PARIS OLYMPICS OFFICIAL THREAD - Part 1: Opening Ceremony And First Days

I don't get the appeal and never watch these, but I hope you enjoy it. And above all, I hope there are no terrorist attacks.

Praying that Nadal will take Djokovic out in round two of men's singles. Doubtful though.

R2 that would be the perfect swansong for Rafa - denying Novak the one important title in tennis he's never held.

Highly unlikely that Djokovic would be motivated to hang around until the next Olympics in '28.

I am DYING to see Sha’carri Richardson run!

All the pain I went through over the last two NFL seasons, trying to figure out how to see the Chiefs games — the subscriptions to NFL+ and Peacock and God alone remembers what else (I do remember that Amazon Prime worked once), but the caveats and the small print and the endless frustrations, it was a neverending nightmare — and now I really do think I’m going into these Olympics with the subscription I need to watch that tiny human dynamo run.

And if I’m right, then it was all worth it.

Two Canadian cheaters sent home.

R4 a Sha'carri, Sherika, Shelly-Anne podium in the 100m would be poetic!

Wouldn’t it just be so beautiful, R6?!

I’m gonna start fighting with my TV right now so I’ll know if I have to go get a hotel room somewhere. I am NOT missing this.

R7 my personal highlight in Track and Field will be the Men's 1500 metre showdown between current Olympic Champion, Jakob Ingebrigtsen, and current World Champion, Josh Kerr.

They *really* dislike each other so I'm anticipating that it could get really spicy.

So many potential great competitions in track and field this year!

I don't watch the Olympics anymore. The whole thing has become ridiculous. Most of the major events are no longer amateur.

I will only watch the opening ceremony. Let's see if the Frogs can rival the Brits' 2012 opening.

R10 The Guardian are reporting a Lady Gaga / Celine Dion duet of 'La Vie En Rose'.

Pretty sure this is The Gayest Thing That Ever Gayed In The Multiverse.

Beats out Kylie Minogue performing on a giant flip-flop (thong) in Sydney 2000

Can’t wait to watch Rafa and Carlos play dubs jn tennis. What an iconic moment.

And yes, I hope Rafa beats the pants off weirdo Djokovic.

*in tennis

Oh la la, 2 million dollar for 1 song

My favorite hottie Golden Bear!

More medals to cum.

Celine? Fuck they should have wheeled Vanessa Paradis out on a black and white striped cab warbling Joe Le Taxi pour tout le monde

Now, this is interesting, R8. I didn’t know about those two guys and I’ve always wondered what it’s like emotionally in track races. Like, as the race is in progress do runners silently arrive at agreements to box other guys in (I’m thinking Prefontaine in Munich) or can the circumstance just result from hideous luck.

This is gonna be good.

It’ll be interesting to see two guys whose animosity is no secret.

R9 is so out of touch that he fails to understand “amateur” sports died almost a century ago.

R17 The middle distance races - 800 and 1500 - are notorious for diabolical tactics. Lots of high-stakes races seem to end up with runners ending up on the ground after shoves, trips and spikings. Josh and Jakob are both probably too experienced to risk anything reckless, but there's always the chance that you get caught up in someone else's mistakes.

Jakob is almost undoubtedly the faster runner on paper... but has developed a rep for 'freezing' and being unable to respond when he's challenged in major competitions - losing the last two WCs in almost the same identical manner to two different Scots runners - one to Jake Whiteman, and the other to Josh Kerr. It will be fascinating to see how this one unfurls.

The IOC has stated today that Celine is not receiving any payment to perform and that the IOC does not make payment to any entertainer appearing at the Olympics. They probably just pay travel and airfare.

OMG what if Celine has a stiff person seizure while performing??????

WE WERE INVITED BUT WE DECLINED!

Is Laurel Hubbard competing this year? Big ladies get a lot of criticism for lacking femininity but Laurel is a big star and I can’t wait to see her snatch.

I'm excited to see what happens in the Women's 400H. I would absolutely love it if Femke Bol beats Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone (I'm always for the underdog). Plus, SMc-L is a massive Jesus freak... I hate-read her autobiography "Far Beyond Gold: Running from Fear to Faith". BARF

Also, the Men's 400H between Warholm/Benjamin/Dos Santos will be VERY competitive.

But somebody is paying for her private jet, hotel stay and wardrobe, I imagine.

Plus her entourage.

I could see Celine not asking for a cent. The entire world will be her audience in one performance and that would be enough, especially for a 'come-back' statement. Hope she lays it on heavy, as she is want to do.

Duet with GaGa of La Vie en Rose. Could be spectacular!

I hope they invited some actual French musical artists too.

We haven't even gotten to the opening ceremony and so far there's been a football game interrupted for 2 hours by riots on the field, a drone scandal, and a thwarted attack by a Russian spy. It's going to be a shitshow.

It’s gonna be super interesting. We will tune in to se what goes wrong.

With last night's arson attacks on the French TGV train routes, things are somewhat tense for tonight's opening ceremony.

Reading up on what's been planned, and the creatives behind it, it will no doubt be spectacular with typical French savoir-faire. However, I'm sure everyone involved is trepidatious given the potential for disruption by malign actors (basically Russia!)

Buckle up. The show's about to begin.

A train stuck! How topical!

Watching BBC. The French have a red carpet.

