The amazing life and chronicles of Christian BS.

London 2012 Olympics handover "show"

Well, it was called a show, but I would like to contest that naturally (you should know me well enough by now). A show is supposed to entertain people. Seeing as The Olympics is a very large undertaking, perhaps we can be a little forgiving if the entertainment is more mediocre than spectacular, as there is so much eslse to co-ordinate and organise.
The opening ceremony, not even I can bash. It was quite simply unbelievable. It was quite clear that not only had a lot of effort been put into the execution of this spectacle (especially how many thousands of people had to be co-ordinated), but a great deal had been put into impressing audiences, not just in China, but around the world, by showing off a lot of the Chinese cultural heritage and rich history. I know I should really be talking about the hand-over ceremony, but I just want to add my thoughts on one particular part; the carrying of the Olympic flag in the Opening Ceremony. First it was carried by previous gold medallists, then a group of young Chinese children, and then finally, Chinese military personel. That final one I find was quite a subtle reminder of the “don’t forget, we’re still here” attitude of the various law enforcement teams - (be it the blue-coated paramilitary police who followed the torch on its path around the world before it was stopped, or these soldiers). Our appetites, suffice it to day had been severely whetted by the opening ceremony, if not spoilt.
And then came Boris Johnson; looking hot and flustered as though he were late for a cabinet meeting of some sort or another. This was not quite the image which really fit in with quite an elaborate performance: a middle-aged man, fighting his belt size, donning a suit and dishevelled blond hair. Granted, this is his image and if he is there to represent himself, then it is fine for him to have such an appearance, but he is supposed to be representing the UK, or “Team GB” as it were, so the least he could have done, was combed his hair.I also found it quite hard to believe that so little thought had been put into what we would do. The Chinese have put on a magnificent show, and what do we do? We get a footballer (who, quite frankly, looks like a yob) and get him to kick a football off of the top of a double-decker bus. They could not even use the old-fashioned route-master buses which are the ones that people internationally recognise. Instead, one of these new, tacky-looking, almost plastic-y looking buses was used. After this, various members of “stereotypical” British society in their appropriate British dress code (eg: a policeman in full garb) began dancing around the bus. I could not help but notice the absence of a quite a major part of British society; the inebriated, knife-wielding 17 year old which seems to account for roughly half of the population.
In closing, I hope that it suffices to say that this gives me very great concern for our own Olympic opening ceremony, which is supposed not to compete with the extravagance of the Chinese one, but involve members of the general public…An idea that sounds flawed from day one.
Best regards,   Christian BS.