Irlandos Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 I loved the way they ran through Greek history and the connection to the first Olympic games. These should have been the ceremonies of the centennial games. The special effects were great also and the choice of music not bad (except for Bjork). One question though: what was Karagiozis doing there? :huh: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tihio10 Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 I was very impressed with the opening ceremonies. I really enjoyed watching that parade of people that looked like characers on ancient Greek pottery!!!! :o Wow that was amazing :o . The beuzeukis and the drums were pretty kool too. What I was really impressed by is how many athletes are representing Greece!!!! Over 400 athletes!!!!!!! :o Theres' so many more this olympics because more people with "Greek blood" wanted to represent Greece instead of the U.S., Australia, Canada etc. I didnt' get what was the point with Bjork. :blink: Didn't like her perfomance....fortunately that was the only thing I didnt' like about the opening ceremonies. Bravo Athina :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irlandos Posted August 13, 2004 Author Share Posted August 13, 2004 Btw, does anyone know if the Olympic anthem has been revised? The one they sang is not the one I remember... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZeeKoei Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 one word: amazing really really really beautiful (and also nice behaviour of the crowd, no booing for Usa, Israel and loud cheering for Afghanistan, Palestina, Irak and Turkey) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nightsurfer Posted August 13, 2004 Share Posted August 13, 2004 Efxaristo Gianna............ Hse Megali.... The Hellenic Spirit and its People ......left the darkness of the last centuries behind....... the Euro 2004 was only the beginning.....the Olympic Opening Ceremony was the Stamp of Credence... of a new Hellenic Era.... From now on...Greeks can also be proud of the Presence not only for the Ancient Past............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ioanna Posted August 14, 2004 Share Posted August 14, 2004 An amazing opening ceremony. :nw: A superb show. B) Olympics return to Greece in lavish event Associated Press ATHENS, Greece - The Olympics returned home Friday, offering the world an epic welcome with an opening ceremony invoking Greek mythology, civilization and culture before 72,000 fans assembled to greet the world's greatest athletes at the site of the games' 19th-century rebirth. As cameras flashed in the stands at dusk, a countdown video ran on the screen at the recently completed Olympic Stadium - 28 seconds, one for each of the games since the 1896 event here in Athens, accompanied by the amplified sound of a human heartbeat. The audience loudly counted down with the video screen. Then, with a blast of fireworks around the stadium roof, the ceremony was under way. Minutes later, the five Olympic rings were ablaze in fire in the middle of a manmade "sea" in the middle of the stadium. The extravaganza kicking off the games was a victory for Greek organizers, who managed to pull together the 2004 Games despite serious construction delays, worldwide skepticism and terrorist fears. ... At its start, hundreds of drummers marched into the stadium, pounding to the rhythm of a heartbeat. A boy on a replica of a ship then sailed into the arena, waving a small Greek flag. In another segment, a centaur - the mythological half man, half horse - tosses a javelin that begins the rise of a statue representing an ancient form from Greece's Cyclades islands. The form breaks apart to reveal other figures from Greek history. The ancient god of love, Eros, flies above two lovers dancing and playing in the water. Spectators will participate in the main ceremony by clapping and using flashlights and bells when signaled, according to people who saw the rehearsals. The Icelandic singer Bjork was one of the night's headliners. The main part of the ceremony is "an allegoric journey of the evolution of human consciousness ... from the mythological perception of the world to the logical," said Dimitri Papaioannou, the concept creator of the ceremony. The parade of nations also will have a distinct Athens stamp. Greece, because of its links to the ancient games, will enter first, as usual. But, as the host nation, Greek athletes will also be the last into the stadium in the biggest procession in Olympic history. Among the 10,500 athletes under 202 flags: the debut appearance of competitors from the sprinkling of Pacific atolls known as Kiribati, and the return of Afghanistan after an eight-year absence, with Afghan women for the first time. "So here we are. Little Greece is just a breath away from the miracle," wrote columnist Giorgos Karelias in the Eleftherotypia newspaper. "Here is little Greece that - after being stabbed in the back by supposed well-wishers or simply the uninformed - has gone to receiving praise at the 11th hour." But Greece is lapping it