It was a looooong day for me, starting before 4pm in the hotel of RTBF. The adventure of joining the Belgian TV was in part a disappointment, planning was poor and we nearly failed to starting shooting at the location near the Bird’s Nest. The diva François De Brigode cannot handle any pressure and thinks he is the super star needing everybody’s attention but once on the air pops up a seducing smile. Except for some brief sights of the impressive panorama of the Bird’s Nest and Watercube I missed the Opening Ceremony, ending up spending a miserable night until 3am, mostly in a shabby office without windows, no decent seating. But it was nice to meet Philippe Rogge (chef de mission, Belgian Olympic Team) who was the ultimate example of patience. I had to listen to CRI 91.5 on my mobile to know what was going on.
As for the Ceremony, opinions greatly differ. Some found it fantastic and impressive. Some found it disappointing and blame Zhang Yimou for a bad job – I agree at least in part. All this flying around, come on, we’ve seen that dozens of time, the first time it was Whaw!, but after a couple of times… Many of the acts were nothing special for those of us who are used to this type of performance. Often boring and with some hilarious hick-ups that will quickly disappear from the repeats on TV after some editing. Like the little girl yawning and poking her nose. In all I found the opening ceremony of the International Athletics in Chaoyang, a few years ago, even better. And they were all flying around in the air too. China can do great shows, so the real Chinese public is extra demanding.
The weather was just horrible. Pollution at levels close to 100, poor visibility. Officially over 600 people suffered a heath stroke in the sauna stadium. Chaos all around in the area as the normal people tried to have a glimpse of the fireworks but were kept very far and left disappointed.
It will be interesting to read more in the Chinese media. Of course not the official ones, neither for once the SCMP that paints a sugar-coated picture. Talk to some Chinese officials I know and they were mostly disappointed.
Not to mention the extreme case of ambush marketing in the history of the Olympics. Li Ning flying around to light the cauldron. Adidas must be fuming. What a bad idea, what genius came up with that? Li Ning is a great person but it was like Mr. Nike snubbing Adidas. (“Li Ning” is also a company, competing directly with Adidas and Nike).
Pics will follow in due time. Haven’t slept much and have to run out.