By Jennifer Eisenbart
Sports Editor
As five rings floated slowly to the center of the Olympic Stadium Friday night in England, merging to form the Olympic rings as fireworks streamed from them, the 2012 London Olympics began with fanfare and elegance.
It can be so easy to lose track of the significance of the Olympics – not to win, but to take part – and of the sheer effort involved just to earn a ticket to compete. As various broadcast forums have told us for weeks (and will likely continue to as the Games progress), for every Olympian you see compete, there is a story to be told.
But on Friday night, the only story that needed to be front and center was the opening ceremony. Pomp, circumstance, storytelling – an evening to be remembered not for competition, but for unity and history.
Music played a huge part of the panorama laid out at the beginning of the show, and then throughout. It seemed fitting, given how much music is tied to London and the United Kingdom.
The music opened with a young boy singing the hymn “Jerusalem” – which I remember from Chariots of Fire – and then later Vangelis’ famous theme from the movie of that same name.
Of course, given that this is Great Britain, it wasn’t complete until Mr. Bean got involved with the musical performance. If you haven’t heard either the hymn or the famous theme song, head to Youtube. You won’t be disappointed.
Actually, music was central to the themes of the night. “Frankie and June say thanks” was a salute to relationships in the digital area, as well as four centuries of British music. Frankly, I got lost after Queen and Annie Lennox, but hey, it was fun anyhow.
Then, in perhaps the most beautiful moment of the evening, the Kaos Signing Choir – the only choir in the UK that mixes both deaf and hearing children – performed the country’s national anthem, both by signing and singing.
Of course, there were other parts of the opening ceremonies that touched on Great Britain’s national pride. I don’t know that I would have thought of including the National Health Service – the UK’s national health care system – but in bringing both real doctors and real nurses in plus children performers, this part of the show cried out for attention when the young children dreamed.
Of course, the dreams turned to nightmares. With J.K. Rowling reading Peter Pan, the opening ceremonies took a right turn into Cirque de Soleil, with rising beds, huge villains and heroes scaring said villains off. The heroes, in this case, were multiple Mary Poppins.
Even the Olympic standards were a little different. The doves of peace – bicycle riders with lit wings on their backs while a band covered “Come Together” by the Beatles – rode around the stadium later, and the Olympic flame was later put together from miniature flameholders rising together to form one large flame – more than 200, representing each country at the Games.
The people who lit the flame? Seven young athletes from the U.K., who were presented by their “sponsors” – U.K. greats that included two-time Olympic decathlon champion Daley Thompson. In heralding the future generation, the U.K. created a moment not seen since Robyn Perry in 1988 in Calgary – a 12-year-old figure skater who represented the same kind of youth.
The only down note to the entire night was the incessant commentary from NBC announcers Meredith Viera and Matt Lauer. Most of the opening ceremony was intuitive enough that even a layperson from another country could figure it out.
There were some small parts that needed explanation, which Viera and Lauer gave expertly and concisely. Then they continued to babble on and on and on. Sometimes, it is worth observing silence and letting the moment speak for itself.
As those who planned the opening ceremonies obviously intended.
-
-
-
-
-