London Olympics 2012 Closing Ceremony
Sunday was a packed day of London sightseeing with almost a minute by minute travel schedule. Rolled up to Holborn at around 12pm to see the Mr Brainwash exhibition expecting the door to open at 11am only to find a sign saying opening at 1pm. Bah! Instead I had a back-up plan to watch the Men's Marathon down on bankside.
Menier Chocolate Factory Restaurant
Next on the list was lunch at the Menier Chocolate Factory Restaurant for 1:30pm. It was almost deserted when we got there but this soon filled up to capacity. Next to us was an US actor who kept us trying to guess which film or TV show we'd seen him before. Starters was the sharing platter but for two people it was a little greedy. The ham hock with chutney was a highlight. My main was the paccheri pasta which was amazing and the combination of textures and tastes made an excellent choice. Kerry went for the barbecued chop and between mouthfuls would only sing its praises. Dessert: went for the raspberry and elderflower jelly with vanilla custard & pistachio shortbread. Another winning taste and texture combination and almost tempted at a second serving.
Damien Hirst at the Tate Modern
Just 5 minutes walk back upto the South Bank for the Tate Modern and our ticketed slot for the Damien Hirst exhibition. No giant jeweled skull on display, we'd missed that. The exhibition started on Hirst's earliest art and was the least inspiring/interesting. The painted dots were just dull in comparison. I appreciated the pharmacy rooms but again not that inspiring. The flies and dead cow's head had the most impact in terms of lasting memory. The dead fly wall piece was pretty disgusting, the cigarette ends on a shelf left a small chuckle at how ridiculous modern art was but at least the diamonds and pills on shelves could be taken a little more serious. The gift shop prices were just stupid but overall could only respect Mr Hirst's business sense rather than his artist talents.
The free exhibitions in the Tate Tanks are worth a quick look. Loved the projected cine-camera which me and Kerry had a play with.London Olympics Closing Ceremony
Our tickets only allowed us into the Olympic Park at 5:30pm so took the tube to West Ham and walked along the Green Way. We didn't notice the 25 minute walk due to the excitement of approaching the site of Olympics and the friendliness of the volunteers. It was so well organised too as the security searches took just a few minutes.
Everywhere was packed with people but still enough room to wander about. The main stadium still had the sounds of rehearsal and so nobody was allowed in until about 6pm. When we did enter and walk up the many stairs the size of it just took my breath away. A reported 80,000 people would be attending the ceremony and to see so many seats and the main stage was a real honour. The rehearsals were still going on as we saw Russell Brand on top of a bus plus some of the centre piece London landscape constructions were being placed. Also, we could a Take That tune being played so that was the secret guest given away.
Olympic dinner
The food kiosks outside were very busy being teatime and queued for ages for a pizza plus slightly seething at an Israeli guy cutting in front of me. Still managed to get my pizza before him after asking nicely. Ha! Drinks were a little restrictive in terms of choice. They were all the worst of Coca-Cola had to offer in product range.
Showtime was 9pm but before a comedian warmed us up with some prep work such as how the audience needed to participate such as singing, dancing, waving our hands and counting down. The Big Ben countdown was quite embarrassing to be honest as everyone got the timing wrong. Some big band doing cover versions kept the audience spirits high.
A right royal rave-up
The actual ceremony varied in energy and pace. The music selection was excellent with a few exceptions but only now considering myself to have mature tastes (i.e. One Direction ruined Pet Shop Boys for me). Stomp did Brighton proud and the traffic created a chaotic scene with so many things to see. From our position we had a great view from behind the band stage but the main stage view was obscured by the London landscape and was mainly for the benefit of the Royal box. My Nikon 70-300 lens came into its own capturing the details going on and have had a great response from those who were actually in the show via Flickr.
There were some set pieces that didn't work for a big live audience and must have been done only for the TV audiences. The Delboy and Rodney 'Batman and Robin' was a great start especially with the Michael Caine 'Italian Job' countdown. Surprisingly, the Spice Girls was one of the best highlights with their LED taxis. Loved the inflatable octopus and magic bus too. The Kate Bush 'Running up that hill' and the John Lennon 'Imagine' dance acts didn't quite fit though especially after the energy from the music section. The 'fashion' part too was just a little out of place but appreciated seeing some live super-models. Had to laugh when they mentioned a long list of established British designers with Victoria Beckham's name included (see/listen to the video below).
The Rio 2016 handover was better than the London at Beijing ceremony. Loved the carnival atmosphere and the road-sweeper introduction.
The Greek national anthem must have been a mandatory aspect to the ceremony but felt quite out of place in the whole thing. The extinguishing of Olympic flame drew a pantomine-like 'ahhh?!' as if the whole audience didn't want it to happen (the TV didn't pick that up). Loved the ballet and rising phoenix part too. The final speeches were very moving especially from Lord Coe. Don't think I've ever felt so patriotic especially when cheering the mention of volunteers.
Getting home
The prospect of exiting the Olympic Park and getting on the tube filled me with dread. I was expecting an 80,000 bun-fight to get on the train. It was a slightly tense quick walk back to Stratford but as we approached the station and the platform we were able to find a seat and go within a minute with spare seats going! We got straight onto the Brighton train with minutes to spare and even got a seat squeezed between others returning from the Blur concert.
Fatboy Slim and his giant octopus
'Fashion' Supermodels at the Closing Ceremony
Last tune of the night - The Who
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