The Closing Ceremonies: See you in Tokyo 2020

[MVFrostsMyPie]

The Atlanta torch ceremony with Ali is the only one I can remember the most clearly. I honestly couldn't tell you for any other Olympics how the torch lighting/extinguishing was done off the top of my head. I wonder if the fact that it took place in the US made me pay closer attention to it.

[ketchuplover]

The biannual chess Olympiad begins Sept. 1

[ketchuplover]

18 hours ago, selkie said:

If they're already got Hello Kitty, Godzilla has to have a role as well.

I want the flame to come out of Godzilla's mouth :)

[chitowngirl]

That would be awesome!

[SnideAsides]

Mothra and Rodan can fight over who puts it out.

6 hours ago, MattDuffysCat said:

The Atlanta torch ceremony with Ali is the only one I can remember the most clearly. I honestly couldn't tell you for any other Olympics how the torch lighting/extinguishing was done off the top of my head. I wonder if the fact that it took place in the US made me pay closer attention to it.

Other cauldron lightings since 1980:

Lake Placid - the cauldron rises into the air

Moscow - the lighter runs up a ramp assembled a la a card stunt

Sarajevo - the Olympic colours trail the lighter as she runs up the stairs to the cauldron

LA - Rafer Johnson climbs a rising staircase; sets the Olympic Rings on fire

Calgary - nothing special

Seoul - three lighters ride an elevator to the cauldron

Albertville - bottle rocket

Barcelona - archer

Lillehammer - the torch enters the stadium via ski jumper

Atlanta - Bottle Rocket II: Muhammad Ali Boogaloo

Nagano - Midori Ito is dressed as Madame Butterfly

Sydney - Cathy Freeman walks on water, cauldron rises around her after she lights it

Salt Lake City - Miracle on Ice team reunion

Athens - pass the doobie to the left

Torino - the lighter ignites a fireworks trail leading to the cauldron

Beijing - the lighter 'flies'

Vancouver - four (um, three) lighters light different parts of the cauldron

London - hundreds of metal petals unite

Sochi - the cauldron is so gigantic it has to be placed outside the stadium, but it's just another basic fireworks display lighting

Rio de Janeiro - the cauldron rises into place in front of the sun

 

Most of the other smaller Olympic knockoffs also have cauldrons (I think the only one that doesn't is the Commonwealth Games, which replaces the torch with a baton carrying a generic pre-written message from the Queen to herself, because what could be more Commonwealthy?), but the only ones I've seen that really stand out as great lightings are the 2006 Asian Games in Doha (the lighter gets up the stairs to the cauldron via horse; the cauldron itself is a sun-shaped plate inside what turns out to be a gigantic gyroscope) and the 2015 European Games in Baku (the lighter throws a spear at what looks like a giant black circle; it rises up to become an eclipse-themed cauldron with the flame burning around the sides of the circle).

[DollEyes]

18 hours ago, Ohwell said:

I think the Atlanta torch ceremony with Ali was the most moving, but the Barcelona archer one was the most awesome.

Awesomeness comes in many forms and IMO Muhammad Ali's was one of them. 

[galaxygirl76]

Quote

Salt Lake City - Miracle on Ice team reunion

As a speed skating fan I'm still bitter about this. It should have been the greatest speed skater of all time.

Edited August 23, 2016 by galaxygirl76
clarify

[Daisy]

34 minutes ago, galaxygirl76 said:

As a speed skating fan I'm still bitter about this. It should have been the greatest speed skater of all time.

Bonnie Blair got shafted. 
Also - to be fair, while yes while 1 arm of the torch got stuck, it was 4. Sydney's got stuck too :) (so if we're pointing out technical difficulties, i think we should name them all ;) or none). [yes, i'm still sensitive. lol]

[Indy]

Barcelona and Albertville will always be my favorite cauldron lightings

[galaxygirl76]

2 hours ago, Daisy said:

Bonnie Blair got shafted. 
 

I wasn't thinking about Bonnie, but she would have been better too. I was referring to Eric Heiden, who is more famous in the Netherlands and Norway than in his own country. He won all five speed skating distances in Lake Placid.

[azshadowwalker]

I just can't sit through either of the ceremonies in their entirety. I don't watch galas, personal interest stories  or other non-competitive events, either. If it’s not about competition, I just can't be bothered to care. I am a sports fan, and that's the only reason I watch the Olympics. The coverage of the opening ceremonies showed the US team taking selfies and screwing around while other countries were still entering the stadium, and I wasn't interested in more of that. Sounds like the autograph session with Simone would have driven me nuts, so it's just as well. I guess it wouldn't be in keeping with NBC's style to show other athletes when they can show the US team doing nothing at all, though. 

