Just because there’s a little chatter about this on the 2016 Replays Thread, I thought I’d remind everyone about this thread.
@Vojthas and myself had a conversation about ceremonies in the 2000s and couple weeks back, and noticed some of y’all informally ranking ceremonies from the 2000s in the Replays thread. So here’s my rankings of 2000s from the perspective of someone very into the artistic segments, cultural significance, and politics of opening ceremonies:
Summer:
1. Rio/London - This is a dead tie for me. London sold the UK as a cultural brand, while Rio gave us the soul of Brazil. For London, Pandemonium stands out as possibly the greatest artistic segment of all-time. Both Games have very memorable cauldron designs as well.
3. Athens - So began the use of floating stages, and storytelling really designed for the television over the stadium audience. Flaming rings are possibly still the most used image of the Olympic Rings.
4. Beijing - Who doesn’t remember the drummers? Don’t get me wrong, this ceremony was spectacular at the time. The thing that spoils it for me is that I’ve come to realize China can just pull off a show like this whenever they want too. Watch the Wuhan 2019, Guangzhou 2010, Nanjing 2014 ceremonies. It’s all more of the same unfortunately. Beijing was an incredible ceremony, it just doesn’t hold a special place in my heart like the others.
5. Sydney - Not bad either, just a little outdated compared to the others.
Winter:
1. Sochi - Oddly enough the ceremony remembered more for it’s large gaff with the Olympic Rings, is also my favorite. Putin wanted to put on a show, and he did. It was an impressive ceremony. I really enjoyed traveling through Russian history, and seeing how Russians (Putin) chose to portray it. The Russian Team entrance into the stadium was epic too with that awesome pop/rap song.
2. Vancouver - Another ceremony marked by a massive failure. Besides the cauldron mishap, this was a solid ceremony. Projections were very cool at the time, and the staging was rather unique with they entire audience wearing those white parkas.
3. Turin - Haven’t watched, but know it’s probably bette than the next two.
4. Pyeongchang - There’s nothing wrong with this ceremony, there’s just nothing that really stands out either. I will say that beautiful rendition of the Korean folk song by that older singer was very moving. Also, Pita was shirtless again, and that’s always a win.
5. Salt Lake - Ugh