Olympic Opening Ceremony, London 2012

Been seeing lots of spoilers and I reckon it's going to be great

Multiple choice poll

I just dont care about the olympics *shrugs*

Mate was at it the other day & was well impressed, so I'll hold off the cynicsim a wee bit longer

I'm interested in what the miners strike section is going to be.

These things are generally really dull, IMO. Unless it rains and there is literally nothing on TV at the same time, I may watch it.

It hasn't happened yet

Funny last para here

http://www.mi6-hq.com/news/index.php?itemid=10307

I know it hasn't. People still have thoughts about it whether it's happened or not

I want to keep the suprise, minnie.

There are rumours that Ali is being lined up to take part in the flame lighting ceremony as he has flown into London this week. I think its more likely that he has been lined up for the bit of the cermeony where they highlight the fact that he cheated Cooper in their fight at Wembley and how our 'enry should rightfully have been the sportsman on the 20th Century!

^^ from the dress rehearsal. £27m

If that is true then someone was listening closely to a conversation Mr.QofG's and I once had in an underground Krakow bar!

Though they appear to have ignored Iron Maiden in concert with the Pet Shop Boys and Geoffrey Boycott dressed as Queen Victoria Morris Dancing with Patrict Stewart ....or have they?

why is this after the 'lympics start in Cardiff tomorrow?
not that we want the opening ceremony as well mind

Fucking hilarious. Oh Danny...

I've just been looking at pictures on Flickr. Looks good. People seem to think the Industrial Age segment is the best bit

I'm looking forward to the Princess Di hologram.

Looks like the island in the middle of a roundabout!

I think the NHS nurses dancing bit should be pretty good

No option for 'it's a total waste of money AND it's all about corporate sponsorship AND I'm looking forward to seeing it

I'm working on making a drinking game out of it.

See a duck. Drink! See an 'urban dance move'. Drink! Someone on a wire. Drink! Escaped sheep. Drink! Someone in a co-ordinated outfit throwing someone else in a co-ordinated outfit up in the air and catching them. Drink!

etc

It's multiple choice OU

It's a multiple choice poll

Spot a Hollywood A lister, drink! Spot a freeloading politician, drink!

Elderly and embarrassed looking retired sports person. Drink!

And best of all; everytime you or your sofa mate says "I thought they were dead!" we all drink

Spot someone revealing a tee-shirt that will upset sponsors, drink!

I'm aware of that. I have had to contradict myself. There should have at least been an option for 'Yes, but it's a total waste of money etc'

LEDs on every seat. Could be trippy

I was there last night (a rehearsal for the opening ceremony) and it was really amazing. I was cynical about the Olympics, yes it is a waste of money, the ticketing system has been a shambles etc etc.....but I take my hat off to Danny Boyle, it was brilliant and will be well worth watching. It made me proud to be a Londoner. It's easy to grumble about things, the crowds were mental and there were a couple of issues....but it was great and the stadium looks brilliant. Despite what the papers said today about the transport, it took us exactly 90 minutes to get from our seats back to Stockwell!

It is a shame people are posting pictures of the event last night on twitter as half the excitement about Friday's opening ceremony is the element of surprise..... At the end of the day I'd far rather the show was mind mindbogglingly impressive than to have a poor show and to be the laughing stock of the rest of the world...?

I'll be at work, so thankfully won't have to even bother turning it off

Away from Minnie's fun speculative thread (although maybe we should merge)...

...I went to the final rehearsal tonight.

Along with perhaps 70k others, this was the least exclusive guest list I've ever been on. And we were there to enjoy, or possibly grimace, at tens of millions of squids of show. For the occasion, the whole finances thing I'd momentarily scrubbed from my mind. I wanted to know just how well or indeed badly Boyle had made of his budget.

(this will be be spoiler free, so bear with me)

Boyle seems to have taken a big pot, and chucked in everything British he can think of.

The intro video - apart from looking delighful - chucks the occasional nod to things that are a far cry from reverence and worshipping the royal state. You can sense a little of Boyle's socialist leanings, but it ramps later.

Some of the next segments transform the set - amazingly. The cast of thousands looks like a random shambles, but then things unfold and it's a proper talking point. Our group is constantly nudging each other, pointing out little details.

There's a middle bit. It will look lovely on TV, especially from helicopters. The crowd is ecstatic.

Later on Boyle hits safe territory, with British music.

So, forgetting just for a moment the money, is it any good? Well, we didn't see the whole thing. And on TV there'll be more video inserts too...

...but, I think it might just pass the bar. There's a few wtf moments, enough to fuel both the local cynics and a possibly (momentarily) bewildered foreign media & visitors. But for domestic viewers, I think there's enough smiles to give it 8/10; when a lot of us were expecting alot less.

(So, that's my thing on the rehearsal. Over to you viewers for the real thing. The commentary here is always telling. )