up. All along, Greek officials continually described the Olympics as a way to shed the country's reputation as a parochial and unruly corner of the European Union. The transport minister even said drivers' respect for Olympic lanes shows Greece can be "civilized." The Olympic deadlines have forced projects long taken for granted in other European capitals: highways around city centers, a serious subway and rail network and efforts to preserve architectural landmarks. "No country has been more underrated than Greece," said the chief organizer, Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki. Ymneiste tin Ellada, eimaste oi protoi :gr: Psarokostaina agapi mou :gr: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOLLYWOOD Posted August 14, 2004 Share Posted August 14, 2004 Greece have lifted the bar to a higher level :tup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vaggar Posted August 14, 2004 Share Posted August 14, 2004 It was a great ceremony. I really enjoyed it. And I agree with Tihio10 that Bjork's song was propably the only thing that I will change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ioanna Posted August 14, 2004 Share Posted August 14, 2004 Olympics get global cheers Sat 14 August, 2004 09:44 By Paul Majendie ATHENS (Reuters) - Cheers have echoed around the world for the breathtaking opening ceremony that launched the Athens Olympics after years of trial and tribulation. Olympic host cities -- past and hopefully future -- doffed their caps to Greece for seizing a once-in-a-lifetime chance to show the world what it was all about. All the carping about the chaos was forgotten on Saturday. It was not just 10 million Greek hearts that swelled with pride back home. Seven million Greeks around the globe were cheering as loud as they did after Greece won last month's Euro 2004 soccer tournament as 80-1 outsiders. :nw: In Melbourne, the largest Greek-speaking community outside Greece crowded round big screen televisions to watch Athens take centre stage. "When I saw the Greek team walk out, I had a lump in my throat. After all the troubles they have had getting ready for the Games..." said cafe worker Eliza Klonaris. Melbourne's Herald Sun tabloid, reflecting on years of criticism over construction chaos and security concerns, said: "What had shaped as an ancient Greek tragedy last night wondrously emerged as a modern Greek miracle." Praise indeed from Australia where the 2000 Sydney Olympics were widely regarded as one of the greatest ever staged. Beijing, set to host the great sporting extravaganza in 2008, may have to look to its olive laurels. Chinese news agency Xinhua said: "The opening ceremony of cutting edge technology brought the 72,000 spectators and billions in the global audience through a symbolic and emotional journey reviewing Greek history and presenting a modern one in three and a half hours." And cities competing for the honour of staging the Games in 2012 realised they could have a tough act to follow. Britain's Daily Telegraph concluded: "Crisis? What crisis? After all, the Greeks have made something of a habit of making it work at the last minute." :whistle: :P :hypocrite: Prime Minister Tony Blair, fresh from cheering on Britain's team in the opening ceremony, called it "fantastic, absolutely fantastic." The French sports daily L'Equipe was equally fulsome about the cradle of western civilisation parading its past with such style, calling it "A night of Greek beauty, The Games of the 28th Olympiad opened on a magic night." The New York Times said some of the opening ceremony's grandeur was inevitably lost as cameras shrank down the sheer size of the epic production for billions of television viewers worldwide. And it highlighted how Athens was rich in old-and-new ironies "with a spectacle drawing heavily on the pure forms of Ancient Greek mythology and the voluminous security precautions for the modern age of terrorism." But it was predictably back home in Greece that Olympic pride reached fever pitch. The Olympic homecoming ceremony banished the nightmare of a drugs probe involving Greece's top two athletes - both former Olympic medal winners. "I was watching this performance and my hair stood on end. I can't really explain it, but I was crying as I watched it on the television," said plumber Yiannis Kalaitzakis. http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticl...29§ion=news Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iliana Posted August 14, 2004 Share Posted August 14, 2004 I loved this one!it was an amazing ceremony! this is the summer of the greeks!!!! :gr: :box: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drakos13 Posted August 14, 2004 Share Posted August 14, 2004 this was the best ceremony ever except for Bjork - which was so out of place , pointless and lousy..... but anyways no ceremony will ever be better or as amazing. it was chilling and beatiful. the history was incredbly well done and put out and it was nice to see modern greece (especially karagiozi :lol: ) because most of the world only considers greece as an ancient culture and its important to know that