I watched the opening ceremony for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing earlier tonight. Well, not all of it – even in the summer I struggle to find four spare hours in a row. I have to say that, like seemingly everyone, I spent most of the time with my mouth open. It was an incredible spectacle.
If the object had been to take China’s human rights record off people’s minds for a couple of hours they certainly succeeded with me. As I watched those fireworks, and the drummers all moving in unison creating a massive single entity, and the huge globe with the gravity defying people, and the wonderful way they lit the torch – for a moment human rights didn’t enter my conscious – I became a child looking at his first ever fireworks display again – my mouth formed the shape it makes when it stops midway through uttering a ‘wow’ and stayed like that.
Of course I’m back in righteous indignation mode again – and will say a silent prayer for those who were screwed up and crushed in the creation of a state which thinks nothing of spending billions on a global event but treats its poor so shoddily.
I firmly believe that China should not have been awarded the Olympics in the first place – but the time for protesting that decision is over, anything more can only be considered grandstanding and will do more harm than good.
So let the games commence – and credit to the people who made that crazy opening ceremony come together and said so clearly – ‘follow that, London!’
If the object had been to take China’s human rights record off people’s minds for a couple of hours they certainly succeeded with me. As I watched those fireworks, and the drummers all moving in unison creating a massive single entity, and the huge globe with the gravity defying people, and the wonderful way they lit the torch – for a moment human rights didn’t enter my conscious – I became a child looking at his first ever fireworks display again – my mouth formed the shape it makes when it stops midway through uttering a ‘wow’ and stayed like that.
Of course I’m back in righteous indignation mode again – and will say a silent prayer for those who were screwed up and crushed in the creation of a state which thinks nothing of spending billions on a global event but treats its poor so shoddily.
I firmly believe that China should not have been awarded the Olympics in the first place – but the time for protesting that decision is over, anything more can only be considered grandstanding and will do more harm than good.
So let the games commence – and credit to the people who made that crazy opening ceremony come together and said so clearly – ‘follow that, London!’
3 comments:
i hope you closed your mouth by now, my dear mr. c.
first, you don't want to get flies in it. flies are disgusting little insects and they are the most atrocious germ and disease breeders ever.
secondly, i read an article on msn that the opening ceremony was, at least partially, bollocks. yes, that's right, the chinese spent the better part of a year coming up with a digital fireworks display to make it seem like a bigger feat that it actually was . . .
now, the synchronized drums . . . yeah, very cool.
although, who knows? if we can clone sheep, then maybe they can clone percussionists?
This may not be the longest reply ever - but the MSN article writer is quite obviously wrong.
could be. could be.
here's the link for you to check it out for yourself: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26139005/
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