Over the Christmas and New Year’s holiday, we were in France. I blogged then, “Can they pull this off?” Of course, I was speaking about the Olympics.
To quote the Washington Post: Olympic Ceremonies on the Seine were a daring feat. Paris stuck the landing.
Yeah, it rained. It rained a lot, but that’s Paris. And in a way, it made it better.
The parade of athletes on boats sometimes seemed a bit incidental to the show itself. Incredible performances. Lady Gaga. Moulin Rouge Dancers. Acrobats. Models. Even the the Minions were there to protect the Mona Lisa.
At The Louvre, art came to life to watch the Opening Ceremony.
Acrobats performed on the scaffolding at an almost finished Notre Dame. The cathedral’s bells rang for the first time since the fire. Chills.
I was a little stunned by the library scene that turned into what appeared to be a three way about to happen. Cut to commercial. In return, Savannah Guthrie said she was a bit “hot and bothered.” I was too.
The thing that pulled it all together was the running of the torch through Paris. Some amazing stops. Even a stop in a scene of Les Miserables.
The final lighting of the Olympic Cauldron became a ballon rising over Paris. From what I understand, it will be that way throughout the Games.
Finally, Celine Dion. She did it. She closed the evening out in spectacular fashion. How she did it, I’ll never understand. If you didn’t know she had a neurological condition , you wouldn’t have known.
Mike Tirico was an excellent host. While I like Peyton Manning and Kelly Clarkson, I think they were miscast as co-hosts. A real waste of Savannah Guthrie and Hoda Kotb’s talents.
Paris took a risk with this Opening Ceremony. A risk that paid off. Months ago, I asked can they pull this off? They sure did.