Spectacular Opening

Friday evening most of us here in the United States got to see what most of the rest of the world had been raving about for the past few hours and that was the spectacular opening ceremonies put on in Beijing for the start of the 2008 Summer Olympics. Now there have been opening ceremonies and there have been opening ceremonies but I think these will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the most extravagant yet human set of opening ceremonies put on in recent memory. I can remember a lot of the shows from years past and it seems like every time the shows have gotten bigger and bigger but I think the bar has been set very high this time.

With a budget reported to have been in the millions, the places where the money was spent could be seen quite visibly. There were approximately 22,000 participants who took part in the ceremonies and approximately 43,000 fireworks that were lit off during those four hours. By the end of the performance, I think it was safe to say that there were very few if any people who were disappointed by what they saw. Though it must have been exciting and specatcular to have been in the audience at the time of the opening, I don't think you could have appreciated the depth and breadth of what had been put together unless you watched it on television. At points it seemed that fireworks were being lit off all over the the massive city simultaneously. The grand finale of the opening following the lighting of the Olympic Flame was probably the one fireworks display that was visible even to those on the space station.

It's amazing to think that the total number of participants in the show far exceeded the populations of some countries participating in the Olympics. And what's even more amazing to me is the fact that although technology was used throughout the show (the massive LED and LCD screens dotting Bird's Nest Stadium) was mixed in with human power. During the symbolic depiction of the printing blocks with Chinese script on them, many in the audience assumed them to be hydraulically controlled with computers but when the final reveal was made, it was stunning to realize that it was all done the old fashioned way. By human power. It is difficult to appreciate just how complex and amazing all these accomplishments are when you realize that there were very few stage directions on the arena floor. They knew exactly where they were supposed to go and when. Some of the elements were implemented so seamlessly that you couldn't notice so many of them going on. At least not on television.

I think the music, the show, the symbology of what was shown in the opening set the stage for showcasing China's standing in the world. They have the technology and they have the capability and they were proud to show it off. There was a point at the end where the music swelled, the Olympic Flame was lit and the fireworks were buzzing and the camera passed over the crowd of participants who were still in the arena at that time. While the Olympians are to be heralded of course for their accomplishments as athletes and for their forthcoming performances in the actual games, I think equal amounts of pride and recognition needs to go to the proud participants of the show who beamed their pride of a job well done and a show that was appreciated by everyone in the world. I know I certainly enjoyed every minute of it.