[GreyBunny]

1 hour ago, azshadowwalker said:

I guess it wouldn't be in keeping with NBC's style to show other athletes when they can show the US team doing nothing at all, though. 

They kept cutting over to groups of US athletes doing that creepy U-S-A! U-S-A! chant.  Ugh.  Lots of use of the ff button on the remote.

[scarynikki12]

There was no way they'd let anyone other than the hockey team light the flame.  It was the biggest story to come out of Lake Placid for the US, Mitt Romney is pals with Mike Eruzione and was in charge of the Salt Lake Committee, and Herb Brooks was once again coaching the men's team at home.  Eric, Bonnie, or one of the figure skaters would have been excellent choices as well but there was no way it would be anyone else.  The surprise for me that year was that they actually brought out the whole team rather than just let Eruzione do it solo. 

[bluepiano]

On ‎8‎/‎21‎/‎2016 at 5:32 PM, KenyaJ said:

So for Brazil's sake, I'm really glad the games went off (mostly) without a hitch. But my happiness is tempered with the knowledge that Brazil still has a world of political and economic problems that won't be papered over by a successful Olympics. I hope good things will come out of these games for the country, but Greece is a really powerful cautionary tale about what happens when a country spends on an Olympics it can't afford. I pray the same fate doesn't befall Brazil.

Unfortunately, the trend seems to be for wealthy dictatorships like Qatar literally buying these international competition events, as they did by handing suitcases of cash over to members of FIFA to get the World Cup. In those cases the government doesn't even pretend to give a shit about helping its citizens. (Not to mention the World Cup stadiums being built by slave labor, many of whom have died, but don't want to get too off topic.)

I was living in the Detroit area when they hosted the Super Bowl, which was built up as being a great thing for the city. Of course a few high end hotels and restaurants made money, but it did nothing to revitalize the city.

Neither do the privately owned sports arenas in many cities that the public helps finance through their taxes, and ongoing tax breaks to the franchise owners. I now live in Seattle, and as much as I would love to see us get another NBA team to replace the Sonics (who were stolen, watch the movie "Sonicsgate") I'm glad that the people voted down building a new arena for a private business at public expense.

[azshadowwalker]

International events have always been purchased, especially the Olympics. And it's not just those evil foreigners doing the buying. It finally came out in the open with the corruption scandal around the purchase of the Salt Lake City games, but it's been going on forever. There's no way in hell the centennial summer games should have been anywhere but Athens. I will always believe that Atlanta just paid more. So, I don't believe SLC was the first time the US (or any Western nation) paid for the games. 

[friendperidot]

so many thoughts, I didn't pay a lot of attention to the closing, I would look up at the tv once and a while, I liked the carnival dancers, and so many of the great costumes, I did catch most of the flag bearers entering the stadium and a lot of the athletes. I'm definite minority, but all the Tokyo tech stuff bored me. I'm actually bored by most of the future hosts parts to the Olympics. I missed the flame going out, will have to look it up on YouTube. It was a beautiful flame and sculpture. I've only seen the Atlanta lighting on YouTube and on clips on tv now and then. The night of the opening ceremonies was when my television decided to turn into black and white from color and I was too exasperated to watch. A month later, got a new tv, moved the now black & white to the bedroom & it went back to color and still works and is still in color. Freakin' electronics! I too love when the IOC guy invites the youth of the world to return in four year, it gives me a thrill down my spine. I have fondness for all the little traditional parts, lowering the flags, extinguishing the flame, singing the anthems. I will be looking forward to Tokyo, but just not the extreme techno, and I'm not a big fan of Hello Kitty. But dropping abruptly into the Voice was a bit much. Could have done with out it. I don't watch the voice at all and rather resent getting stuck with it until I could get my channel changed off that mess.

[galaxygirl76]

On 8/26/2016 at 11:03 PM, azshadowwalker said:

International events have always been purchased, especially the Olympics. And it's not just those evil foreigners doing the buying. It finally came out in the open with the corruption scandal around the purchase of the Salt Lake City games, but it's been going on forever. There's no way in hell the centennial summer games should have been anywhere but Athens. I will always believe that Atlanta just paid more. So, I don't believe SLC was the first time the US (or any Western nation) paid for the games. 

I'm sure that Atlanta being the home of one of the biggest sponsors was a big reason they got the centennial Olympics.

To be honest it was a blessing in disguise that Athens didn't get them(don't got me started though because I am still bitter they didn't get them) because they were not ready to host like they were in 2004(I thought they did a great job in 2004)