| Pages in topic: [1 2 3 4] > | Off topic: What did your media make of the Olympic opening ceremony? Thread poster: Phil Hand
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Phil Hand 
China
Local time: 05:52
Chinese to English
I'm just browsing the British media, who generally liked it. But I imagine the view from overseas was a little different. Any good quotes from the media in your country/your language?
| | | | | My national pride... | Jul 28, 2012 |
was hurt by the British media when they completely mixed up my country (Uruguay) with Uzbekistan (which was parading next). They waxed lyrical on the Uzbekistani flag bearer while showing the Uruguayan delegation. I think what made it worse was that they didn't acknowledge their mistake when Uzbekistan came next and they just went ahead and *repeated* the same info verbatim...
Good grief, when are they going to cast someone who at least knows the countries/flags? Together with the R... See more was hurt by the British media when they completely mixed up my country (Uruguay) with Uzbekistan (which was parading next). They waxed lyrical on the Uzbekistani flag bearer while showing the Uruguayan delegation. I think what made it worse was that they didn't acknowledge their mistake when Uzbekistan came next and they just went ahead and *repeated* the same info verbatim...
Good grief, when are they going to cast someone who at least knows the countries/flags? Together with the Republic of Korea / Democratic People's Republic of Korea fiasco (with the additional apology press release gaffe), and the South African apartheid anthem brouhaha, I think they nailed the coffin shut on the PC front!
[Edited at 2012-07-28 03:46 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Ty Kendall
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:52
Hebrew to English
| Jack Doughty
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:52
Russian to English
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In memoriam
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neilmac
Spain
Local time: 22:52
Spanish to English
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| Spain liked it | Jul 28, 2012 |
Internet here (Valencia) was down due to a flash thunderstorm so we watched it on RTVE1 rather the BBC online. It was well received by the commentators, who mostly followed the director's pre-event requests for them not to talk over the event's set pieces.
We (2 lairy, anti-monarchist Scots and a Russian anglophile) thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. I certainly found it more entertaining than the Eurovision-type "meh" fest I'd expected, especially the James Bond sequence and our s... See more Internet here (Valencia) was down due to a flash thunderstorm so we watched it on RTVE1 rather the BBC online. It was well received by the commentators, who mostly followed the director's pre-event requests for them not to talk over the event's set pieces.
We (2 lairy, anti-monarchist Scots and a Russian anglophile) thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing. I certainly found it more entertaining than the Eurovision-type "meh" fest I'd expected, especially the James Bond sequence and our skydiving monarch (I'd look grumpy too if I was her age and had to sit through the Arctic Monkeys). So it's a thumbs up from this end! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Angus Stewart
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:52
French to English
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| An embarassment | Jul 28, 2012 |
Ty Kendall wrote: My own view was less than favourable.
My thoughts are along similar lines, although that is something of an understatement in my case!
Rossana Triaca wrote: My national pride...
was hurt by the British media when they completely mixed up my country (Uruguay) with Uzbekistan (which was parading next).
As a Brit, I feel embarrassed by this and other blunders that did not exactly show my country in the most positive light and am profoundly sorry for the offence that this has caused you and others.
Rossana Triaca: Good grief, when are they going to cast someone who at least knows the countries/flags?
I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment! It was not exactly rocket science, since for the most part the countries were entering the stadium in alphabetical order.
| | | | | Everything was topped by... | Jul 28, 2012 |
...the Czech Olympic Team wearing shiny blue wellingtons. What that was supposed to mean only the fashion designers know, but I found it perfectly embarrassing.
[Upraveno: 2012-07-28 10:43 GMT]
| | | | Ty Kendall
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:52
Hebrew to English
| I died a bit inside | Jul 28, 2012 |
Angus Stewart wrote:
Ty Kendall wrote: My own view was less than favourable.
My thoughts are along similar lines, although that is something of an understatement in my case!
I said pretty much the same thing on my Facebook, along with a host of other comments probably against site rules to reproduce here
Angus Stewart wrote:
Rossana Triaca: Good grief, when are they going to cast someone who at least knows the countries/flags?
I wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment! It was not exactly rocket science, since for the most part the countries were entering the stadium in alphabetical order.
...Not only that, they all entered the stadium brandishing big glittery signs spelling out the name of their country.
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Ania Heasley
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:52
English to Polish
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I read a few comments in Polish online papers, and surprisingly, they mostly stick to factual retelling of what actually happened on stage, rather than offering evaluation.
I exchanged text messages with Polish friends today and they seem to be in agreement that large hunks of the ceremony were hard to enjoy without in depth knowledge of British culture and history, the in-jokes and local references being lost on foreigners.
Personally I thought it was absolutely and ... See more I read a few comments in Polish online papers, and surprisingly, they mostly stick to factual retelling of what actually happened on stage, rather than offering evaluation.
I exchanged text messages with Polish friends today and they seem to be in agreement that large hunks of the ceremony were hard to enjoy without in depth knowledge of British culture and history, the in-jokes and local references being lost on foreigners.
Personally I thought it was absolutely and utterly brilliant! Beyond words spectacular!
Makes me so proud of my adopted country. ▲ Collapse
| | | | Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:52
Member (2008)
Italian to English
| Not interested. | Jul 28, 2012 |
I have no idea what it was like but I've heard negative comments.
I was much too busy to watch this very expensive spectacle, whose purpose escapes me but makes me deeply suspicious.
Now that the actual sporting activities have begun, I'm more interested.
[Edited at 2012-07-28 12:15 GMT]
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Haven't read any British press reactions yet, but the Romanian media reactions I've read so far have focused less on the ceremony and more on the fact that their prime minister, Victor Ponta, attended it (he's surrounded by controversy at the moment, due to recent political developments which are beyond the scope of this thread!)
My own reaction was pretty mixed. I liked the humorous touches, especially the Queen's entrance by helicopter, and would have liked to see a few more. Clea... See more Haven't read any British press reactions yet, but the Romanian media reactions I've read so far have focused less on the ceremony and more on the fact that their prime minister, Victor Ponta, attended it (he's surrounded by controversy at the moment, due to recent political developments which are beyond the scope of this thread!)
My own reaction was pretty mixed. I liked the humorous touches, especially the Queen's entrance by helicopter, and would have liked to see a few more. Clearly the ceremony was intended to appeal to young people; that was part of the brief that the IOC set, and I thought it lived up to that pretty well, though I suspect some of the cultural references will have been lost on international viewerships. Of course the opening ceremony should say something about Britain and British culture, but I think parts of it could have been made a bit more accessible. The characters from children's literature won't mean much to those who haven't read the books. And I'm afraid I didn't understand at all the arm-waving of the industrialists in the opening sequence!
There were a couple of disappointing commentator gaffes during the BBC coverage of the athletes' parade, with Hicham El Guerrouj being mentioned as a member of the Monaco Olympic Committee rather than the Moroccan one. I'm also pretty sure that one of the former Soviet republics was said by Huw Edwards to have gained independence in 1971 rather than 1991 (can't remember off hand which one it was, I'd have to watch it back).
Oh, and did anyone else think Trevor Nelson's commentary on BBC1 was just *painfully* bad?! ▲ Collapse
| | | | Jennifer White
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:52
French to English
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Yes, I thought Trevor Nelson's commentary was awful. (Had never heard of him). Unlike most of the press, I was totally unimpressed with the mishmash of presentations which must have left non-British people bewildered. The lighting of the beacon was good, most of the pop music awful, and as for P McCartney..........
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Steve Derry
Spain
Local time: 22:52
German to English
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| I thought it was just me... | Jul 28, 2012 |
Peter, yes I agree, but then I think anything that comes out of Trevor Nelson's mouth is painfully bad at best.
