Official Paris Olympics Thread

[curbsideprophet]

Flame is finally lit, but still not over.

[mrsslocombe]

How is LA ever going to choose finale torch bearers?! Our roster is too deep.

[dontlook]

Celine!

[mrsukyankee]

Ok, the final torch thing is amazing.

[magma]

Jul 26, 2024 16:26:30 GMT -5 mrsslocombe said:

How is LA ever going to choose finale torch bearers?! Our roster is too deep.

I’m cool with Simone Biles just handing it off to herself over and over again.

[basilosaurus]

Jul 26, 2024 15:28:46 GMT -5 redheadbaker said:

Jul 26, 2024 14:07:45 GMT -5 dontlook said:

Advertising lol

basilosaurus apparently the animation studio is headquartered in Paris. 

yeah I posted a quote that explains it. It doesn’t explain how minions are in any way entertaining. But I’m not a child and don’t have any do what do I know.

[katfco]

We're watching the prime time airing right now and I'm rolling at the use of the beheaded Marie Antoinette segueing into a heavy metal band.

I miss being able to critique the uniforms, but the rest is incredible.

[rubytue]

I’m struck by how much this opening ceremony is made for broadcast, not for the attendees. If you were there, how would you even see all these bits like the Assassin’s Creed guy in the Louve?

[jinkies]

Jul 26, 2024 20:33:24 GMT -5 rubytue said:

I’m struck by how much this opening ceremony is made for broadcast, not for the attendees. If you were there, how would you even see all these bits like the Assassin’s Creed guy in the Louve?

We were saying the same thing.

Also, were surprised to see Puerto Rico competing under their own flag.

[imimahoney]

Jul 26, 2024 21:11:22 GMT -5 jinkies said:

Jul 26, 2024 20:33:24 GMT -5 rubytue said:

I’m struck by how much this opening ceremony is made for broadcast, not for the attendees. If you were there, how would you even see all these bits like the Assassin’s Creed guy in the Louve?

We were saying the same thing.

Also, were surprised to see Puerto Rico competing under their own flag.

PR has competed under their flag since the 1940s.

[jinkies]

Jul 26, 2024 21:18:52 GMT -5 imimahoney said:

Jul 26, 2024 21:11:22 GMT -5 jinkies said:

We were saying the same thing.

Also, were surprised to see Puerto Rico competing under their own flag.

PR has competed under their flag since the 1940s.

Ha, yeah I googled after I typed. I guess I just never noticed before.

[mofongo]

Jul 26, 2024 21:11:22 GMT -5 jinkies said:

Jul 26, 2024 20:33:24 GMT -5 rubytue said:

I’m struck by how much this opening ceremony is made for broadcast, not for the attendees. If you were there, how would you even see all these bits like the Assassin’s Creed guy in the Louve?

We were saying the same thing.

Also, were surprised to see Puerto Rico competing under their own flag.

They always do:) That being said, many of the athletes are born and raised in the US with PR heritage. I remember H and friends laughing last olympics that a lot of the PR athletes didn’t speak spanish. 

[neverfstop]

Jul 26, 2024 21:18:52 GMT -5 imimahoney said:

Jul 26, 2024 21:11:22 GMT -5 jinkies said:

We were saying the same thing.

Also, were surprised to see Puerto Rico competing under their own flag.

PR has competed under their flag since the 1940s.

And Guam....I think it also said "Hong Kong, China"

Was Taiwan there?

[jinkies]

Jul 26, 2024 21:23:04 GMT -5 neverfstop said:

Jul 26, 2024 21:18:52 GMT -5 imimahoney said:

PR has competed under their flag since the 1940s.

And Guam....I think it also said "Hong Kong, China"

Was Taiwan there?

They compete as Chinese Taipei. They gave an explanation as to why, something about it being part of their political agreement with China.

[mrsslocombe]

Jul 26, 2024 20:33:24 GMT -5 rubytue said:

I’m struck by how much this opening ceremony is made for broadcast, not for the attendees. If you were there, how would you even see all these bits like the Assassin’s Creed guy in the Louve?

I didn’t think a lot of it worked well for broadcast either. You could t really see the BMX riders/breakdancers/etc. The acrobats weren’t shot well. The runway show we only got quick shots of it.

And I think it’s a shame that the only things the athletes got to see in person were…the IOC president’s speech? The Olympic committee speech? The flag? Etc. They didn’t even get to see the cauldron lit, except on screen.

Overall I thought there were some strong elements, particularly at the top of the show. But as a whole there were a lot of issues.

