Omg this opening ceremony sequence from the 2004 Athens Olympics is so gorgeous, rich and beautiful. How they depicted the famous murals from the ancient civilisations around the Mediteranean and Greece is breathtaking. They included the myths and legends, the sports. I am going to be an asshole and say that the Paris Olympics opening ceremony fell so short of this in comparison. Give me something to swoon over your culture!
@liztai yes I remember watching that one at the time and having a very high opinion of it.
FWIW I didn't see the Sydney one because by then, like many I suspect, was so sick of hearing about Sydney I gave it a miss.
@liztai I agree with you about the Paris opening ceremony. I watched the highlights package because 3+ hours is too long. Celine Dion was magnificent and I like the flame in the balloon but the rest of it was forgettable.
@perkinsy I think Celine Dion was probably the best part.
@liztai As a European, I'd say we lost a lot of the swoon-worthy bits of our culture. I'm not entirely sure why, and I think it has multiple causes, but a big one is surely the cynicism and aloofness that's discernable in a lot of cultural productions here. It very often feels cold and detached to me.