I'm back in the UK for a week, but I have read what the Spanish press have had to say on line (both locally for Ibiza and nationally) and on the whole it seems to be favourable and they seem to be concentrating more on lamenting the choice of costume for the Spanish team (and its source). This sentiment seems to be echoed on Facebook, where a Spanish "friend of a friend" a... See more Peter, yes I agree, but then I think anything that comes out of Trevor Nelson's mouth is painfully bad at best.
I'm back in the UK for a week, but I have read what the Spanish press have had to say on line (both locally for Ibiza and nationally) and on the whole it seems to be favourable and they seem to be concentrating more on lamenting the choice of costume for the Spanish team (and its source). This sentiment seems to be echoed on Facebook, where a Spanish "friend of a friend" appears to be incandescent with rage about the costumes and described the event as boring, insipid and cheesy (although this is from a person who seems to spend his life flitting between so-called "events" in Palma wearing green and yellow trousers.
Unusually for the Ibiza press there are no readers' comments (yet) which are normally fairly anti-British (but with San Antonio on their 'patch', who can blame them!). ▲ Collapse
| | | | | Latvia wasn't cut out | Jul 28, 2012 |
In previous Olympic Games, Latvia's entrance was usually skipped because the U.S. broadcaster cut to commercial at that point. This happened to other countries, too, during commercial breaks. This year they at least showed every country, but our broadcasters' knowledge of geography and pronunciation of country names was sketchy at best! Dominica = Doe-mih-knee' -kah was one of my favorites. Really, it would take maybe 20 minutes to go through the list once or twice and look up the tricky ones!<... See more In previous Olympic Games, Latvia's entrance was usually skipped because the U.S. broadcaster cut to commercial at that point. This happened to other countries, too, during commercial breaks. This year they at least showed every country, but our broadcasters' knowledge of geography and pronunciation of country names was sketchy at best! Dominica = Doe-mih-knee' -kah was one of my favorites. Really, it would take maybe 20 minutes to go through the list once or twice and look up the tricky ones!
PS Stanislav, if those wellies had at least had a tasteful uniform attached, but alas...
PPS Apparently Ralph Lauren had Team USA's uniforms made in China - now that's truly embarrassing!
[Edited at 2012-07-28 13:08 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Thomas Pfann
United Kingdom
Local time: 21:52
Member (2006)
English to German
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| German media full of praise | Jul 28, 2012 |
From what I saw this morning, the German media seems to report very favourable about the opening ceremony. With Germany's largest tabloid even running the headline "Thank You, London! Das war die geilste Show aller Zeiten" ("This was the greatest show of all time").
To be honest I was a little surprised to see the German media so full of praise. When watching it yesterday I thought it might be "a bit too British" for others to fully appreciate it. And I also followed twitter... See more From what I saw this morning, the German media seems to report very favourable about the opening ceremony. With Germany's largest tabloid even running the headline "Thank You, London! Das war die geilste Show aller Zeiten" ("This was the greatest show of all time").
To be honest I was a little surprised to see the German media so full of praise. When watching it yesterday I thought it might be "a bit too British" for others to fully appreciate it. And I also followed twitter during the ceremony and, of course, there were lots of highly critical German tweets ("boring", "incoherent", "far too long" and - of course, with Germans being ever so concerned about money - "how much did that cost?").
Personally, I thought it was spectactular and I liked it a lot. In a few places they could have shortened it a bit but all in all it was great.
And Stanislav: No need to be embarrassed about the Czech wellies. I thought that was brilliant - very tongue-in-cheek and just the kind of humour the host nation loves. Well done!
And as far as flag/anthem mixups are concerned: I am just waiting for the first medal for Kazakhstan and Borat's spoof anthem to be played. The online version of the Spanish "quality" paper El Mundo had a "Top 10 of the worst anthems" this week (a somewhat silly list they took over from the Telegraph) with YouTube links for each of the ten anthems. They still haven't noticed that the link for Kazakhstan's anthem leads to the Borat version.
Link to the El Mundo list: http://www.elmundo.es/elmundodeporte/2012/07/26/masdeporte/1343331630.html ▲ Collapse
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