Declare The Games Open
evawhite on August 9th, 2008
Massive. Meticulous. Earnest. Daedal Ian. Elaborate. Dazzling, Dramatic, Theatrical. Some of the words I would use to describe the opening of the Olympic Games. There are a few more phrases however, iron-curtained, heavily-politicized, and air-tight.
The opening was fantastic. Those who missed it, lost out. Catch the recast if you can. The performances were intricate, very well synchronized, fabulous effort and definitely something for the world to learn from their admirable performance.
However, it was hard to miss how perfunctory things were. There is the political will dictating every movement of every entity in the entire complex. When the torch was being run around the stadium there was another man holding a walkie-talkie running right behind him, in full view of the cameras. During the team parade there were organizers darting in and out making instructions. All the numerous cheering girls and boys lining the way soon clasped their hands together blocking any movement outside their control. All very clamped down. Rumor is Chinese citizens of other regions don’t even have free movement into Beijing and Shanghai! There’s that freedom of movement (if there is anything like that)
The President of the International Olympic Committee said in his speech “One world, one dream”. Well said. Sport unites. All the participants walking through the ground had on their faces so much hope, aspiration and the single motivation to perform in chosen sport. The entire world comes together in sport and it has been that way now for several millennia.
The 2008 Olympics are underway now. Beijing has what appears an air-tight setup. Could rather difficult for the players I imagine, possibly limited freedom, and lack of enough breathing space for them. Security and organizers everywhere, instructing people on everything from which booth to use at the washroom to the brand of their morning cereal…! Pure speculation of course! I really hope though for the players to see good game and pray that the Olympic spirit makes its presence felt. Good Luck Olympians!