Macron, looking tanned and gorgeous.

Crisis? What crisis?

Also tonnes of Tom Daley screen time on the BBC coverage.

Anyone watching the opening ceremony?

I'm watching on NRK.

The boat parade is underwhelming.

Zizou!

Poor accordion guy's getting drenched.

Crocodiles in Paris sewers!

Lady Gaga!

Omg the Bridge!

Stef looking a little chunky.

Is that accordionist supposed to be Aznavour's angel?

I love Gaga, but this is bad. WTF?

It’s totally cheesy. I hate it all.

The Phantom of the Opera, WTF?

Lady Gaga has giving it her all, but it’s like seaside entertainment at a second rate resort in an Agatha Christie adaptation. I fully expect to see David Suchet looking nonplussed in the background.

Gaga looked and sounded insane.

The Gaga number is cute.

It feels like we're in a very happy children's book.

Is Lady CaCa pregnant?

What is the explanation for the pink decorations?

The pre-prod segment they opened with… the drama of Zidane delivering the torch… was too long and overproduced.

Some of the smaller boats are looking a bit precarious in that choppy water.

[quote] What is the explanation for the pink decorations?

Moulin Rouge meets Barbie

Oh shit, the Can-Can.

I enjoyed looking at Zidane. Glad he didn’t headbutt those kids

Holy shit with the pink gay interludes.

This is more like it. A bit of va va voom!

This dancing with the LV trunks is...special

Is all that pink on the banks of the Seine symbolic?

Paris Pompiers Dancers... OUI!

....

I’m leaning into this brand of French vulgarity and am enjoying it more now

This part is impressive. The cancan, not so much.

Guillotines and beheadings... ENFIN!

Les Mis. Snore.

It's raining in Paris.

OMG, the beheaded woman!

I like this music a lot!

This has to rank among the best openings ever! Entertaining, suspenseful, whimsical and educational.

Well done, France!

This is cool

It's certainly different.

It's much better now.

Sofia Coppola does NOT approve.

Blood in the Seine. Love it

Too bad about the rain.

OK, the French Revolution bit was the first interesting segment.

There's certainly some hot ass to be had in Paris!

It's gone all Dark 'Jeux Sans Frontières'!

Cool that they're using the historic buildings along the river as set pieces.

I think Kelly Clarkson is going to CUM.

It's getting better as night falls. Will be gorgeous towards the end.

What's with the woman romancing the gay man?

The guy is clearly gay, girl.

What song is the opera singer singing?

We're now going non-binary Dangerous Liasons...

Finally! The gays flirted instead.

These guys are in the library thread

The black guy is clearly gay.

Marine Le Pen's having a fit.

Wasn't this the plot of the movie Threesome?

Will there be an hommage to Le Maurais?

Going all Cirque du Soleil now.

There they are! The gays kissing! Or nearly kissing!

I told you they were gay!

What's with the throuple

I"m liking it a lot.

Where is Laurent Wilson? He’s still damned cute.

Oh good, finally, a fashion runway!

Aja Nakamura. Oh Djadja.

This is a ‘queer’ ceremony ;)

…love the set piece in the main reading room of the National Library. I was there in person last fall—the renovation is spectacular!

P.S. NBC has had several years to teach their team basic French pronunciation—a total failure, across the board 💩

It’s very underwhelming.

I’m hoping for a who’s who of French cinema. Huppert, Binoche, Adjani, Beart, Gainsbourg, names, names, names darling

Gaga's pronunciation was.orerry bad, too.

I'm still thinking about how hot Macron looked.

This is fun so far!

Zidane is as still hot af.

Gaga was great and campy.

It's a mish-mash and the menage clip was so weird.

Savannah just pronounced it as “fraternity.” Oy vey!

LSA hated the gays and the throuple. No surprise there. LSA are known homophobes.

Where is Catherine Deneuve?!

Oh look it's Custa RicA

R105 He looked great!

[quote]Gaga was great and campy.

She was neither of those things.

Croatia looking the sexiest so far.

I guess it was always going to be hard to make it flow outside of a stadium environment and stretched out over such a large area.

Although, I'm largely enjoying it so far.

The NBC camerawork is rather chaotic.

Cute Fiji guy in traditional garb.

Shame about the rain.

They’re all gonna get Covid.

They can’t bring Celine Dion out in this weather

Tom Daley

Would have been better indoors for at least some of it.

Celine will bring along her own micro climate. She can afford it.

Ravel!!!

Why does Guam get its own boat, I thought they were Americans?

[quote] Tom Daley

At least he's use to getting wet.

Does it often rain in Paris in July?

This is eye candy overload.

Dom Taley, back for the olympic village hook-ups!

Tom and Helen. Giving it Titanic!

The French are doing this much better than the Japanese did last time, playing up the kitsch elements of French culture.

France Vs Great Britain

They are, but U.S. Territories have their own Olympic teams, R124.

I heard everyone’s just fucking like crazy 😝

Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Italy

Wtf is this lol

Tom Daley was the flagbearer!

Minions! Lol!

How are you bitches watching it?

Minions with the purloined Mona Lisa!

And not Asterix and Obelix?

R137 On NRK.

r137 YouTube.

You have a YouTube link? Please and thank you !

This surpasses Beijing. Beijing forgot to be fun.

