The Olympics. Four years, which seems both an interminably long time, and so brief it flies. But these Olympics have been in the planning for over 7 years now. That’s a long time, and at least with regards to the opening ceremonies, well worth the wait.
The opening ceremonies were simply… amazing. No words really can properly convey the scope, the work, and the time it must have taken to put them together. The one with the printing press doing all the waves, and the Chinese symbols, was just phenomenal. About halfway through it, I started looking closely, to see exactly how these blocks were being manipulated, if it was hydraulics, or what. About 2/3 of the way through, I was certain, without a doubt, that they were big rectangles, with people inside them who were either crouching, or standing tall, to make the patterns. And sure enough, at the end, the tops popped open and the people stood up and waved. That was truly impressive.
The lighting of the torch was just… amazing. Truly. All the work they did prior to that with the wires, that was amazing as well, but that final run around the entire arena, and the fire rushing up the inside of the tube and around to the torch at the top, just… WOW!
Now, granted I don’t remember the opening ceremony of the Athens games, or any other games for that matter, and I don’t know how long I’ll remember this one (although I do have it recorded), but it sure was something to see!
