2012 Olympics

So, what did you non-UK people think of the opening ceremony?Despite my initial cynicism I loved it, but it seemed to me that most of the world must have been baffled.

Hi Tangle Intentionally did not watch. I am more interested in the sports and the achievements by the individual athletes than I am by the politicing, jingoism, and ignorant reporting.If they spent less time on talk and silly concern on medal counts, they could spend more time on covering actual events and action. The US media is the worst (it was much better in Canada when we lived there).Enjoy.

Missed it. When was it?

....where in the US you live. NBC decided not to show it live, instead showing it with a time delay to maximise prime time advertising revenue. Thw west coast got it later than the east coast.I'd like to have a moan here. Apparently NBC chose to cut to a Ryan Seacrest interview with Michael Phelps instead of showing the part of the opening ceremony which paid tribute to the victims of the 7/7 terrorist attacks in London, said attacks coming the day after it was announced that London would be the venue for the 2012 event. NBC's decision is disrespectful and offensive. How would the US have reacted if a tribute to the 9/11 victims was cut for an interview with a competitor from the UK?Still, at least it lets us Brits know that the only terrorist victims which matter are US victims. Sorry to sound so bitter and twisted about this.

Well, I hope folk enjoyed the Olympics even if I missed them.

I'm sure you'll be able to find recordings on the web. Apparently there's going to be a DVD as well.

You are not bitter. I agree with you 100%. I liked the open ceremony and having travelled to London was excited to see it hosted there. My 7 year old daughter had a blast watching it and danced to the music. However, I did not like NBC's commentary on it. Matt Laurer was aweful and came off as a jerk. Really wished I could have seen the tribute to the 9/11 victims.

I've only seen the first bit, I'll watch the rest later. I was both gladdened and saddened by it.I liked the capitalists overseeing the rise of the industrial age while the suffragettes protested in the background. But it was quite sad to see the lovely green and pleasant land turned into a smog belching workhouse -forging the Olympic rings at the expense of the countryside.And naturally, the Queen parachuting in with James Bond was great. Most foriegners are probably unaware of the Queen's famous grand entrances with secret agents - so it was good to see it shown to outsiders.

Wake me up when the Olympics are over.

Quite a few bloggers from the US are wondering why Kenneth Brannagh was dressed up as Abraham Lincoln

You're not even kidding:
Kenneth Branagh At 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony: Was Branagh Dressed As Abe Lincoln?That just cracks me up.

Ditto. I was totally unready for the level of spectacle and thought it was breathtaking and moving. Mike Oldfield, Dizzee Rascal, and Arctic Monkeys. Genius

Sometimes you think that the very best thing that the rest of the world could do for poor old USA is issue them all with passports and visas and make them travel outside their borders at least once in their lives - preferably without a uniform and a gun.

They are on right now, all day every day. You just missed the opening ceremony, which was no Beijing! - OniEdited by onifre, : No reason given.

Damn right - London was 100x more entertaining