the people are changed now. very well done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ioanna Posted August 15, 2004 Share Posted August 15, 2004 LOL @ Karagiozis!! :lol: I was like "Kale, o Karagiozis!!" :blink: , the whole cafe heard me :lol: Speaking of which, that reminds me of pointing out at the shows of "Theatro Skion" aka Karagiozopaixtes playing in Athens these days!! :lol: Hilariously cool!! :tup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOLLYWOOD Posted August 15, 2004 Share Posted August 15, 2004 can anyone here get clips of the Opening Ceremonies?? i mean the begging with the drums and Bouzoukis (i dnt know how to spell it ) and the rings alight with the final moment of the tourch getting lit?? with a hint of fireworks :P thnkz :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Makedonia Posted August 15, 2004 Share Posted August 15, 2004 One word....Beautiful :nw: :nw: Greece has I think now proven that the 2004 Olympics will be a success after all of the negative critiques from the media. Loved the Olympic symbol on the water, that threw me away. The Bouzoukis (which I think is the correct spelling :la: ) and the drums mixed in the beginning was neat, and yes I also agree that Bjork's performance was definetely strange and out of place. Overall, the opening ceremonies were great :tup: . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irlandos Posted August 16, 2004 Author Share Posted August 16, 2004 A nice touch was that both Theodorakis ( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elastonpappou 13 Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 It was simply amazing... I had the fortune of watching it two days before friday at the final test event!!! It was great but the original one was mucg better.... I almost cried when I saw Galis entering OAKA with the Olympic Flame... :nw: Kaklamanakis is great but I prefered Galis to light up the flame.... Also Domazos looked great with the flame... :nw: The beggining of the ceremony was excellent but also the music by Theodorakis and Hatzidakis... Anyway the best ceremony ever with a deep Olympic spirit..... :tup: :tup: :nw: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drakos13 Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 hey dont forget DJ Tiesto....... B) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clover22 Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 It was great and spectacular and done with taste, but the commentators, Blob Kostas and that lizard he was with, were pathetic. It's as if they went out of the way to dumb everything down. Well two idiots can't do much to the Olympic spirit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
petpnyc Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 It was great and spectacular and done with taste, but the commentators, Blob Kostas and that lizard he was with, were pathetic. It's as if they went out of the way to dumb everything down. Well two idiots can't do much to the Olympic spirit. agreed. costas and the other one really were a disgrace. we in america got screwed royally...i even heard that nbc cut out about an hour of the show. hopefully someone will release a dvd of it (preferably in greek) so we can have this as a long time souvenir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drakos13 Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 america is incredibly jealous of greece is what im begining to see. they not showing the ceremony and playing it down is very typical. I would like to see kir Bobaki (Kostas) change his name to somethink like O'TOOLe. u guys who are in diaspora - i have to tell you know this is a fantastic olympics and we all here (greece) wish for you to come home for this. You really should see it at any price its well worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tihio10 Posted August 16, 2004 Share Posted August 16, 2004 I watched the opening ceremonies on CBC, with Brian Williams and Peter Mansbridge, I think they did fairly well. The only problem was that it was hard to hear them because of DJ Tiesto's music :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ioanna Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 PALI SKISAME!! :nw: :gr: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest nodes Posted August 17, 2004 Share Posted August 17, 2004 I agree, the CBC with Williams and Mansbridge were good. Speaking of Tiesto, does anyone know if they will release Tiesto's set on CD or if its available to download somewhere? n Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clover22 Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 drakos13 yes I think you're exactly right, they are jealous. I wish I could be there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iliana Posted August 20, 2004 Share Posted August 20, 2004 hey dont forget DJ Tiesto....... B) Tiesto was amazing! :nw: btw someone told me that he even played the hit from "peiratiko" from Euro 2004 with Helakis' comments, did anyone hear it? ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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