What were your impressions of Olympic opening ceremony

[My_First]

I am just interested what were the thoughts of those of you not in the Uk on our Olympic ceremony and how are your media taking it?
Whilst it was very British, (which some uk media are saying was too much) I don't think we should have to apologise for that.

I am sure there were lots of scenes that perhaps as a non Brit, that would have maybe been lost on you, such as some of our classic TV shows etc. but overall what impression have you had?

 

[staybeautiful]

I thought it was great! I thought it wasn't going to be that good, and didn't think it'd be able to top Beijing, but hats off to Danny Boyle!
I do think that some of it will have been a bit lost to people outside the UK though, particularly some of the industrial revolution section - I was at a Opening Ceremony party MIL had and I was asked who Kenneth Brannagh was meant to be, and that's in the UK where we're "meant" to know about Brunel and that. But, haters gonna hate no matter how good a lot of people (maybe the majority?!) found it.

Daniel Craig and Queenie = genius! As a rule, I'm not patriotic/fussed for the UK or Britain, but last night made me feel quite proud of us as a country! Stupid hormones almost had me in tears when I saw how proud Sir Chris Hoy was to be waving the flag

 

[xlouloux]

I loved every second of it, after hearing everyone say it was going to be rubbish I wasn't going to watch it, but it was incredible. I even had tears in my eyes during some parts.

The 7 youngsters who lit the flame were the right choice, and as the copper petals went up me and DF just sat looking amazed lol. We both agreed however that Macca was pointless.

I have a lot of people overseas on my FB and they were all posting about how much they were enjoying it.

After the riots last year I think we've come a long way, it was a very proud moment to be British!

 

[Mummy2B21]

Loved it!

 

[Jade--x]

I didn't get to watch it (I'm camping with no TV!) So I've no idea But my facebook and twitter seemed to really hate it I've got it recorded at home though so I'll have to watch it when I get back x

 

[lhancock90]

I liked it i did.
However it wasn't as spectacular as i imagined, although Danny Boyle is more slow, steady and gritty than big bang.

 

[Blah11]

An amazing show ruined by Paul Mccartney BUT £27 million... really?!

 

[lhancock90]

I agree. I switched off when McCartney showed up.

 

[staybeautiful]

I agree. I switched off when McCartney showed up.

After McCartney sang Hey Jude and confused the audience by getting them to singalong ("Just Yemen this time!") that was pretty much it tbh, the signs came on asking everyone to leave the stadium.

 

[anita665]

I thought the start was a bit lame. It was hard to keep track of what was going on and all I could think about was food. I loved Mr Bean and James Bond though. It certainly improved once the first 20 mins was over.

 

[LoveCakes]

I still don't get why there were Mary Poppins in the NHS thing. And the winged cycling people?

I loved the torch at the end and the music through the ages thing. The lights in the crowd were good too.

Watch 200 teams wave was mind numbing though. We had guests and I couldn't switch over Plus I feel like the only person in the UK who hasn't carried the torch, it took half an hour for them to light the flipping torch once Beckam handed it over.

 

[Samiam03]

I hated it, TBH. The first part wasn't totally terrible but the part with the love story and dancing was just too long and boring for me. I didnt have a clue what was going on and so I ended up zoning out. I've just come to have a certain level of expectation for the opening ceremonies after Athens and Beijing...it just didn't feel like the Olympics to me. It felt like the equivalent of the US Super Bowl show to me.

 

[Erised]

I hated it.

Beijing had a nice show, it was a show to entertain the world.
England had a history lesson with a bunch of English things thrown in.

Now to start, I'm not English. I've been living here for nearly 10 years, but it was all lost on me.

The dancing was, interesting. Too many different dance moves going on at the same time. Those who did dance the same routine did not do so in time, making it look incredibly messy.

The history bit at start was confusing. Not only due to not knowing the full story, but also because there was too much going on with too many people and too many items being carried around while changing the scene. I honestly did not enjoy it

I liked the bit with the queen and James Bond. Very simple, everyone knows who they are, it was fun. I enjoyed the comedy routine or Mr. Bean... very English, but easy enough to understand.

I didn't get ANY of the whole house bit with the English tv shows. Why was that there? Unless you grew up in England at the time it was completely meaningless, very unorganized and all together messy.

The English music, fine. The songs were enjoyable. Don't get what was going on though, with everyone walking / dancing around and losing their phones? Whose phone was she using? How did he know to contact her? All the bloody text speak on the screen... as if English isn't difficult enough to understand for most of the world WITHOUT the text speak being thrown over the screen.

I just didn't get any of it and to me it feels like it was focused and written for the sole purpose of trying to make the British proud. Never mind the rest of the world was left confused and trying to figure out what was going on while not being entertained.

I quite enjoyed the bit after all the world teams were introduced. Sure, the flying bikes and stuff didn't make sense, but it looked pretty. It wasn't too busy, it was entertaining and looked pretty. It was a show for everyone rather than just the UK.

 

[Quackquack99]

I really liked it. It showcased our history through the times, from an agricultural society to industrialisation to the present time. It was quintessentially british and honoured many developments we have gone through as a nation. I know many people around the world wouldn't uinderstand it but this olympics is in London and it was very fitting that it dedicated it to british society. And on a final note, I absolutely love mr Bean!!

 

[TennisGal]

I thought it was wonderful...exciting, beautifully orchestrated, a true spectacle. Exceeded expectations!

 

[robinator]

I didn't care for it - too variety-show. I much more enjoyed the elegance of the Beijing ceremonies.

 

[Kirki85]

i thought it was boring at first but then i thought it was really good after a while lol.

 

[lau86]

It was really boring I didn't get it at all

 

[mara16jade]

Overall I was bored. There were bits and pieces that were nice - like the lighting of the torch/big flower thing. But other parts just didn't make sense and it looked like part MTV Best of the 80's, 70's, 60's, etc. and a variety show.

 

[Midnight_Fairy]

Loved it and tbh, it was time for something different and lets face it, not everyone would be pleased unless it was a zzz fest.