The Olympics

About one hour too long.


It's a bit depressing.. to think all that build up for 7 years and now it's all over
 
The open was much better than the close. The younger generation over here liked the close better:eek:. The world id lost on the young.
 
Ferd said:
About one hour too long.


It's a bit depressing.. to think all that build up for 7 years and now it's all over
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Are you kidding? It's all a mask - this is where the fun starts.

We've got prime seats to watch the toppling of the banks.
 
Oodles of facebook updates every time the next crap band came on last night...

Yay, Elbow! :confused:
Hurrah, Kaiser Chiefs! :(
Whoopeee, Spice Girls! :cry:

Apologies to all the rubbish acts I can't remember, but it sounds like it was a competition to see how much dirge could be put on a stage.
 
Whilst the opening ceremony had its subversive aspects, Kim Gavin's closing ceremony was much more conformist in tone, pretty much a pop concert with added frills - a ‘disco at the end of a wedding', as Gavin had described it himself. He'd boasted it would be the ‘playlist to beat all playlists', but it fell a long way short for me, and many others it seems, failing to stir that sense of legacy that Danny Boyle had evoked. Going by the hyperbole of the news reports that followed, backed-up by interviews with people coming out of the stadium, you'd have thought it was the equal of the opening ceremony, when, as far as I'm concerned, it left a lot to be desired. It's ‘highlight' was the return of the Spice Girls, with their phony brand of ‘girl power' – all a bit outmoded when we'd witnessed true girl power, not the ‘zigazig ah' variety, during the games. Although it did have its moments, overall I saw the closing ceremony as a timely reminder that, despite all the cultural riches Britain has unearthed in the past half century, we're currently at the arse-end of a cycle where, as I lamented in a previous blog post, mediocrity is celebrated:

from; http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2012/08/putting-the-black-in-the-union-jack/

Absolutely bang on the money.
 
Robder;1434864HUGE embarrassment minus Lennox said:
despite its awfulness[/B], popular culture 'is' a part of Britain too and therefore deserves a stage. Who am I to critique something that others genuinely revel in?
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1) Agree - except I think Lennox was a total embarassment too

2) Happily ... a display of pure 'pants' which however many people decided to like it was in my view a showcase of utter mediocrity and drivel. Nothing to be proud of there. If only British popular music lived up to the same degree of excellence as British Sport. That popularity allows utter rubbish to be lifed up and adulated is no excuse for stepping back and tacitly accepting mediocrity without comment. i.m.h.o. :!:
 
George Michael must have only agreed to do it so he could plug his new material.

I couldn't work out if the Pet Shop Boys, 1 direction, other singers on the moving vehicles etc were miming. 'Cause when the athletes were coming out, the stadium was playing recordings of the songs in the same order they were 'sung'.

On a positive note, I thought Roger Daltrey's voice was better than I've heard it for a while..
 
WeLuvIbiza said:
Whilst the opening ceremony had its subversive aspects, Kim Gavin's closing ceremony was much more conformist in tone, pretty much a pop concert with added frills - a ‘disco at the end of a wedding', as Gavin had described it himself. He'd boasted it would be the ‘playlist to beat all playlists', but it fell a long way short for me, and many others it seems, failing to stir that sense of legacy that Danny Boyle had evoked. Going by the hyperbole of the news reports that followed, backed-up by interviews with people coming out of the stadium, you'd have thought it was the equal of the opening ceremony, when, as far as I'm concerned, it left a lot to be desired. It's ‘highlight' was the return of the Spice Girls, with their phony brand of ‘girl power' – all a bit outmoded when we'd witnessed true girl power, not the ‘zigazig ah' variety, during the games. Although it did have its moments, overall I saw the closing ceremony as a timely reminder that, despite all the cultural riches Britain has unearthed in the past half century, we're currently at the arse-end of a cycle where, as I lamented in a previous blog post, mediocrity is celebrated:

from; http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2012/08/putting-the-black-in-the-union-jack/

Absolutely bang on the money.
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That's a great read. I really like Greg Wilson. 8)
 
mashednlovingit said:
Found this on another forum. Which are you?

5 days until the opening ceremony. What kind of Olympic follower are you?

1. You hate the hype and fail to see what the fuss is about these minority sports. You might watch the football and some athletics, and that's about it.

2. You're pretty excited about it, but only about a limited range of sports which you'll follow closely, whilst ignoring the rest.

3. You're looking forward to seeing some sports that you rarely get to watch, and will watch anything, within reason, especially if there's a chance that we might pick up a medal.

4. You can't wait, will watch as much of everything as you can, and are reconciled to the fact that you'll probably fall asleep every night watching highlights of the badminton. And then be up at dawn to watch a preview of the day's equestrian events.

I'm an unashamed category 4 :)
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Category 2. Can't say I'll stay up to watch weightlifters from Kazakhstan. Week 1 always feels like a preamble to the athletics though.

*gutted about Cornelius - big fan of his music. the stuff I've read is pretty shocking
 
Tourist said:
Category 2. Can't say I'll stay up to watch weightlifters from Kazakhstan. Week 1 always feels like a preamble to the athletics though.

*gutted about Cornelius - big fan of his music. the stuff I've read is pretty shocking
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haha I had forgotten about that post. I still love the Olympics as much! GB is smashing it again.
 
mashednlovingit said:
For the minority sports yes. Track and field will be shown fully live.
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Cor, if you want to tell those weightlifters they’re a minority sport, you go ahead! Rather you than me! ;-)

In the UK, it’s all on Discovery+ apparently. If you’re a Sky or Vodafone customer, think you can get it free for a few months. Or, if you want a slightly, erm, other way, give me a nudge. I might know a guy who knows a guy that has a sister that can get you an excellent IPTV package for forty quid a year….
 
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