CBC Canada - they pronounce the French language words properly

I'm suddenly feeling like French for dinner.

Sororité – sisterhood. I love this!

Does this link work for you, r142?

Nice shoutout to Planet of the Apes which is based on a French novel.

Still waiting for the Norwegian boat.

Speaking of Olympe, here she is! She wrote The Declaration of the Rights of Woman during the French Revolution.

This part is kind of boring...move it along, toots!

R147, no not available in my country it says, but thank you for trying

Truly, I pity the athletes that were coaxed to represent their nation on the boats. I'm sure it was a bit of an undertaking for many Chef d'Equipe. Bored to death after the first 5 minutes, and drenched.

Ok this bitch singing on the roof is spectacular

A trip down the seine isn't boring even on a normal day.

Love that they raised a statue to an abortion activist and displayed that on the screen. Fuck the Vatican.

Liberia in caftans!

Ok, the gymnasts/breakers/box bandits in the Seine are a flop. I feel bad for them in the rain.

Where is Celine?

Will Team USA arrive on a Carnival Cruise ship?

Celine will be the 11 o'clock number.

[quote]Ok, the gymnasts/breakers/box bandits in the Seine are a flop. I feel bad for them in the rain.

I'm afraid they're going to slip and break something.

This guy on right now is cute.

Celine will bring the house down.

If Céline does this but not the Eurovision in Switzerland next year (which launched her into stardom), I will never forgive her.

Pierrot is cute. But I don’t understand the purpose of this.

I thought Celine wasn't well and could no longer sing?

It's shit even without the rain. The anthem and the statues were the only things I've enjoyed so far. Nothing beats an arena.

[quote]Nothing beats an arena.

I think this is a refreshing change.

Anyone know why the nations' names are in English and not French? I thought they always paraded in by the spelling of the country's name of host country.

They should just do the French anthem again in 2028, it lands so much harder than the American one.

R167 I think she will sing in a lower, diminished voice but still give it her all.

I think they need more wide shots of the river - give a better idea of the scale of the thing and capture the city backdrop.

[quote]But I don’t understand the purpose of this.

Le capitalisme.

Pit Bull?

Finally the Norway boat!!!!!!

I’m looking up airfares right now FWIW.

Not a single coloured face on the Norwegian boat.

I worry when people dial up the bragging like Noah does.

I’m old. I remember when Prefontaine said that if he could work it out so it was “a pure guts race” he was the only one who could win it. And then he finished out of the medals, in fourth.

The kid was used to winning and then he reached the level where everybody else was, too.

Rap sounds so much better in French than English.

r180 I've been saying that since forever. German, too.

Loved the rapping.

The fashion show is like an outtake from a Robert Altman film. Awful.

Sheila B Devotion!

Paraguayan hottie alert.

R124 you’re dumb

Can the on-air talentless (NBC) stop complaining about the rain?! The show must go on, and there are few frowns among the beaming performers and athletes.

* Rican

It looks soooo much better now night's fallen.

SHEILA!!!!!!!!!

Sheila is there?!

MAXIMA!!!

Qui etait cette cunt?

Saint Lucia gets a hot tub on their boat!

R192 C'était Novak Djokovic!

R194, oh....her. 😆

[quote]MAXIMA!!!

[quote] Anyone know why the nations' names are in English and not French?

People don’t understand French.

Looks much better in the dark

I'm loving all the disco and house music.

TONGA TONGA YOSO LA TONGA!

Mamma Sol Sol ...

Why is Slovakia's delegation so pitiful compared to ours when they have three million more people? Are they just really shit at sports?

The US Virgin Islands boys wouldn't be for long if I climbed aboard their boat.

Can someone tell me what is the name of the cute breakdancing boy in the white outfit?

The Virgin Islands guys were all so cute, omg!

R203 Jakub Józef Orlinski, a Polish countertenor.

Where the gringos at? We're past the letter U already.

Claude François!

USA…we’re gonna need a bigger boat!

Nah! Fuck AI-generated fan letters from little kids to their idols! Stop destroying creativity!

(Sorry for the interruption, but that google commercial pissed me off.)

As you were.

Who is the man behind the mask?

Australian delegation is enormous. Just a sea of people.

Oh wow, the Americans get a double boat. Of course.

Maybe the US is last because they host next?

I feel so bad for this guy having to dance on that rainy-ass carpet.

FRANCE... HOLD MY BOAT!

Why did Australia come at the end?

Greece first I understand, US penultimate as they are next hosts I understand, but why Australia before US?

This is a dreary, dreary affair. Whoever planned this opening is an idiot. Everything looks messy and ugly, and of course it is raining on top of it all.

r216 No idea, Czechia came towards the very end as well.

[quote] Most of the major events are no longer amateur.

The Olympics have not been limited to amateurs for decades.

France is last.

I think this has been awesome, and I'm glad I taped the LIVE ceremony, because tonight's "only" 4-hour version must therefore be edited.

You want LIVE to avoid SPOILERS during the day?

Ya gotta watch starting about 5:00 a.m. ET.

The "fashion catwalk" table was FABULOUS!

The famous sewers, not so much!

I have been to Paris three times. Love it. Have seen the Eiffel Tower at night from the Trocadero plaza. Spectacular.

Hooray EU! 🇪🇺

Perhaps Australia is being punished for buying their submarines from the US instead of France.