[dontlook]

Jul 26, 2024 21:31:12 GMT -5 mrsslocombe said:

Jul 26, 2024 20:33:24 GMT -5 rubytue said:

I’m struck by how much this opening ceremony is made for broadcast, not for the attendees. If you were there, how would you even see all these bits like the Assassin’s Creed guy in the Louve?

I didn’t think a lot of it worked well for broadcast either. You could t really see the BMX riders/breakdancers/etc. The acrobats weren’t shot well. The runway show we only got quick shots of it.

And I think it’s a shame that the only things the athletes got to see in person were…the IOC president’s speech? The Olympic committee speech? The flag? Etc. They didn’t even get to see the cauldron lit, except on screen.

Overall I thought there were some strong elements, particularly at the top of the show. But as a whole there were a lot of issues.

I just watched the behind the scenes show on peacock. I agree with a lot of your points. I also think the rain really ruined a few things for them. The show definitely helped me understand what they were going for. It was cool and different.

[babsbunny]

I love Celine.

We recorded the "no commercials" live airing so we could skip ahead the slow parts.

[rubytue]

Jul 26, 2024 21:31:12 GMT -5 mrsslocombe said:

Jul 26, 2024 20:33:24 GMT -5 rubytue said:

I’m struck by how much this opening ceremony is made for broadcast, not for the attendees. If you were there, how would you even see all these bits like the Assassin’s Creed guy in the Louve?

I didn’t think a lot of it worked well for broadcast either. You could t really see the BMX riders/breakdancers/etc. The acrobats weren’t shot well. The runway show we only got quick shots of it.

And I think it’s a shame that the only things the athletes got to see in person were…the IOC president’s speech? The Olympic committee speech? The flag? Etc. They didn’t even get to see the cauldron lit, except on screen.

Overall I thought there were some strong elements, particularly at the top of the show. But as a whole there were a lot of issues.

I don’t disagree with your points. But, the whole thing was designed and orchestrated to be hybrid live and on screens. I did eventually notice Jumbotrons amount the spectators. But, compared to something in a single stadium, it feels like it needed to be viewed on a screen to see how the pieces worked together. 

Did it goes as smoothly as planned? Was the filming all perfect? Nah, not really. 

[Deleted]

I’m struggling to wrap my brain around the opening ceremony. I love how they used the whole city of Paris as a backdrop, but there was so much going on at once and I didn’t feel like I got to see enough of any of it for long enough to really understand it before the camera moved on to something else. I definitely love that it’s unique and steps outside of the traditional stadium show. It really moved the bar for future Olympics.

[mofongo]

Jul 26, 2024 22:13:19 GMT -5 @villainv said:

I’m struggling to wrap my brain around the opening ceremony. I love how they used the whole city of Paris as a backdrop, but there was so much going on at once and I didn’t feel like I got to see enough of any of it for long enough to really understand it before the camera moved on to something else. I definitely love that it’s unique and steps outside of the traditional stadium show. It really moved the bar for future Olympics.

I felt like it was smoothly moving from one scene to the next, and I really enjoyed it:) I feel like we saw the whole ‘performance’ at each location, so I didn’t feel like I was missing anything. Parts were slow, but that’s every opening ceremony for me. I think it was different and beautiful!

[Velar Fricative]

Man, I thought this sucked lol. It pains me to say that! I was happy to see Marie-Jose Perec light the cauldron and of course Celine was wonderful, but…it still left so much to desire. And oof, listening to Kelly Clarkson was painful. She said like the same three words all night. Peyton Manning was only slightly better. And this boat thing meant you couldn’t see the outfits well at all. Such a bummer. At least the sports should be better.

[mofongo]

Jul 26, 2024 22:33:37 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Man, I thought this sucked lol. It pains me to say that! I was happy to see Marie-Jose Perec light the cauldron and of course Celine was wonderful, but…it still left so much to desire. And oof, listening to Kelly Clarkson was painful. She said like the same three words all night. Peyton Manning was only slightly better. And this boat thing meant you couldn’t see the outfits well at all. Such a bummer. At least the sports should be better.

Kelly was painful!! I guess she's there bc she's a talk show host on NBC?? And I love snoop, but why was he there? I even questioned Gaga! It felt like the Grammys in Paris, at first. It got better as it went on, for me.

