The Olympics opening ceremony - what did you think?

Very mixed emotions on the whole thing...  Thought there were some parts which were excellent and others which were incredibly dull and couldn't see the point of...  Also agree with the points about the Queen; thought she had a face like a slapped a**e for most of the event...!!!!

Being part cynical; I also question the cost of putting on such an extravaganza in such 'austere' times as the Government keeps reminding us we are in...  But in a contradictory thought, I am also wondering whether the same degree of attention, extravagence and interest from celebrities will be paid to the Paralympics Opening Ceremony, which generally seems to be quite overlooked in all of this...

Some of the viewing figures are through from the night. 27,000,000 watched it in the UK alone - those sort of figures haven’t been seen since the days when we only had 3 channels and the Morecombe and Wise Christmas specials.

Over in the US NBC have reported their highest ever viewing figures. Many other channels in the US and Europe are claiming the same. Countries like China don’t really report TV figures but it is expected to be very high there. In all the current global viewing figures are estimated at over 1 billion. This is not counting repeats or highlight shows.

Social media went nuts with 10 million plus social media messages from the UK alone.

£27,000,000 for a 3 hour global promotion of the UK to these sort of numbers seems incredibly good value to me. I can see the tourist industry alone recouping that in just a few months

Obviously it is not going to being a hit with every country. Those countries with minimal entrants and minimal chances of winning anything wont hold a lot of interest in it all

Fantastic event

Yes Macca can't sing anymore, but he/Beatles are a British icon (hopefully we can now be done with him)

Queen did more than she needed to with her acting debut

I mentioned in a thread elsewhere, that research has shown that the 'happiness' that is bought with a national event like this would cost a lot more than the £11bn it has cost from tax cuts etc.. - plus that £11bn is not very much in terms of the UK economy (so stop bleating Rickler)

Apparently the lights will be used to even better effect for the closing ceremony

Finally, really chuffed with the 24 BBC channels - I have watched all sorts of stuff that I never would have done before

I think the closing ceremony will be a far bigger technical headache for them to pull off. Unlike the opening ceremony they wont have weeks, even months to prepare the stadium. They will have a day or two at the most.

Apart from wheeling out Macca at the end I thought it was excellent. It would be wonderful to have a national concert type thing that does not end in him singing Hey Jude. If we have to have a Beatles song can't we have different one please

The Artic Monkeys were immense, the NHS was rightly showcased as something Britain should be really proud of and my geography knowledge was severly tested by daughter number 3.

And as for the cost of the ceremony - well its less than Liverpool paid for Andy Carroll

I have now been able to download and watch the ceremony in it's entirety. A few comments, but one standing above all others:

"An Absolute Triumph!"

I don't care about the cost - this was committed to long ago. I don't care about the politics - politics are part of British life and that was the focus of the celebration. I don't care that The Queen looked miserable - she's an 86yo woman and they do that!

What I do care about is that this was a day when we show-cased Britain to the world. It was a day to take pride in our history, our customs and our people. How special is that? You can't put a price on it!

Stars of the night? Well, apart from many thousands, a couple shone through. Dame Evelyn Glennie was sublime, Rowan Atkinson gave a lesson in how to reach the world without a word (yes, all Filipinos know Mr Bean!) and Muhammad Ali gave a display of dignity that eclipsed poor old Mr McCartney

I watched it enthralled. I wiped more than the occasional tear. I loved every minute.

I wasn't expecting much after the handover in Beijing but I was blown away. My favourite part? The choirs singing from all the corners of the UK - I even got a bit teary. I loved the industrial revolution - great choreography, amazing visual displays and terrifying sounds. I felt every part of the ceremony and it was magical. The giant Voldemort made me laugh, which I don't think was meant to happen. I didn't understand the birds although they looked amazing.

A few bits needed explaining to me, like the boat that brought in the first West Indian immigrants. And I thought Paul McCartney should have been left out and maybe someone else put in his place. The solo singer (I don't know here name) that came after the remembrance made me cry my eyes out.

I only wish I could have seen it live in the stadium as well as on the telly.

@Natalie - It is tradition to have doves at an Olympic ceremony, and the birds on bikes where Dannys version of doves (so I'm lead to believe)

The boat part was a nod to multi-cultural UK and the impact these new cultures have had on the UK (again so I'm lead to believe)

A lot of questions were asked about why the announcements in the stadium were in French first and then in English second. Again this is an Olympic tradition based around the fact the father of the modern Olympics was French

I know its the Daily Fail, but in this article they have some interesting snippets on how some things were done. (I would have never have guessed the chimneys were inflatables)

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2180814/London-2012-Olympics-opening-ceremony-How-magic-moments.html

There are some really good photos to go with it

These games will not financially benefit the economy over the long term and even in the short term due to the defecit on our balance of payments the money could have been better spent elsewere.

Are they meant to benefit the economy? entertainment is consumption not investment and watching sports while wondering if you'll get money for doing so strikes me as a bit like trying to sell the cake you've just eaten.

Ewwww! What a revolting thought! But point very well made!

Apparently the Doves are not just tradition, but written into the 'you must do this' part of the openining ceremony

In 1948 a whole load of doves were baked in the boxes during the practice for the opening ceremony, so the human version seems a bit more friendly :-)

That clears a lot up! I think only being 24 and this being the second Opening Ceremony I've watched I was a little out of the loop with regards to traditions. 

A bit more about doves - Seoul 1988!

"Live doves were released during the Opening Ceremony as a symbol of world peace, but a number of the doves were burned alive by the lighting of the Olympic cauldron. As a result of protests following the incident, the last time live doves were released at the Opening Ceremony was in 1992 in Barcelona, hours before the flame was lit. Balloon doves were released in 1994 at the Lillehammer Winter Games and paper doves were used at the Atlanta Ceremonies in 1996" (Wikipedia)

I am well known for being an old cynic, but I thought the ceremony was spot on, and to the credit of the organisers.

The cost? I have no idea where it is economic sense or not, as you get a different answer from every person you ask. I rather doubt if it matters too much.