They wanted to go big. And they succeeded. Sochi's Opening Ceremony hit all the right cords. We took a journey through Russian history while also embracing the present, with some pretty cool technology mixed in. Every Olympic Opening Ceremony is unique, and this one was no different. And, most of all, it was very Russian.
That little girl in the beginning reminded me of the girl in Sydney. And I, of course, had no idea what they were saying or why a lot of the stuff in that opening part were significant. But when the little girl came back and we went through like 1000 years of Russian history into what NBC condensed into like 20 minutes, it was pretty impressive. Russia's a country that's still a mystery to a lot of the Western world, and they did a beautiful job of highlighting that vast history.
And that thing on the roof...Wow! The floating scenery was beyond impressive, and that I think is going to be the thing people remember the most about this night. The Russians wanted to make an impression. Mission accomplished.
My favorite piece of the Opening Ceremony was the Parade of Nations. Not for the normal reason, though. The map of each country on the stadium floor as the athletes walked out was so cool. It was a unique idea. And it worked to perfection.
I'm always interested to see what kind of reaction different countries are going to get when it's their turn to enter the stadium. Many of the former Soviet republics were welcomed warmly, which doesn't overly surprise me. Russian relations with Georgia and Lithuania aren't the best, but this is the one day you can put those differences aside. It was disappointing, though, that the Lithuanian president chose not to attend the ceremony. Unfortunately, you can't keep politics out of the Olympics, which Meredith Vieira was quick to point out when Israel and Iran came in one after the other (no matter what language, those two countries can't get away from each other).
Perhaps the most surprising reception was for the U.S. I'm not surprised that the U.S. wasn't booed, but I didn't expect the response to be so warm. After all, it's been the U.S. that's been leading the Western crusade against the anti-gay law. But a team from the United States marching into the stadium during the Opening Ceremony of an Olympics in Russia was significant, and I bet that fact wasn't lost on anybody. There was something missing from the Moscow Games in 1980, and we all know the reason why. Russia's finally hosting the world. The entire world.
Then there's the final leg of the torch relay, which was complicated by the fact that Sochi has an indoor stadium (a fact I didn't know until tonight and I'm still somewhat confused about). They absolultely made it work, though. Unlike four years, when they lit the cauldron inside the stadium, then Wayne Gretzky ran to that separate one in downtown Vancouver, or in London, where the cauldron went about 20 feet off the ground and could only be seen from inside the stadium, they did this one the right way. Everyone inside the stadium and out can see the Olympic flame, which isn't far from the stadium.
As for the man who lit the torch, I think Vladislav Tretiak was the perfect choice. When I wrote my one-year-to-go post and I predicted who the final torchbearer might be, Tretiak was one of my candidates, although I didn't think he'd be given the honor. They made the right decision, though. And it was a nice touch to have him and Irina Rodnina share the honor. Those are probably the two biggest names in Soviet/Russian Winter Olympic history.
I was slightly confused by the earlier torchbearers. Maria Sharapova is from Sochi, so that selection made sense, but all of the torchbearers other than Tretiak and Rodnina are Summer Olympians. Don't get me wrong, Yelena Isinbayeva, Alexander Karelin and Alina Kabayeva were all deserving, but I would've liked to have seen better representation from winter sports, especially from a winter sports nation as decorated as Russia. That's nitpicking, though. Because they got the final choice right.
All in all, Sochi put on a fine show. Russia welcomed the world and the world was impressed. Now all we've got left is the actual competition. Let the Games begin.
Joe the stadium the Opening Ceremony was held in, the Fisht, does indeed have a retractable roof. All of the hanging things you saw flying came from scaffolding and wire systems that were below this roof. Either end of the arena were open, so in fact people sitting with a view of either end of the building could see the torch being lit from inside the building. The roof of this arena is almost transparent so we could see the fireworks display after the Olympic Torch was lit from inside, although indistinctly.
ReplyDeleteTherese Blanton
ps we had 8th row seats courtesy of P&G