Originally Posted by SEAMAI

As Olympic openings went I found the whole thing a bit disjointed. I though the inclusion of the NHS segment was innaproriate and out of step for the night that was in it. None of the jaw dropping moments promised (at least not for me). Is Mr Bean really funny?? Are the Arctic Monkeys really that good?? Emily Sandé singing "Abide with me" ? what was that about? To cap it off I thought the night ended with a whimper with Paul McCartney. 5/10 from me

Abide with me was a token nod to Britain's supposed Christian past to project a pagan presence.
The parachute jump of the Queen did catch me out.
I thought it rather pathetic putting the NHS scam on such a pedestal though the Mary Poppins thing was a nice touch.
The overca special effects were quite good.
The BBC commentary had lots of mistakes, some of them Irish connected.
Mr Wiggins, for example, is not the first guy from "these islands" to win the Tour de France,
and when the Occupied Six Cos was given its spot, why did they show the Irish rugby team, which also featured in the English section when England scored a try against them.
A nice touch would have been Tyrone winning the Sam Maguire, something authentic.

Though it tried too hard to be multicultural, overall it was put together well. A good spectacle but heaven knows what "foreigners" thought of it.

The Queen was short and to the point. Others should have followed her example.

Tory MP rears his ugly head,as the mask slips,and complains about "Multicultural Crap" in the opening ceremony.
Also he goes on to say "The most leftie opening ceremony I have ever seen – more than Beijing, the capital of a communist state! Welfare tribute next?"
What an idiot this guy is,the opening ceremony went down very well all over the world,and has got good press,apart from this Tory MP that is.

Olympics opening ceremony was 'multicultural crap', Tory MP tweets | Politics | The Guardian

Originally Posted by SEAMAI

As Olympic openings went I found the whole thing a bit disjointed. I though the inclusion of the NHS segment was innaproriate and out of step for the night that was in it. None of the jaw dropping moments promised (at least not for me). Is Mr Bean really funny?? Are the Arctic Monkeys really that good?? Emily Sandé singing "Abide with me" ? what was that about? To cap it off I thought the night ended with a whimper with Paul McCartney. 5/10 from me

I am sure Ireland will do a much better job when it holds the games.

I suppose you gaggle of nazi sympathisers missed the rousing rendition of Bubbles...Ye've been blowin en out of your arses.

Originally Posted by mary_queen_of_the_gael

Though it tried too hard to be multicultural, overall it was put together well. A good spectacle but heaven knows what "foreigners" thought of it.

Reaction around the world was over-whelmingly positive.

Originally Posted by Rory Carr

I beg to differ. Last week I underwent my sixth stay in a NHS hospital this year. of periods ranging from 6 weeks to three days.....

The bad news is that, although having had to endure some bloody awful treatment (and more to come) and still not very mobile, there is a chance that I might after all survive, an outcome for which I am grateful but for which I do appreciate some other readers, understandably, may not be so welcoming.

We are all used to living in the shadow of death. We tend to forget about it, but then death turns and starts to uncover its face. Not a nice situation to be in. Good luck to you and your family.

Please forgive me if these are the wrong words.

Originally Posted by Ren84

That's all well and good, but what relevance does that have to an Olympics opening ceremony? Did the Chinese 4 years ago highlight the war they gallantly fought against the Japanese Empire during the thirties and forties?

There's a time and a place for war memorials. Sporting events isn't one of them.

Can we just bury this rubbish now? Their was a brief pause to remember people who had died in all conflicts, you are completely wrong about the thing you thought you saw.
Now on topic, I left this thread yesterday because I saw no reason to spoil a great event with argument by fools, having reread some of it I can see that that was the right choice, but I see many others remained possotive and hats off to all who enjoyed it at the right level. I thought it was a great show with many of the virtues of my country bought to the for. Now, back to the beach vollyball.

Peter Collins claiming that an Irish athlete is under investigation about a betting scam.

Originally Posted by A view from England

I am sure Ireland will do a much better job when it holds the games.

meeowww

Originally Posted by Gabha Óir

Peter Collins claiming that an Irish athlete is under investigation about a betting scam.

Betting scandal claims rock Irish Olympic squad - National News - Independent.ie