Not as good as the London ceremony , The Paris Ceremony shone brightly in spurts.
The galloping horse up the Seine was inspired, and literally took your breath away
As did good old Céline who nailed Piaf’s Hymne á L’amour halfway up the Eiffel Tower
God that was an emotional watch.
Happy days
And she nailed it in the rain! What an unbelievable visual!
ReplyDeleteShe was on the Eiffel Tower and SHE stole the show completely
DeleteIf you had been a spectator at the opening of the Paris Olympics, you'd have seen bugger all. The whole event was televisual with a view to audiences around the world. I wish someone had wiped the camera lenses.
ReplyDeleteUnlike most of the other openings, this was one designed purely for tv , I suspect most of the local audience was bored rigid
DeleteI don't know if you've watched the documentary about Celine Dion, "I Am". She onlys wants to sing, that is how she connects with others and how she serves the world, or at least, that was my takeaway from the documentary. I'm glad she got to sing and that she made it through the song.
ReplyDeleteNo I haven’t seen the documentary , and I’m now a huge fan, but I thought the choice of artist and song for that one simple number was inspired
DeleteI agree that there were some absolutely inspired moments in the opening ceremonies -- like the athletes coming down the Seine in boats, the galloping horse and rider on the river, the Olympic flame being lit in the hot-air balloon cauldron, and especially Celine Dion's powerhouse Piaf song performance. But the problem is that every aspect went on and on and on AND JUST BLOODY ENDLESSLY ON AND ON! All except for Celine, whose one song was perfect.
ReplyDeleteI get this
DeleteThe horse especially seemed to gallop for miles
Too much
Missed the opening ceremony, so this is the first I've seen of Celine's performance. Whatever her health issues, she was in great form.
ReplyDeleteShe fucking nailed it
DeleteI have no TV, so missed it all. But that video of Celine Dion was inspiring, with all her health issues she didn't miss a note.
ReplyDeletep.s. No rain down here, just hot sunshine all day long.
DeleteBBC iPlayer will have it all cro x
DeleteAfraid it didn't captivate me as much as I wanted it to. It was certainly poignant for me seeing so many of the sights in what used to be my favourite of all cities, -visiting it 15 times in the 80s, but never having had the opportunity since. But the ceremony itself with all those boats, bravely original, but even so, didn't quite work for me - too fleeting glimpses with little time to say anything interesting or original. And as for the music act 'distractions', much of the time I didn't know what was going on, the relaying of sound not being up to scratch, too much dancing and singing with barely heard, unsatisfactorily picked up, backing music - mostly live, as far as I could tell. Couldn't do anything about the unfortunate prolonged downpour but at least the participants' spirits stayed up, which itself was to be admired.
ReplyDeleteI went to bed before Ms Dion came on - and the beacon was lifted to the skies. Have to catch up today on what I ,missed.
But all in all, good to have such an original presentation, even if I didn't get much 'oomph' out of it, and too much didn't quite impress me as much as it was clearly intended to. Anyway, today the most exciting parts begin - or start to.
I wondered at the time if you were watching Raymondo
DeleteThank you for your assessment , always worth it
I do try to write something pertinent (without an 'im'), JayGee.
DeleteNow I regret that I only saw short parts of the ceremony because I preferred to watch the news here, which is another addiction.
ReplyDeleteIt’s all on BBC iplayer
DeleteAnother who hasn't seen any of the opening ceremony. And I won't watch much, if any, of the events. Not a sports fan. xx
ReplyDeleteThe relay with the sportsmen and women were a bit hokey
DeleteSome bastards do pick their moments to dump their partners. I hope it didn't sour Paris for you. (As wonderful as they are, does France have no other songs but Piaf songs?)
ReplyDeleteI missed the ceremony..but I may find it on U tube as I have stopped watching live TV. That horse is lovely.
ReplyDeleteThe girl singing Imagine on what looked like a floating turd, I could have done without
DeleteHad a wonderful 10 days in Paris years ago. Love it. The ceremony - not so clever. Didn't they think it might rain?
ReplyDeleteThe French probably flicked a tooth at the sky
DeleteEveryone is leaving a message about Paris. I am intrigued by your passing comment about the boyfriend that broke up with you there and then became your husband? What? What have I missed? I agree Celine was wonderful. I was happy to see her there after hearing about her recent health issues. Go back to Paris and have some fun! I know you would.
ReplyDeleteYou didn’t miss anything, it was just a memory
DeleteIt was a good show. I was surprised by the pianos in the rain. Sometimes revisiting the place changes the feelings about it, sometimes not.
ReplyDeleteYes , it was soake, I thought that
DeleteI enjoyed it in parts. Always good to see something so different, but you can't get the same atmosphere as when it's in a stadium and a shared experience. Arilx
ReplyDeleteWe didn’t have that roar of the crowd
DeleteWe watched it all, the horse was brilliant, I would have liked to see more of the 'fashion catwalk', Celine absolutely nailed it and was a brilliant surprise. I couldn't help thinking that it was a good job that the rain didn't start until after Lady Gaga's number. Her fluffy pom-pom feathers would have looked like a drowned Frizzle chicken. 😄
ReplyDeleteI tried to watch it but I have tired of tv spectacles. They try hard to replicate the feeling of being there, but of course that is not possible.
ReplyDeleteIMHO, the tv coverage of the Olympics was best back in the 1980s when they interviewed individual athletes and visited them at home - all over the world. Get inside what they have gone through to get there. In those days I could discuss all the various sports in depth, and all my friends could, too. Ratings were through the roof, purely for the genuine understanding of what it means to be an Olympic athlete. Whole different approach, which to me was much more interesting and fun. C'est la vie.
Nina
The hot air balloon cauldron was spectacular. I can't fathom what sort of.brain the people who think this up.and execute it must have. Is it just me or was there something off about the Can Can?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad it wasn't just me, so no it definitely wasn't just you. I thought the can-can was rather odd, as though they hadn't practised properly or maybe couldn't hear their music. Just a touch out of time and flat.
DeleteI watched quite a bit of it but I think they tried to jam too much into it. We would get short glimpses of interesting acts but they had to move on as the athletes kept floating in. I quit watching when it got close to my bedtime but I know I can watch the highlights on YouTube... It did spike my interest to maybe watch more of the events.
ReplyDeleteYours seems to be a common complaint
DeleteI did t realize Chris had broken up with you so early in your relationship. And I don’t want to think about him anymore. As the song goes … he’s just so done you used to love.
ReplyDeleteIt was teething problems and I had done the same only a month or so before
DeleteNot a good grounding for a permanent relationship then. As time did show.
DeleteWe didn't watch it. I've never been a huge fan of the Olympics so I was happy to give it a pass. I do love Paris, though, and have been there several times.
ReplyDeleteAh the Gays love Paris!
DeleteBeen once too
Hated it
Rude bastards
Lee
It's romantic but no romance there for you, what a shame.
Delete