Australia is hosting the Olympics in 2032. So the final order was 2032, 2028 (USA), 2024 (France).

I need to go to bed, but I need to see Macron declare the Games open first. So, move it along, toots!

A Eurodance section!

2032 Games are in Brisbane.

R216: On the NBC broadcast they mentioned that nations hosting upcoming Olympics now come last before the host nation. Australia is hosting the 2032 games.

[quote] Why did Australia come at the end?

Because they are 2032 hosts!

This Euro dance stuff has nothing to do with France or Paris.

I'm going to need some Molly if this lasts any longer.

r228 You're fucking wrong, Paris is the dance capital of Europe.

There we are, with LeBron at the helm, proudly honoring and backing the valiant performance of our oldest ally.

I lost interest with all the trans shit.

What in the ever loving fuck…

This Smurf Dionysus is.... not what I was expecting.

Czechia is spelled Tchéquie in French.

Australia was third last because Brisbane is hosting the Games after LA.

Wait, what, according to the commentator, this is just the pre-party and we have an actual ceremony to go through still? With Dion singing from the Eiffel Tower and everything?

Yeah, I'm going to bed, I'll catch the best bits tomorrow. Enjoy, everyone!

Ecstasy r229. This couldn’t be more 90s

Brisbane was lovely, but the Summer Olympics? The Beijing, Tokyo, London, Paris, Rio, Los Angeles Summer Olympics?

I think that’s a stretch.

I once fell into a K-hole for about 5 hours in a club... and this is pretty much what I was experiencing.

She's floating on a giant piece of poo! In the Seine!

The flaming piano is a bit concerning!

Why are they featuring Lennon's "Imagine?"

Imagine... floating down the Seine with your piano on fire.

NOW WE ARE TALKING!

R243 apparently it's now in the Olympic rules to feature 'Imagine' in the Opening Ceremony

Is that Christine?

I feel tremendous embarrassment for everyone involved in this mess. The athletes deserved better.

Who is that singing?

Not fucking Imagine

Imagine is a totally turgid piece of shit. It's the musical equivalent of a Jehovah's Witness leaflet.

I think it's Christine from Christine and the Queens

Jeanne D’Arc?

There was a comment on Twitter that people who are at the event say the visual and sounds are amazing, it just looks awful on TV.

Well isn't that reassuring!

Nope

This is giving me Gal Gadot flashbacks

It's Juliette something, and it was cloying

Knowing the French they'll be serving up this horse for dinner on Sunday.

LOL, and R250 wins the Gold for that post!

If we are not careful, the burning raft with its lone singer could be representative of Planet Earth's swan song. Should have included some flora and nonHuman fauna.

Okay, the horse running on water was totally cool

"Imagine" singer was Juliette Armanet.

Silver Surfer!

I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him.

Jesus Christ can't a suffragette throw themselves under this horse?

Is it Celine on the horse?

I thought this was great. It was like watching a play about different kinds of peoples lives but the stage was Paris. It was unique and you know they had to have put a ton of time into it to pull all of this off. This is now my No.1 opening.

Paris is androgyny central since COVID. Bless their cotton chausettes.

Its Charlotte Dujardin fleeing on horseback with the French ASPA hot on her tail

The rain stopped for this?

It was just a very stupid idea to stage it as they did.

But it was at least better than London’s insufferably smug up-its-own-arse opening ceremonies in 2012.

I think it's been a been a rather beautiful mess. Very much like France itself.

Some parts stunning, some just bizarre, some you just look and shrug. I have a feeling the finale won't disappoint, tho.

Is this it? Sucked donkey balls actually

Those 2012 Olympics was Cool Britannia's last hurrah. It's been downhill for them ever since.

Really, r237? Well, all-righty, then!

Do people not see the irony in the song "Imagine" right before the COMPETITION among nations begins? Just me?

Where's Celine? I sat through this for her

British Twitter is being insufferably sneering... as you might expect.

If only Jerry Lewis was still with us. He could ride down the river in a paddle boat screeching HEY LADY.

Kamala on horseback?!

(Kidding, kinda)

That horse would rather be anywhere else than there.

Interminable journey down the Seine.

[quote]Anyone know why the nations' names are in English and not French?

I just saw a picture Tom Daley posted on Threads. Apparently the other side of the flag had the French name.

Is Celine carrying the Olympic Flag?

And now an interminable walk. Yay!

I've seen enough Seine.

Celine can barely walk, at the mo!

I'm expecting Queen Carlotta to show up at any moment.

Look at that rain!

It's like the Diana Ross Concert in Central Park!

R269 No, it's coming down pretty good now.

So the horseman wasn’t unmasked? Pointless.

WE WERE INVITED BUT WE DECLINED!

The pacing has seemed off, too slow.

Terrific Opening Ceremony.

Nothing can top the James Bond QE2 sketch.

My main gripe has been the camera editing - weird angles and a lot of cutting to and away from things randomly. Because of where it was staged it wasn't possible - obviously - to do a full run through. I think that might have ironed a lot of these things out.

Hot French Daddy!

I loved the London 2012 ceremony by the James Bond skit was the most obvious part.

There were some really bad lighting decisions, too.

R294: "Make it look like an accident, Bond."

Hi daddy

A drenched Jack Draper, British tennis player. Did all the athletes get soaked?

