Olympic Park 2012

I wanted to watch the TV programme on BBC 2 tonight called “Building the Olympic dream”, but after 15 minutes I just could not stand anymore.  This was the first in a series of 3 and I suppose I might have realised it would not be great because it focused on the hand over ceremoney in Beijing, which most people agree was a bit embarassing to watch. One big blooper was the exploding London bus, which is not something anyone really wants to dwell on. Also, there was too much small scale action and detail that would have been good on a stage but did not quite work in a large arena. The carnival theme aimed at was not really a UK theme, and even so it ought really to have been bigger and brighter to convey a party going on. I would have liked to have seen a few bold statements, which could have given an image of Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales and the rest of England, for example with a pipe band or other classic UK images for people to relate to.

Anyway, what I had not quite grasped was that so much time, effort and money had been spent planning the handover ceremony, and this is what the programme was celebrating. There did not seem to be much guidance or critical feedback from the overseers who the ceremonies team reported to, which is a pity as they team seemed to be looking for appraisal and open to ideas. I will probably tune in for the next 2 programmes which will focus on other aspects of the build up so far to the London Olympics. Right now I am just hoping we can raise our game a little, so to speak, for the cultural Olympiad and all the up-coming ceremonies, to hit the right note.