15-08-12, 03:47 PM
I miss it 
The BBC's online coverage was great - I got to watch all sorts of sports I'd never managed to see before (archery, BMX, water polo etc.) and I could watch what I wanted when I wanted :thumbup I've now been living in the host country for two Olympics - Sydney and London - which is a rare privilege. There's nothing like being in the same timezone and seeing things properly Live. The online technology has come a long way since 2000.
The opening and closing ceremonies were good - very professional and nothing went obviously wrong - but I found two things disappointing:
1. The overall feeling I got was that GB is living in the past. Yes, we've got an amazing history (the bits that don't involve invading and exploiting other countries
) but we've got an amazing Now as well, and where was it? A couple of kids texting each other in the opening ceremony and Taio Cruz, Tinchy Strider, Jessie J and (shudder) One Direction in the closing ceremony. Even Dizzie Rascal, Muse, Elbow and the Kaiser Chiefs have been around for a fair while (in pop music terms). I know they wanted to use people and images that everyone overseas would recognise but it would have been good if they could have made more of what we've got to offer the modern world right now.
2. I expect this will re-open the usual can of worms but why was nothing made of the ethnic diversity of Britain? All I saw was the Indian drummers around Eric Idle and that lasted a couple of minutes. The rest of the time you were lucky to see a slightly dark-skinned dancer as the camera flew past them. At least we had Dizzie, Taio and Tinchy but I doubt they were chosen because of their ethnic background. Like it or not, Britain is ethnically diverse but neither ceremony was which was a pity.
Discuss
The BBC's online coverage was great - I got to watch all sorts of sports I'd never managed to see before (archery, BMX, water polo etc.) and I could watch what I wanted when I wanted :thumbup I've now been living in the host country for two Olympics - Sydney and London - which is a rare privilege. There's nothing like being in the same timezone and seeing things properly Live. The online technology has come a long way since 2000.The opening and closing ceremonies were good - very professional and nothing went obviously wrong - but I found two things disappointing:
1. The overall feeling I got was that GB is living in the past. Yes, we've got an amazing history (the bits that don't involve invading and exploiting other countries
) but we've got an amazing Now as well, and where was it? A couple of kids texting each other in the opening ceremony and Taio Cruz, Tinchy Strider, Jessie J and (shudder) One Direction in the closing ceremony. Even Dizzie Rascal, Muse, Elbow and the Kaiser Chiefs have been around for a fair while (in pop music terms). I know they wanted to use people and images that everyone overseas would recognise but it would have been good if they could have made more of what we've got to offer the modern world right now.2. I expect this will re-open the usual can of worms but why was nothing made of the ethnic diversity of Britain? All I saw was the Indian drummers around Eric Idle and that lasted a couple of minutes. The rest of the time you were lucky to see a slightly dark-skinned dancer as the camera flew past them. At least we had Dizzie, Taio and Tinchy but I doubt they were chosen because of their ethnic background. Like it or not, Britain is ethnically diverse but neither ceremony was which was a pity.
Discuss
Sadness is just another word for not enough coffee