EDIT: Yes, I realized the typo in the entry title -_-
After getting back from vacation, I was finally able to watch the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony (OC) in its entirety. When I was chatting with a couple of friends about the Olympics, they really got into quite a huge discussion about the quality of the opening ceremonies of 2008 compared to 2012. One friend absolutely raved about Beijing 2008: the fireworks and choreography. But another friend was equally passionate about the complexity and finesse of the London 2012 one. Having attended the Beijing 2008 opening ceremony live, I must say I'm slightly biased. What do you guys think?
Poll: Which Olympics opening ceremony did you enjoy better?
Beijing 2008 (40)
70%
London 2012 (17)
30%
57 total votes
Your vote: Which Olympics opening ceremony did you enjoy better?
Beijing without a doubt. I lost track of how many times I was like wtf is happening? during London's opening... Until China hosts again or maybe South Korea (yes I'm bias), no one will top Beijing I'm guessing.
Beijing by a long shot. They simply had much more money as well, and they spent it very well setting it all up. I don't think Beijing will be topped for a long time.
I visited Beijing a while ago and their preparation for the Olympics was just flat-out insane. No one could really ever see the ceremonies and get educated on the Olympics and still think London was better than Beijing in any way, shape or form.
i just happened to eat 7g of potent mushrooms the day of the beijing ceremony. had no idea it was on. did not schedule the trip around the ceremony at all but its funny how these things work out. i just happened to be tripping balls, flicking channels and low and behold the beijing opening ceremony is on. its something i will NEVER forget
impacted me way more than something trivial like 9/11 ever could
I think Beijing's ceremony was of course better in terms of its preparation and the incredible, jaw-dropping spectacle that it was, but I did feel like London did a great job in portraying famous areas of british culture and you could say it was a more "humble" ceremony. I think it was also harder for non-British viewers to truly appreciate certain aspects of the British ceremony, while China's aimed to be a jaw-dropping, "easier-to-understand" wonder of a show.
While China had the big glitz and glamour, I preferred the London ceremonies in that they were very British and fit well with their culture. None of them though hold a candle to my favorite which is still Barcelona '92, with the mechanized puppets showing the parting of Gibraltar and all that, good stuff.
London wasn't a disappointment, and I was able to appreciate it in its own right as opposed to contrasting and comparing to Beijing. With that said, Beijing was better over all.
To even compare the two is unfair to Britain. It's probably impossible to upstage Beijing as the most impressive opening ceremonies of all time. Britain looked a bit stingy to me, but it was well put-together, and enjoyable.
On August 19 2012 07:09 Aerisky wrote: Beijing by a long shot. They simply had much more money as well, and they spent it very well setting it all up. I don't think Beijing will be topped for a long time.
That is a true point. I don't think Zhang Yi Mou even had a budget to work with.........
EPT
