What this really needs is Graham Norton commentary
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I think the staging and the narrative (such is it is) barely works on TV where the cameras can follow it all.
If Iād travelled to see it in person and had a view of a couple of hundred metres of river I think Iād be feeling very disappointed even without getting soaked.
I get that they wanted to make it spectacular and use the river, but as a spectator event I donāt think itās worked.
IIRC apart from the James Bond / Queen Elizabeth II skydive segment, the whole London event was in the stadium, and I just feel that doing it over a 6km stretch of river with cutaways into the Monnaie, Orsay, Louvre etc. has not worked.
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Iām beginning to think that someone asked ChatGPT to devise an Olympic opening ceremony using several kilometres of the Seine or something.
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Have to say the mechanical floating horse is impressive though.
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It wasā¦ for the first two minutes at least.
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Indeed. Currently in a WhatsApp chat with friends in Paris (watching from home on TV, not getting wet). Their commentā¦ āWTF is the horse about? Very French. But itās taking a bloody long time to get there.ā
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I believe Team GB events can be streamed on the BBC, so itās not all of it, and the opening ceremony is on the BBC now.
As for the ceremonyā¦ eh. I think it works better in a stadium. It feels cheap and not veryā¦ grand. Jumbled up.
I do think little can top London 2012. For all the crap we talk about ourselves as a nation, we do those things very well. We can celebrate something or put on a show incredibly well and sometimes we ought to give ourselves a tiny bit of credit.
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This is really starting to drag. Who the F thought it was a good idea for people to travel many miles with flags/torches whilst everyone just waits around for them to arrive?!
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Based on previous years, the BBC is allowed two streams at once. Fairly sure those can be whichever they choose. May be the Team GB ones, may not be. Just what they think is popular.
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Well the finale was spectacular Iāll give them that, but as a whole it just didnāt hang together for me.
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To defend Paris a little while I do think itās dirty and has a lot of issues it needs to sort out, there are some wonderful restaurants and cafes that now make my trips there great.
BUT it really is dirty and I avoid the centre where possible, particularly around train stations which just feel downright unsafe.
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Ah, a 46 year love affair with the city for me. But even I baulked at the thought of navigating the city during the Olympics.
We thought about the Paralympics but decided on a tour taking in Ile de RĆ©, the Loire valley, and the Normandy and Brittany coasts instead.
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You know that guy is basically a far right conspiracy theorist who used to work with Alex Jones? Like all right wing populists, thereās probably a hint of truth to what they are saying, but Iād avoid his content if you want anything slightly factual.
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Paris is definitely a āyour first go wonāt be amazing but go again and youāll fall for itā city.
I try to be sensitive when discussing it because I think the reasons I donāt like it as a city (or rather, the things I donāt like) involved the crime, dirt, and the larger homeless and/or migrant population. Given most peopleās first impressions of Paris (and indeed France) will be coming out of Gard du Nord itās definitely a culture shock.
But I agree once out of those areas it can be wonderful. Neighbourhoods that still have a culture, with busy cafes and restaurants and bars everywhere. I love the local culture in Paris, itās something we donāt have a lot of anymore in the UK.
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I havenāt, either. Furthest into France Iāve been is the Calais booze run.
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Ditto. Well, when we lived in SE anyway. Bit more of a slog from SW and given price of fuel we just donāt do it now. Used to be good value though. R-
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Just woken up and I think the Graun sum it up pretty well in this review:
I think the only consolation to a pretty mediocre opening ceremony is that it seems to have wound up all the right people. Lots of people furious on Twitter about the guy with the beard and the the the ālast supperā scene.
Hey @N26throwaway - are you a CĆ©line Dion fan by any chance? 
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