What a sexy, charismatic man. Beaucoup des charmes.

What does DL know about Tony Estanguet??

Hot as hell.

Over 3 hours and no Céline.

Amazingly, our US athletes are behaving, not even talking, while the Olympic flag is hoisted and the Olympic anthem sung.

Ah, Paris. The most beautiful city in the world.

HOT GINGER!

Hot daddy is bilingual!

Hot daddy needs to be inside me

Hold my umbrella!

He's one of those handsome men with a big nose.

The ceremony is suffering from a surfeit of dumpy trannies.

I just realised they haven’t lit the fucking cauldron yet 😭

Patience, Grasshopper R312

R304, I thought that James Bond/QE2 bit in the 2012 opening ceremonies was unbearably cutesy and dumb. HE’S A FICTIONAL CHARACTER. It was undignified for the Queen to engage with this. I feel the same way about her wince-inducing encounter with Paddington a year or so before she died. Surprised she didn’t allow Mary Poppins to take her for a ride from her magic umbrella on one of the days she opened Parliament. Jesus.

Wrap it up, Thomas!

[quote] Hot daddy needs to be inside me.

Tony Estanguet's dick print.

Macron!!!!!!!

The hot umbrella man needs a MailOnline profile

WTF that was all????

Good luck to all of the Olympians!

Well done Emmanuel. None of the impromptu patriotism that Bush threw in when he opened Salt Lake 2002.

[quote] [R304], I thought that James Bond/QE2 bit in the 2012 opening ceremonies was unbearably cutesy and dumb. HE’S A FICTIONAL CHARACTER. It was undignified for the Queen to engage with this. I feel the same way about her wince-inducing encounter with Paddington a year or so before she died. Surprised she didn’t allow Mary Poppins to take her for a ride from her magic umbrella on one of the days she opened Parliament. Jesus.

MARY!!!!

Fuck you, R314.

Mmm, suit daddy

RAFA!!! PERFECTION!!!

OH HI ZIZOU!!!!!!

This is all so in seine

I could climb Zidane like a tree.

There's sperm all over the Eiffel Tower

Having the Eiffel Tower as the foundation of your light show beats all other effects from the Olympics before this, You can’t beat using the Eiffel Tower.

They're playing Cerrone's Supernature? GET IT!

Love me some Cerrone

Rafa should be in short-shorts.

Rafa! Serena! Nadia!

Serena & Rafa! I could cry. I love Rafa

Carl!

When the Olympic Village is a rock’n, don’t come a knock’n

Omg Supernature WTF

The life jackets are a bit much

count-down to Celine, I'm sure of it!

The days of Pearly Spencer!

Serena’s weave is frazzled

I want Zidane in me quite deeply.

The torch is not coming from the boat.

Nadia Comenci is on the boat too

I guess they’re taking it to the athletics stadium?

NBC anchors working overtime to make us believe the rain was a good thing.

Kelly: "I love the rain!"

Savannah: "The rain has added to the magic!"

The Red Cross is dropping millions of condoms from airplanes ✈️

Who do we predicting will light the torch?

What are they doing with the torch?

Gaga commercial! 🤮

R239 I'm not sure what you're implying, but they had the Summer Olympics in Sydney back in 2000.

BREAKING: Lola Falana to light the Olympic torch.

Serena looks like she's going to barf.

R350 it will burn in hell, Rose

Messi

Amelie representing for the lez!

Amelie! Lesbian running with torch!

R352 they had the Summer Olympics in winter!

Horseface Maurismo! 🐎

Snoop Dogg seems like a nice man but he’s fucking tiresome and in way over hie head. But then again so are Savannah and Kelly.

Mary Pearce just tweeted "Why does that dyke get to be involved? I won as many grand slams as she did and I won at Roland Garros"

R359 is joking. Hopefully. It can be hard to tell on the DL.

Wil Marie Jose Perec be participating?

ARE YOU HERE MARIE? TAP ONCE FOR YES TWICE FOR NO

I want to see Surya Bonaly do a backflip and light the cauldron!

We need some French rugby boys from Dieux du Stade.

Interminable torch run.

And the Sydney Olympics were in Spring.

I'm proud of that runner.

With all the rain, the Seine is guaranteed to be polluted by tomorrow.

No swimming in the river!!

Holy shit it's a balloon!

very TALL swimmer

They let a 100 year old man out in the rain close to midnight?

OMFG that's cool!

Anticlimactic bull shit to an exceptional Opening.

CELINE ENFIN!

ABOUT FUCKING TIME CELINE

Its Celine!!!!!!

Oh, the humanity!

*sobs*

Celine, the angry sparrow.

I'm worried she will seize up right in front of us!

She’s seems a little stiff.

She's lip syncing.

Is she lip syncing?

No she's not

SLAYING

Fantastique!

[quote]She's lip syncing.

SHE AIN'T NO FUCKING DRAG QUEEN BITCH

She was great in 1996, although this is twice she’s performed at Olympics that are not Canada’s. Other countries need to produce some Celines.

Bow down bishes!

Amazing performance!!

That was beautiful. A defining moment for her.

Why is Celine performing at these Olympics?

She's CANADIAN, not French.

And Gaga is AMERICAN, not French.

Why are they stealing performers from other countries?

Doesn't France have its own performers to use in the opening ceremony?

