Opening Ceremony

[galaxygirl76]

1 minute ago, ebk57 said:

There ya go - Amelie Mauresmo!  She's French.

She's looking great!

[chitowngirl]

3 minutes ago, surfgirl said:

I do love Mary Carillo's usual local flavor stories but she's commentating tennis this Games so I am sad we probably wont get her weird stories coming in

Mary Carrillo badminton rant. Just going to tuck this in here…

[CrazyInAlabama]

Serena Willaims Carl Lewis, Nadia Comaneci taking the torch down the Seine with Raphael Nadal, with the Cauldron near Hoda and Savannah.  Mike Tirico joins the other commentators. 

I love seing the athletes taking the torch as a group, by the arch, Louvre, the gardens,   

[Is Everyone Gone]

Notice they're running very slowly bc the ground is so wet.

[NUguy514]

At least Rafa and Serena are Olympic champions, in addition to French Open champions.

Mike Tirico's French pronunciations are making me stabby.

[ProudMary]

Apologies, but this is getting ridiculous. 

[Daisy]

okay. i am hungry. hurry this up y'all. 

the cauldron is a hot air balloon?!

[baldryanr]

Ok, is it just me or is this torch relay lifeless?  With no crowds lining the sides of the road it's just this really, really long stretch of folks jogging very slowly in the rain.

[Is Everyone Gone]

6 minutes ago, baldryanr said:

Ok, is it just me or is this torch relay lifeless?  With no crowds lining the sides of the road it's just this really, really long stretch of folks jogging very slowly in the rain.

No it's not just you. Still remember the explosion of cheers when Muhammad Ali was the last torch bearer.

[Daisy]

It's MOVING!
This is not a Sydney/Vancouver Cauldron! 

2 minutes ago, baldryanr said:

Ok, is it just me or is this torch relay lifeless?  With no crowds lining the sides of the road it's just this really, really long stretch of folks jogging very slowly in the rain.

3.5 hrs & Rain - i wouldn't be out there either LOL 

OOH
CELINE!

[chitowngirl]

Celine! ❤️

Edited July 26 by chitowngirl

[Mittengirl]

O.k. Now this is cool! But is it going to float/hover for the next 2 weeks?

[Rickster]

I like the balloon cauldron. Just wish they could have gotten there quicker.

[galaxygirl76]

Celine 🥰

[NUguy514]

That gorgeous floating balloon cauldron + Céline = me crying

[Daisy]

I am SO not crying. you are crying.
Celine you look and sound so good. I really hope she's doing better

[Chaser]

So the athletes didn’t even get to see the cauldron lit?

[Daisy]

5 minutes ago, Mittengirl said:

O.k. Now this is cool! But is it going to float/hover for the next 2 weeks?

Hydrogen filled.

Wait I'm lying. thanks CBC
it's a fuel free flame?

Edited July 26 by Daisy

[Pandora]

Just now, Daisy said:

I am SO not crying. you are crying.
Celine you look and sound so good. I really hope she's doing better

Darn dust blew in my eyes…

[Daisy]

On a scale of 1 to Barcelona Archer: i'd say this is like a 4, 5. (+1 modifier for Celine and being REALLY Unique). 

on the list of Best Ceremonies... it's pretty low for me. I DID like the boat idea. in practice

[Quof]

Bored, bored, bored, Oh look it's Celine!!!!!

Then my f'ing CBC Gem feed froze.  They finally unfroze at "Wow, that was a fabulous performance from Celine."  Thanks CBC, for putting my tax dollars to work.

I console myself knowing there will be multiple videos of her performance online by bedtime.  And probably a lot of memes.

[Spartan Girl]

Celine looked and sounded fucking phenomenal. I hope it didn’t take too much out of her; I saw on that documentary what happens when she gets overstimulated.

[Girl in a Cardigan]

I started out watching NBC and CBC, but when the CBC were the first to both cut to commercial (even split screen) and then to a reporter on the Canada boat - which does come in the Cs, so wasn't that far away! - I was out. The camera angles were clearly one Olympic camera for the most part, so I decided to stick it out with NBC.

I liked that there was a lot of silence from the commentators to let moments breathe (even if it was because they didn't know who any of these people were!), but then they'd have Savannah and Hoda talking about who they wanted to wave at in the torch boat and I want to scream.

