1. Paris Olympics 2024 – The most disastrous opening ceremony in history?
Turning the Seine into a live performance, showcasing the rich culture and romance of France are things that global fans have been looking forward to at the 2024 Paris Olympics. This is also the first time the opening ceremony of an Olympic Games has been held outside the stadium space. However, the host country France completely disappointed the public with an opening ceremony that is considered the most controversial in history.
For the first time, the opening ceremony of an Olympic Games was held outside the stadium.
The story originated from the performance of drag queen artists at the opening ceremony. Specifically, in the catwalk stage set up on the bridge, there was a scene of many drag queen artists in colorful costumes lining up on a table, attending a party. Many viewers pointed out that the arrangement of the formation and the posture of the drag queens was a frame modeled after the work “The Last Supper” by the great painter Leonardo Da Vinci – one of the sacred pictures, revered by Christians for centuries. The performance of the drag queen artists was considered to be offensive to religion. In addition, there were a series of other unacceptable “flaws” such as the organizers misreading the country’s name, hanging the flag upside down,…
The most controversial performance that caused the Paris 2024 Olympics opening ceremony to be embroiled in controversy
After the shocking scandal, the Video of the Paris Olympics opening ceremony disappeared from the official YouTube channel of the Olympics with 12.6 million views. Many highlight clips were also mysteriously hidden. Not stopping there, some brands also began to withdraw their sponsorship from the Paris Olympics for fear of affecting their reputation, including C Spire, a large American telecommunications and technology company. Too disappointed with the way Paris “treated” its fans, the public regretfully looked back at the old Olympics and “revived” the eye-catching openings in history.
2. Review of the Openings of the Most Recent Olympics
With the endless controversy over the 2024 Paris Olympics, let’s take a look back at some recent Olympics with eye-catching “debuts” that left an impression on global audiences.
Beijing Olympics 2008
16 years have passed, but until now, the 2008 Beijing Olympics are still considered by many audiences to have the most impressive opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in history. Among them, the most talked about part of the international press was the drum performance of 2008 actors with 2008 traditional Chinese drums.
Through elaborate performances down to every detail, the host country China cleverly promoted its rich culture from calligraphy to dance and tea ceremonies. Inspired by a variety of themes such as “Confucianism”, “Conquering the Universe”… and creative expressions, all performances in the opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics demonstrated the cultural flow throughout 5,000 years of Chinese history.
It is known that the person behind the entire staging of the 2008 Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony was the “legendary” director Zhang Yimou – the person who brought Chinese cinema to new heights.
The 2008 Beijing Olympics was considered the most impressive opening ceremony.
Lasting more than 4 hours with the participation of more than 15,000 actors and a total production budget of more than 100 million USD, the opening ceremony of the Beijing Summer Olympics attracted more than 2 billion viewers and many years later, international media still considers it the most magnificent opening ceremony of the Olympics.
London Olympics 2012
Inspired by the British industrial revolution of the 17th century, the host country England brought an opening ceremony for the 2012 London Olympics with a spectacular combination of cinema, music and light.
A feast of cinema, music and light at the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony
With the name “The Magic Islands” – based on the quote of the character Caliban in the work “The Tempest” by the great writer Shakespeare, Danny Boyle – the director of the famous movie “Slumdog Millionaire” is the one who staged and “conceived” the cinematic stage of the 2012 London Olympics.
The appearance of Queen Elizabeth II and the participation of actor James Bond from the famous spy movie 007 was a bold idea. Comedian Mr Bean, football legend David Beckham, all the “quintessence” of British cinema, sports, culture and art all gathered to create a unique and impressive opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics.
Refined from concept to creativity in expression, the London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony is considered to have brought British cultural identity closer to the global public. The opening ceremony lasted nearly 4 hours with the participation of nearly 10,000 performers, 80,000 spectators in the stadium and billions of fans around the world. This is also the opening ceremony that set a record for the number of politicians attending with about 120 from various countries.
Rio Olympics 2016
Leaving its mark with an urgent and humane message, the 2016 Rio Olympics opened with the theme “The Development of Brazil and its People”, calling on people around the world to protect the environment and the atmosphere.
The Maracana Stadium was filled with silk and light, with the highlight being the Olympic torch, powered by wind power and burning on the cauldron throughout the Games. With this detail alone, Brazil sent a message about environmental protection and joining hands to build a green planet.
Environmental protection message conveyed through Rio 2016 Olympics opening ceremony
Conceptualized and staged over 5 years with 300 dancers, 6,000 professional actors and 5,000 volunteers participating, the Rio 2016 Olympic opening ceremony is considered an elaborate investment and the “greenest” Olympic opening ceremony in modern history.
Tokyo Olympics 2020
The 2012 Summer Olympics were perhaps the most memorable Olympics in history, taking place amid a complicated pandemic situation. The event was postponed for a year due to Covid-19, and spectators were not allowed in due to fear of the risk of spreading. Even at the opening ceremony, in the stadium with a capacity of 80,000 people, only about 1,000 people, including members of the organizing committee, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), officials and about 6,000 athletes and coaches attended.
But that did not diminish the heat of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Opening Ceremony, as the host country demonstrated its sporting spirit and desire to conquer through impressive performances at Tokyo Stadium. This was the second time the land of the rising sun hosted an Olympic Games. The connection between the past and the present was demonstrated by Japan through a performance introducing five interwoven rings symbolizing the Olympics. It is known that the wood used to make these rings was taken from the trees that international athletes who came to Tokyo to attend the 1964 Olympics planted.
Empty stands mark the most special Olympics in history
The host country also made a strong impression with the performance of 1,824 drones in the sky of Tokyo. Along with that, a rain of “paper pigeons” was released on the Olympic field. Creating a peaceful and better world through sports is the most meaningful message of the Olympics, and it is also the message that Japan wants to send to international friends competing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Message from host Japan to international friends
The eye-catching opening ceremonies that attracted billions of viewers worldwide contributed to a brilliant Olympic season and “pleased” the sponsors – brands that were ready to “spend millions of dollars” to invest in the biggest sporting event on the planet. A positive Olympic season also created a favorable view for sponsors and advertisers. Therefore, it is not difficult to explain why many brands were ready to turn their backs on the 2024 Paris Olympics as soon as the scandal appeared even though they had spent much money.
Epilogue:
Looking back at the spectacular opening ceremonies in the history of the Olympics, we can see that organizing the opening ceremony for the biggest sporting event on the planet is not a simple matter, as it requires a lot of investment of time, effort, money and human resources. Although we cannot ignore the controversy of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics, to be fair, the host country France has also created the best conditions for organizing the Paris Olympics. The 2024 Summer Olympics are only in the early days of competition, with the spirit of noble sportsmanship, global fans have every right to hope for a successful Olympics with impressive performances.
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