Olympics Opening Ceremony Mixes it up
Friday evening’s long awaited start of the 2010 Winter Olympics had that just right feeling after Beijing Canada
Paying homage to the First Nation’s people and culture gave a great sense of place and heritage. The dancers continued to perform during the athletes walk of Nations which lasted over an hour and a half. They should have won some kind of medal for their endurance.
I tend to like the winter Olympics more than the summer games as it is a smaller contingent of athletes and they make their walk on entrance at the beginning of the program so they can watch everything that happens. The summer game athletes miss the program standing around in a parking lot somewhere while the show goes on. A little less of the Olympic experience I guess so winter to me is much better.
For those watching on television it starts with a lone snowboarder standing on top of a mountain from a helicopter’s viewpoint when he starts down the mountainside through fresh snow, no other visible tracks and after a long run jumping cliffs and descending towards the base of the mountain . . . the next thing you see is the scene cutting to the inside of the BC Place Stadium where the snowboarder skis down a long ramp and jumps through the Olympic Rings and onto the floor of the stadium.
Snowboarder Jumps through Rings – Mark J. Terrill / AP Photo
A snowboarder jumps through the Olympic rings during the opening ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver , British Columbia
The First Nation celebration gave a sense of history and place for the hosting city and area as the world watched.
Proud Nation and gracious Host – Michael Sohn / AP Photo
People react as they watch the opening ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics on a screen in Whistler, British Columbia , Canada
There were some moments that were indeed visually spectacular. The presentations overall made extensive use of massive, high quality video projection. The video screens were so integral to the visuals that spectators were instructed to wear white ponchos to increase the area on which the images could be projected.
My favorite visual moment of the evening was the video projections and some well-timed spouts of water from the stadium floor created the illusion that orca whales were swimming from one end of the stadium to the other. It was an amazing sight that suspended belief that you were looking at something in a stadium.
One of the next segments was called "Who Has Seen the Winds". Many skaters exited off the stadium floor leaving a boy (aerialist and École nationale de cirque student Thomas Saulgrain ) standing in the middle of a small field of prairie grass. The wind started to blow, and the boy started to run; while running, he took off in flight. He then flies high above the crowd performing a sort of ballet while suspended in air as he flew and did cartwheels through the air.
Aerialist performs - Charlie Riedel / AP Photo
A performer is suspended in the air during the opening ceremony for the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver , British Columbia
Proving the quality of the song was more important than the presence of a singer, Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now” was the perfect soundtrack for the prairie tribute, Ms. Mitchell was born in Fort Macleod, Alberta. I sure wish she had played live as I saw her several times in concert years ago and I have worn out several copies of “Miles of Aisles” over the years and is still one of my favorite all time albums.
The end of the opening program and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron inside the stadium had for the first time four people lighting the flame using their torch. There was one glitch as one of the legs did not come out of the floor as planned but was still lit after a short awkward moment by the four torch bearers.
The final Olympic Cauldron outside was then lit by “The Great One”, Wayne Gretzky as was fitting as his prominence in Canadian sports is legendary.
The Great One – Jae C. Hong / AP Photo
Canadian ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky holds the torch after he lit the Olympic flame during the Opening Ceremony of the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver , British Columbia
Fireworks - Robert F. Bukaty / AP Photo
Fireworks explode after the cauldron was lit at the Vancouver 2010 Olympics in Vancouver , British Columbia
The spirit of the games lives on . . . even after tragedy as the saying from long ago brought us . . . The thrill of victory . . . and the agony of defeat.
For one, he did not have the chance to complete his Olympic Dream but his spirit will be with every athlete and person during this 21st Olympiad. The games have begun and the medals are being won as the years of practice, sacrifice, and desire to achieve a lofty goal are being played out in the various venues.
Good luck to everyone as these next two weeks brings together nations from around the world forgetting our differences in the hopes of playing games.
Seems simple enough . . . maybe the world could strive to such lofty goals the rest of the year.
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