2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing

[Rye]

I'm pretty sure no one made this, so I guess I will:

The opening... oh my god. My jaw is dropping. It's so beautiful.

This is the thread to discuss the Olympics! So let's start with the opening.

EDIT: Now that I think of it, let me mention to please keep whether the Olympics should have been in China because of political reasons out of this thread, and in a serious forum like EoEo, please? Sorry I didn't make it clearer before people started posting, but I want keep it to the sports and the competition, and not to whether China should be hosting it or not. Thanks!

[Roto13]

I'm not watching the Olympics this year. I'm too disgusted by the fact that they're in China.

[Big D]

The opening was a brilliant spectacle, regardless of politics. Probably the best so far - I loved the historical overview of Chinese culture and technology, and the sheer awesomeness of the of the choreography, special effects, and fireworks.

And the fact that the games are in China is, I think, something of a positive: it's another factor that's forcing the country to become more open and liberalised, like the increase in diplomatic ties and free trade that they've been signing up to.

I'll definitely be watching a lot of the games, times permitting. I'm especially hoping to see the archery, gymnastics and martial contests.

I'm sure as hell not going to 'punish' the athletes and their nations by boycotting the entire contest simply because I disagree with the host nation's political system. That'd seem rather illogical to me. What we've got is a contest bringing together representatives of close to 200 countries, for what is generally a peaceful and friendly contest. And it can even happen when it's taking place in a country that's seen as politically contentious by the western democracies - that's really something.

[Rye]

What impressed me the most was the part near the beginning of it, with the the rising and falling blocks, that turned out to be man powered. My jaw dropped!

[rubah]

holy crap there are so many countries.

I liked the little girl with the kite.

[Shiny]

The opening sequence was cool. Lights and all. The dancers were very precise and the colors vivid. The singing was weird. I think anything but the Track & Field is really boring though. I am waiting for it.


On a side note: Bush looks bored. He checked his watch and kept tapping his foot. He also clapped when Iraq came. xD

[Yar]

What impressed me the most was the part near the beginning of it, with the the rising and falling blocks, that turned out to be man powered. My jaw dropped!

Watching that, my mom was like, "wow, how do you think they're doing that?" And I said, "probably the same way they're doing everything else, they're people working in synchronization."

Sure enough, I was right. Doesn't make it any less impressive.

There are too many commercial breaks in my opinion. Fewer would be nice. The Parade of Nations took forever, but it was cool to see them go in order of brushstrokes, not ABC.

Downside, Conan is on a 1 hour delay tonight.

I've never really listened to the Chinese language, but wow. It doesn't sound too pretty.

[Madame Adequate]

I didn't pay much attention to the openings but the parts I have seen of it have pretty much been giant win.

Yaridovich: Really? I think it's beautiful.

[KH-Cloudy]

Currently at the Nations part.

I agree with Rye that the moving blocks part was jaw dropping! Everything was just so...beautiful, words can describe how well they planned it out!

Haha, funny thing is when Madagascar came up, I was like !@#$ Madagascar because of Pandemic II.

[rubah]

I felt a bigger surge of national pride when france showed up than when the USA did xD

the torch lighting was amaaaaaaaazing.

[Miriel]

The opening ceremony was stunning. Loved the dancing/calligraphy part. That was just exquisite.

But, uh. I still want to punch China in the face.

[El Bandito]

Easily the best Olympic opening ceremony I've seen. The choreography was just breathtaking. Not to mention the absolutely ridiculous amounts of fireworks.

Also, on the Parade of Nations, Denmark...jean shorts?

...seriously?

[Miriel]

Project Runway's most recent challenge was to design an outfit for an Olympic team to wear at the Opening ceremonies, and so I was paying a lot of attention to the outfits. And oh man, they were pretty atrocious. United States looked ok, but kinda like sailors. I forget which country it was, but they were wearing bright blue blazers trimmed with bright bright yellow. It was hideous.

[Clouded Sky]

If you couldn't already tell and missed the commentary - the US' outfit was designed by Ralph Lauren. *giggle*

In any case, I was absolutely blown away, and my two favorite parts were when China came out and that 9 year old was with Yao. He was absolutely adorable and his story was amazing. AND THE TORCH LIGHTING. WOW! That was simply incredible. Maybe, maybe, I could have predicted flying on wires, but RUNNING AROUND THE TOP OF THE STADIUM SIDEWAYS? Blew me away.

[qwertysaur]

I love the Olympics. It lets people forget about fighting long enough to have friendly competition instead.

Ping Pong should not be an Olympic sport though.