There were definitely parts that dragged - why have the Olympic flag come all the way down the Seine (so long after all the other boats) and then the horse ride and THEN the walk down the runway - like just raise the flag. I really like the idea of the boats on the Seine and everything, but there's a reason why you do it in the stadium - it shortens things up! Plus the athletes get to see everything instead of watching a screen like the rest of us.

Did I start sobbing like Kelly Clarkson when I heard (and then saw) Celine singing her heart out on the Eiffel Tower? Damn right! I also really loved the Olympics montage of all of the famous moments from past games - definitely teared up then too!

Happy I got to see it live, but think this may be one example of when the shortened NBC primetime version might be better 😂

[Crashcourse]

This was going on so long, I took a quick trip to Trader Joe's.  I'm glad I caught Celine when I got back though.  She sounded great.

This ceremony was kind of boring, but the hottie Tonga flagbearer would have made it so much better.  Too bad he didn't qualify.

I love Joel Embid's Olympic glasses! 

[surfgirl]

36 minutes ago, chitowngirl said:

Mary Carrillo badminton rant. Just going to tuck this in here…

Haha, I love that actually! 🤣 

[SunnyBeBe]

Celine was awesome!  Put me into the spirit!  She certainly is a musical athlete.  

[Browncoat]

I LOVE the cauldron.  What a nice homage to the Montgolfier brothers.  I also enjoyed the nods to the Lumiere brothers and George Melies with the brief glimpse of movies.  

Overall, though, I think the ceremony fell short.  I agree that if you were there in person, you'd miss most of, well, everything.  You might be on a bridge over the Seine, but then all you'd see would be the boats going by.  I think I like the stadium format better -- there might be things going on elsewhere, but at least they could be projected on a screen so everyone could watch.  

I missed the first 20 or so minutes, though, so I'll have to catch that tonight.

[ichbin]

I liked it overall.  Really innovative not having it set in a stadium and I liked the way they highlighted some sites in Paris.  Wish they had a good finish for the phantom torch bearer though instead of just dropping that part of the journey at the end.  

[zoomama]

i loved it all. celine was extraordinary!

[Crashcourse]

Oh well, at least the athletes can get rested now on their cardboard beds. 😏

I read an article that the food portions were too small, so the chefs are bringing in more food. 

I thought this was the worst opening ceremony ever.

[emma675]

That took way too long and Celine and the unique cauldron only partly made up for it. I felt like it didn't place a lot of emphasis on the athletes and their experience and that disappointed me. 3/10

[Black Knight]

I feel in some ways, the opening ceremony is more for the athletes than anyone else, and in that sense I feel this delivered. Floating down the Seine seeing the Parisian buildings and landmarks is absolutely what I'd prefer over being in a stadium the whole time. The athletes looked like they were having the time of their life, even in the rain.

As far as spectators, well, I don't know that it's really any different from any other parade - you pick a spot and watch everybody pass by. It works fine. It's unfortunate about the rain, but otherwise I'd probably prefer that to sitting in the stadium, probably in a nosebleed seat. At least outside is outside, with all that lovely Parisian scenery.

I love Paris and have not been in many years, so I was pretty happy with this as a TV viewer as well.

[SunnyBeBe]

9 minutes ago, Black Knight said:

I feel in some ways, the opening ceremony is more for the athletes than anyone else, and in that sense I feel this delivered. Floating down the Seine seeing the Parisian buildings and landmarks is absolutely what I'd prefer over being in a stadium the whole time. The athletes looked like they were having the time of their life, even in the rain.

As far as spectators, well, I don't know that it's really any different from any other parade - you pick a spot and watch everybody pass by. It works fine. It's unfortunate about the rain, but otherwise I'd probably prefer that to sitting in the stadium, probably in a nosebleed seat. At least outside is outside, with all that lovely Parisian scenery.

I love Paris and have not been in many years, so I was pretty happy with this as a TV viewer as well.

I haven’t been to Paris in many years, but this made me want to return!  

[yowsah1]

Anybody who couldn't watch the Opening Ceremonies during the day watching the prime time version?

[yowsah1]

It wouldn't be a NBC special event without Savannah and Hoda!  I swear, I know their faces better than I know the faces of people I see every day...

Also, I'm so old I remember when Snoop Dogg was considered a dangerous criminal!

[Constant Viewer]

Ariana Grande's dress makes me think of Audrey Hepburn. I like the green on Cynthia Erivo.

