, sizes, shapes and I think that is
why so many people love it; it gives a sense of unity that is global, you
can’t escape it.
Mohammed
Ali was there. Need I say more? Mohammed
Ali. What did they say about him... that
he was champion of the earth... or something like that. It was great to see him as a part of it, even
if it was for only a while. The man is a
legend, no doubt about it, and just his presence, I think, is enough to strike
emotion and inspiration in to the hearts of many.
Maybe I’m
a sucker for these type of things but I loved it, and besides, the Olympic
games come around only every four years – may aswell enjoy it!
What did
you guys think of the ceremony if you watched it? Did you like it? Do you agree or disagree?
'Sport has
the power to change the world' – Nelson Mandela. Well, he ain’t wrong.