I sat here applauding her. She made the woman announcer for NBC cry.

[quote] Other countries need to produce some Celines.

Mylene Farmer is still alive

I hope that was sung live. Celine seems like a kind person who deserves a comeback, considering her illness.

Of course it was lip-synced.

Celine is from Charlemagne, Quebec, as French as Canada gets.

R395, I believe that was Kelly Clarkson.

The boat shit was just so fucking stupid. Not having a Parade of Nations into the stadium took away the gravitas of the Olympic Games. So in 2028 in LA will everybody land on Malibu in jet packs. Enough with that bullshit.

That whole thing was fucking spectacular!!!!!

That torch is the most unique thing I’ve ever seen!!!!

Bowing 🙇🏻‍♀️ down to Celine, my god 🥹

R390 oh? 🇨🇦🇨🇦

It would have been so cool if that great white shark from the Under Paris movie started attacking the boats and eating people.

R399 humbug. My family is from Baie-Saint-Paul…

Laine pure! 🇨🇦

[quote] Celine is from Charlemagne, Quebec, as French as Canada gets.

Canada is NOT France.

And Celine is Canadian, not French.

Opening ceremonies should use native performers, and not borrow them from other countries.

People keep complaining about not in a stadium but actually showcasing the historic is far more interesting. Watching the athletes walk around a track feels like a high school homecoming. Props to the French for trying to do something original. And Celine killed it!

[quote] Olympic flag raised upside down during Opening Ceremony

With the 2024 Olympics kicking off in Paris, things were already off to a tough start with an Opening Ceremony taking place in the pouring rain. But another snafu took place as the ceremony crept further towards a close: The Olympic flag was raised and flown, but upside down.

Members of the French military raised the competition's flag, with its five Olympic rings, at the Place du Trocadero near the Eiffel Tower on Friday night. But something was askew, with the symbols two bottom rings flipped to the top.

It is unclear what caused the mistake, and it is also unclear whether they will be able to fix the issue with the ceremony ongoing.

The ceremony took us on a stunning tour of the city.

For those of us not lucky enough to have ever been there.

The Louvre looked like a magical fairy place lit up at night.

Ill say it again, fucking spectacular 🥹🥹

There were plenty of French performers. It's an international event FFS - probably the TV networks paying for the whole damn thing insisted on global stars. If it had just been French performers people would be howling that they didn't know who they were - or accusing the French of being parochial.

[quote] Mylene Farmer is still alive

She was born in Quebec, too.

Calm down R406, you survived it. Best yet, you have four years to ensure that LA's opening ceremony is strictly an American only-event.

This made me laugh!

Celine and the mechanical horse thing were the only decent parts of this otherwise hideous, ill-conceived mess. Terrible decision to use boats, horrible lighting, and a bunch of randomness that doesn't hang together. Also, I didn't realize Macron wore a toupee, but it certainly looked like he did when he spoke during this.

R406 is some dumb Walloon

R368 The games have also been in Melbourne and Rio.

I've been laughing my ass off with the memes about the Botswana delegation

Not sure if that's what I would call "funny," R417.

Celine made me shed a tear. Considering all that she's going through, she was able to sing her heart out like a pro. What a legend!

406, Yes, everyone knows those facts. Yes, Canada is its own nation while a part of the British Commonwealth. Yes, Celine is Canadian. My point was there at least is a bit of a French connection to Celine.

Celine has been part of French and Francophone pop culture in a major way for around 40 years.

R170 I saw photos from the boat carrying the British athletes, and while the side facing the cameras said "Great Britain," the other side read "Grande Bretagne."

I was certain that the Phantom of the Opera character would turn out to be Celine. I wonder why they scrapped that concept. It made no sense that “he” just dissolved after granting the subway guy his torch back.

A lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. Outdoors was a mistake, it diminished the performers and the athletes. It took 4 hours and Celine to put a human face and voice on the circus.

R253, I’ve been watching on France tv and the commentary and sound are so much better. I don’t know why NBC is muting the sound. No stupid Team USA Interruptions.

Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning’s hick accent wore on me.

[quote] Members of the French military raised the competition's flag, with its five Olympic rings, at the Place du Trocadero near the Eiffel Tower on Friday night. But something was askew, with the symbols two bottom rings flipped to the top.

When the French raise a white flag, they’re not used to it having an emblem on it.

[quote] Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning’s hick accent wore on me.

Looks like NBC is trying to appeal to the MAGA crowd this year.

Assholes.

There were some great visuals but the whole thing needed some judicious editing. E.g. the silver horse was amazing. For the first five minutes. The torch being handed from person to person to person at the end - I know that’s what a torch relay is but some of those athletes were just a couple of metres apart so they just took a couple of leisurely steps before handing it off. The faceless torch carrier doing the parkour was clever but it felt like it was meant to be a reveal that never happened.

But good on them for trying something different and keeping it very very French.

I’ll bet it’ll be back to stadiums in future Games, though.

Deadline review:

I watched on an iPad, which is a small screen and it all looked impressive, except for the boats. They could have been dressed up better.

This opening ceremony made me realize how mechanical the Chinese opening was. There’s a humanity with theirs. Art, culture, fashion, music, and glorious Paris. Although not featuring Daft Punk was a big omission.