Edited July 26 by Constant Viewer

[Daisy]

1 hour ago, emma675 said:

That took way too long and Celine and the unique cauldron only partly made up for it. I felt like it didn't place a lot of emphasis on the athletes and their experience and that disappointed me. 3/10

there are some people who are saying this is the best opening ceremonies ever. and i am like. i respect people's things even though i don't get it but i don't even think....this is the best

I also see people going why are people grouching that it was too long it's 1 every 4 years but ...long is long? it just felt that some bits could have been condensed. (like the horse ride. that was captivating .. then it stopped being captivating and it was just drawn out)

[Fostersmom]

23 minutes ago, yowsah1 said:

Anybody who couldn't watch the Opening Ceremonies during the day watching the prime time version?

I'm trying, but I"m bored out of my mind already. Plus I have to get up at 5 tomorrow for work, so I'm not going to make it through the whole thing, so I'm DVRing it anyway. 

[NUguy514]

A few things I'd point out about the Opening Ceremonies being in a stadium in Paris:

1. The stadium wouldn't be covered for the athletes, so they'd still get rained on.  The weather was just bad luck in that regard, no matter where the Ceremonies were held.  (I will say, though, that having been in Paris in the rain at night...it really is indescribably magical.)

2. If the Ceremonies had been in a stadium, the event planners would've had to present holograms or whatever of the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre-Dame, etc.  That is ridiculous when you could just showcase the real things, which are so much more incredible than any simulacrum could ever hope to be, right outside.

For the stated goal of showcasing the city of Paris, these were amazing, and I loved them.

[Notabug]

Just now, Fostersmom said:

I'm trying, but I"m bored out of my mind already. Plus I have to get up at 5 tomorrow for work, so I'm not going to make it through the whole thing, so I'm DVRing it anyway. 

It really needed tightened up with some strategic editing.  I loved seeing the Parisian sites, it is such a beautiful city; but while the boat parade of nations was novel, it really took a lot more time than usual and it was tougher to pick out specific athletes, especially from non-US nations.  However, I expect the athletes loved it, far more fun for them than the regular march into the stadium.

The parcours tribute, salute to French fashion, etc all took up more time than necessary.  Putting all the performances out into the streets took more time than it was worth, too.  Just wasn't needed n the grand scheme.

Celine and the cauldron were the perfect crowning moment, though; wouldn't change a thing there.

[yowsah1]

Lady Gaga is French?  Who knew?  ;)

[Cloud9Shopper]

Kelly Clarkson has really gotten annoying in the years since she was on The Voice. (She was annoying there too anyway.) Listening to her talk now is like listening to nails on a chalkboard even though I still enjoy her music. 

[Notabug]

Quote

 The stadium wouldn't be covered for the athletes, so they'd still get rained on.  The weather was just bad luck in that regard, no matter where the Ceremonies were held.  (I will say, though, that having been in Paris in the rain at night...it really is indescribably magica

The Olympic Stadium has a retractable roof, so, presumably, everyone could've stayed dry.  I am sure the organizers would've been loathe to close the roof though for the opening ceremony since it would've ruined the views of the city from the stadium.  It didn't seem like the athletes minded the weather, they look to have all stuck it out.  

Having done a boat ride down the Seine at night, it is breathtaking. They don't call it The City of Lights for nothin'.

[tvrox]

Bring back the parade of nations with the fun geographic trivia!!! This sucks. 

[yowsah1]

I am interested in getting some feedback here.  Do we like the musical numbers interspersed throughout the boat parade or all together like in traditional Opening Ceremonies?

[Fostersmom]

Okay, was the Can-Can number supposed to be a hot mess??? 

 

 

[Notabug]

3 minutes ago, Fostersmom said:

Okay, was the Can-Can number supposed to be a hot mess??? 

 

 

That's the French for you. If you want coordination and precision, ask the British.

[yowsah1]

So far, the dance numbers have kind of sucked.  I say ditch them and just show the pretty buildings!

[Constant Viewer]

The number on the notre dame scaffold made me nervous.

[Notabug]

1 minute ago, yowsah1 said:

So far, the dance numbers have kind of sucked.  I say ditch them and just show the pretty buildings!

Yeah, I'd much rather have an architectural tour of the buildings along the Seine than whatever this is.