Size matters

 Subject: Size matters





Just been watching the Paris Olympic Opening Ceremony,  essentially a fleet of slow moving  riverboat’s with the athletes on board frantically waving their national flags as the rain poured down. I can well imagine that on a conceptualists drawing board the idea of using the Seine to transport this athletic montage was great but as a visual pageant water somehow is too predictable in the confines of a river, too somnalist  and the show got bogged down in repetition. Perhaps an illegal dingy or two amongst the smart boats which allowed the French to reserve the bidding for themselves although the most eye catching was the Netherlands boat.

It’s difficult to capture on such a wide canvas the excitement of a stadium opening but hats off to the French for trying.

Now we get down to the competition and I for one will be glued to the television watching the track and field athletics. Many sports are for the competitors rather than as a visual event for the spectator. Archery, tie kendo, shooting competitions are not my cup of tea nor is horse jumping or dressage but there are many instances where watching people tussle, good naturedly to win but not without consideration of one’s opponent makes for good viewing.

The Eiffel Tower light show was iconic but even more so was the  very French Canadian sound of Celion Dion singing Edith Piaf’s timeless “L’Hymne a l’amour” from a platform up on the tower.

Each nation staging the Olympics  seems to try to outbid the previous ceremony. The Chinese with their vast choreographed ensemble, London with its emphasis on the historical development within the country and now Paris with this open air montage of the river set amongst an iconic backdrop of buildings, enervated by singers and dancers who seemed impervious to the pouring rain.

It seems unthinkable that whilst this coming together of nations goes on we are also entering a period of conflict around the globe that if we aren’t careful will kick off into ‘world war three’ of which the resulting world will be unrecognisable.