Incredible opening ceremony. The lights, the music, the awe-struck athletes. And that performance by Celine to wrap it all up - I was as choked up as Kelly Clarkson. Truly amazing, especially given Celine's health battles. Maybe a defining moment for her.

Interesting - NBC totally omitted a whole dancing segment featuring a lot of famous French drag queens. They featured talking to the American athletes and commercials.

R428 I was watching BBC's coverage on one screen and NBC's on another. I had to turn NBC's off when they spent an inordinate amount of time with the American athletes shouting U-S-A .. U-S-A .. U-S-A. over and over and over. .. There was quite a bit of other stuff going on as the BBC broadcast showed, yet NBC was stuck on that.

Olympic coverage for gay men continues tomorrow with men’s gymnastics at 5am.

Celine was sublime.

I expect that Celine will be feeling a bit stiff tonight after that wide ranging performance!

Celine's performance was amazing!

I guess it is kind of hard to tell if the performance was live or not, but I think it was pre-recorded.

^^^

That was epic.

Right up there with Whitney Houston singing the US National Anthem at the Superbowl.

Only difference is that Whitney sang it live, and Celine didn't.

I think these kinds of performances are pre-recorded, just in case anything goes wrong.

Remember when Rolling Stone didn’t put her in the top 100 greatest singers. And some that they did?

Celine looked tres chic.

And the Eiffel Tower looked like perfection in the rain, which sparkled in the light.

Paris really is so beautiful.

Too bad it's filled with French people.

Not pre-recorded, you can see the rain drops on the piano and on the klieg lights. Also I can't see evidence of lip-syncing.

R427, Were it not for the French, we would be raising the Union Jack. So you can stop being puerile now.

[quote]Too bad it's filled with French people.

Va te faire foutre.

Snoop just raised the tone of the Olympics. Haha! Eh, he's okay.

Shilling for the movie "Wicked"? Really? I think such crass unrelated commercialism is a new Olympic feature, non?

R444, Helen Keller could tell that she was lip-syncing.

This Lady Gaga routine is lame (watching rebroadcast on NBC).

It’s frenetic and just awful.

[quote]Looks like NBC is trying to appeal to the MAGA crowd this year.

I don't think either Kelly Clarkson or Peyton Manning are MAGAts.

Remember when Peyton ground his bare bum in the face of the first female reporter allowed in the Tennessee Vols locker room? They had to settle out of court, butt he insisted she just got in the way of typical postgame horseplay.

I watched Opening Ceremonies intermittently at work today, so I'm trying to fill in the blanks. Sucks that it rained like that.

R440, Whitney did not sing live.

VIVE la REPUBLIQUE

.....

I didn't hear this on the live show.

The national anthem was sung by that lady on the roof.

[quote]Interesting - NBC totally omitted a whole dancing segment featuring a lot of famous French drag queens. They featured talking to the American athletes and commercials.

R434, I live in an area where we get Canadian stations, and I'm zipping through my DVR recording of their coverage after watching the US coverage, and yes there was an entire Diversity segment that Canada aired that US did not. Not sure if that's the segment you're referring to.

I wish the coverage was on other channels and not just NBC. There's no way they have time to cover everything. They should share. ESPN could air some of it and I'm sure The Tennis Channel would jump at the chance.

Lady Gaga's full performance....

Celine was great but seemed pre-taped and not live. The audience impact was lacking . It ended up looking she lip-synced and possibly did several takes.

THR review:

They did a good job with The Eiffel Tower.

I am not really a Celine fan, but damn she's a sublime vocalist (live or not).

Good luck to Céline if she's going to sing in French. Quebecker.

Lovely woman though. ♡

Who will take the Gold medal in break dancing?

They still have Chess?

That hot daddy with the big French honker Tony Estanguet’s lovely speech to the athletes got cut by NBC for the primetime broadcast. Bastards. At least the tedious silver horse sequence got severely cut down.

I think I need to orally service the French president to completion to make sure he can get through this. I'm going to need to taste it.

I need to be the filling in a Estanguet/Zidane/Macron club sandwich.

Thank you, r458. I re-watched and saw her. I love how stirring their anthem is.

If you want the unedited Olympics, you must watch the games live.

But it's more than just the early mornings on NBC; PEACOCK is showing more live events starting around 2:30 a.m., ET.

Celine's absolutely barnstorming performance of 'L'Hymne A L;'Amour' from the Eiffel Tower.

Now, THIS is a moment in time.

The look Celine throws the beat before launching into the final "DIEU RÉUNIT......" gives me CHILLS. Utterly iconic.

This is the one

Here is Macron at the Olympics, looking and sounding great.

And refreshingly brief.

I thought Celine was singing live, but if not, she's an amazing lip-syncer. What I was wondering about, though, were the musical instruments. Putting an expensive piano like that out in the rain will ruin it, yes? Are you basically sacrificing an expensive piano just as a prop for this performance?

I loved the fact that France made this an international opening ceremony. I cried when Rafael Nadal walked on stage to take the torch. Not everything has to be so nationalistic.

Céline likely was singing full voice with a backup track, and that's just fine. It was pretty obvious the other artists were lip syncing, too. You could really see it with the hip hop guy, Rim'k.

And can we talk about that tableau of beheaded Marie Antoinettes at the Conciergerie? What a visual!

Celine's vocal was 100% live.