[mrsslocombe]

Jul 26, 2024 22:33:37 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Man, I thought this sucked lol. It pains me to say that! I was happy to see Marie-Jose Perec light the cauldron and of course Celine was wonderful, but…it still left so much to desire. And oof, listening to Kelly Clarkson was painful. She said like the same three words all night. Peyton Manning was only slightly better. And this boat thing meant you couldn’t see the outfits well at all. Such a bummer. At least the sports should be better.

I thought the commentary was really bad. At some point Mike Tirico seemed to get his notes and improved but I realllllly hate the “oh wow, gosh so beautiful” type commentary. Either provide context or zip it.

Snoop is doing some sideline reporting, especially for Track and Field.

My favorite thing about the digital streams on Peacock are usually they use the BBC, CBC, or Australian commentating feed and it’s so much better.

[livinitup]

How great is it that I can watch something like the Olympics and just enjoy it. Because I’m not filled with doom for our political future.



#HarrisForPresident

[wise_rita]

Jul 26, 2024 19:49:19 GMT -5 katfco said:

We're watching the prime time airing right now and I'm rolling at the use of the beheaded Marie Antoinette segueing into a heavy metal band.

Easily the best part!

But I couldn't tell if it was multiple real women or just one. The camera work was just bad. I can only assume it was the rain that did that.

Also with the military band and the French singer. Were they singing? I didn't see a single mouth move, but heard male voices.

The pyrotechnics were on point throughout, but there was so much that was not well done.

[mrsukyankee]

I guess I'm glad that I watched the UK presentation - our presenters were really good.

[basilosaurus]

Jul 26, 2024 21:11:22 GMT -5 jinkies said:

Jul 26, 2024 20:33:24 GMT -5 rubytue said:

I’m struck by how much this opening ceremony is made for broadcast, not for the attendees. If you were there, how would you even see all these bits like the Assassin’s Creed guy in the Louve?

We were saying the same thing.

Also, were surprised to see Puerto Rico competing under their own flag.

why wouldn’t they? Guan can and so can pr. And Hong Kong and Taiwan there is a long tradition of competing under national identity flags despite whatever ruling regime. I believe Palestine competes independently, too. Those are just a few in the top of my mind but I’m sure there are more. IOC lets people and countries compete how they define themselves. Not too long ago there was a South Sudan delegation before they were formally recognized as a separate nation

I didn’t know it was assassins creed, but I knew louvre, musee d’orsee. A few other landmarks. I recognized music from the can can to Satie. I think it was brilliant how they incorporated all that throughout. I don’t doubt there are people pissed it was too Parisian and not enough French though.

[Deleted]

Jul 26, 2024 23:15:01 GMT -5 mrsslocombe said:

Jul 26, 2024 22:33:37 GMT -5 Velar Fricative said:

Man, I thought this sucked lol. It pains me to say that! I was happy to see Marie-Jose Perec light the cauldron and of course Celine was wonderful, but…it still left so much to desire. And oof, listening to Kelly Clarkson was painful. She said like the same three words all night. Peyton Manning was only slightly better. And this boat thing meant you couldn’t see the outfits well at all. Such a bummer. At least the sports should be better.

I thought the commentary was really bad. At some point Mike Tirico seemed to get his notes and improved but I realllllly hate the “oh wow, gosh so beautiful” type commentary. Either provide context or zip it.

Snoop is doing some sideline reporting, especially for Track and Field.

My favorite thing about the digital streams on Peacock are usually they use the BBC, CBC, or Australian commentating feed and it’s so much better.

Yeah, I’m wondering how much our different perceptions of the opening ceremony are due to the quality of the commentary. I could tell that a lot of thought and artistry went into it, but for the most part didn’t really understand what was going on, and Kelly’s “oh wow, beautiful” didn’t help.

[jinkies]

Jul 27, 2024 2:07:27 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

Jul 26, 2024 21:11:22 GMT -5 jinkies said:

We were saying the same thing.

Also, were surprised to see Puerto Rico competing under their own flag.

why wouldn’t they? Guan can and so can pr. And Hong Kong and Taiwan there is a long tradition of competing under national identity flags despite whatever ruling regime. I believe Palestine competes independently, too. Those are just a few in the top of my mind but I’m sure there are more. IOC lets people and countries compete how they define themselves. Not too long ago there was a South Sudan delegation before they were formally recognized as a separate nation

Yeah, I looked it up later. I just didn't realize that they competed separate from the US. I went to PR earlier this year and the travel pages would absolutely eat people alive if they asked a question that implied PR was not fully part of the US. So that's why it stood out to me. I do understand that the actual relationship between US and PR is more complicated.

[wise_rita]

Celine slapped. Such talent!