The pianist was live too. I presume the rest of the backing musicians were in a separate location being conducted over closed-circuit TV (as also happens in many theatres and opera houses).

There was no way Celine could have mimed those pauses and her in-the-moment dramatic hesitations so perfectly.

It was also an unbelievably brilliant performance. Her vocal delivery was almost flawless.

Seeing a lot of pushback to the drag tribute to the Last Supper and then pushback to the pushback. A lot of it in instinctive reflex but the reality is that it was just very low quality.

Drag queens did of course feature in the 2000 Olympics when the closing ceremony paid tribute to Priscilla.

Assuming that the LA Olympics will feature only drag queens and trans, devotees of the art form will have plenty to see at that time.

Is anyone else awake yet and watching? Men’s gymnastics, for example. Justin Spring is NBC analyst, but I don’t like his voice.

Yikes! Brody Malone falling off the high bar.

Malone is like Dmitry Bilozerchev in 1988, coming back from injury.

Malone pulled a. Zmeskal/Wieber.

They need to go back to 2 days of qualifications!

R482 What happened to Rothlisberger? He's there but just not talking?

[quote]Seeing a lot of pushback to the drag tribute to the Last Supper and then pushback to the pushback. A lot of it in instinctive reflex but the reality is that it was just very low quality.

I wonder if it was done somewhat intentionally to thumb their noses at the Russian pariahs who weren't invited. Putin is always raging about the "degenerate west" and how they are the only ones preserving traditional values. It was a bit heavy-handed for my taste, but one can't say it wasn't memorable.

I thought the threesome who were in the library and then went to a room to have sex with each other shouldn’t have been shown on broadcast TV.

[quote] What happened to Rothlisberger? He's there but just not talking?

In the past there have been separate analysts for the online real-time presentation versus the coverage done for TV.

I keep seeing reference to the Drag Queen Last Supper, but don't recall seeing that. Was that something that the US coverage cut? About when in the ceremony was it?

I’m now watching underrated team handball, Croatia vs. Japan.

R488 Yeah but he was on this broadcast earlier and then just disappeared.

Gay Olympian Arthur Nory made a mistake already and was eliminated from the Olympics.

Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi fell victim to the poor weather conditions at the opening ceremony in Paris, as he lost his wedding ring to the Seine river

r493 Fucking hell, it hasn't even been 24 hours since the games opened. These bitches are ruthless, glad I'm not an athlete.

Better luck next time, Arthur.

r475 Kamala gonna do that in 2028. 😊

0.1 points away from bronze match in shooting. Ugh. Not a great start for us. This and the loss to Sweden in handball :(

Do those that are eliminated return home immediately, or do they get to hook up with other athletes for the remainder of the Games?

I wanna feel Félix Dolci's dong

Why does the UK compete as Great Britain? Do Northern Irish athletes compete on the Irish team?

r459, yes, I rewatched both NBC and FranceTV, and it was the Diversité segment. Maybe the almost nude blue Dionysus on a platter put it over the edge.

r490, they did show a small portion of that- the tableau- it was around the fashion runway segment. But they did omit an entire portion that I've mentioned- Diversité, which was all dancing, and they picked it up around the Obscurité portion.

I checked It’s officially “Great Britain and Northern Ireland” but they shortened it

Using that name instead of United Kingdom is apparently Olympic tradition

The outfit, the weird gait, the balding head... Nadal looked like a Florida pensioner, walking up to that Olympic torch.

Tres morne,gauche,de trop pastiche. Snoop Dog. Quelle horreur.

R497, I remember your posts from the Winter Games. I love how you live every moment of every competition Norway is in.

OK, if that last part is what everybody is calling the Last Supper, I saw that and did not make that connection at the time.

Same here, r506. There were people on both sides of the table and they were using it as a runway for 95% of their schtick. It's manufactured controversy.

[quote] Assuming that the LA Olympics will feature only drag queens and trans, devotees of the art form will have plenty to see at that time.

I'll be the one to light the cauldron.

One of the French coverboys of the Games, Antoine Dupont, leads their Rugby 7s team to the gold medal match final.

[quote] Italian high jumper Gianmarco Tamberi fell victim to the poor weather conditions at the opening ceremony in Paris, as he lost his wedding ring to the Seine river

How romantic!

[quote] I thought the threesome who were in the library and then went to a room to have sex with each other shouldn’t have been shown on broadcast TV.

Go back to bed, Grandma!

Does anyone think France will benefit from home advantage and get close to the top of the medal table?

The last time France were out of the top 10 was Seoul - the highest they've come is 6th, in Atlantic, Sydney and Rio.

Team GB went from 10th in Sydney and Athens to 4th in Beijing, 3rd in London, 2nd in Rio and back to 4th in Tokyo, where Japan came third.

They have the second largest team.

[quote] They have the second largest team.

Because as the home team they automatically qualify for all team sports and get at least one entry in other sports. It adds up.

I think most stay for the final ceremony and parade. I know that in Munich 1972 after the murders, (Jewish) Mark Spitz came home early and it was news.

SORRY, R440:

France win their first gold of the games in the Rugby 7s

They annihilate Fiji- winners of the gold for the past 2 Olympics - in front of President Macron

Dirty cheating lesbians!

Canada have lost the chance to defend their Olympic title after spying on their rivals with a drone.

Macron... and rugby friend.

[quote] Dirty cheating lesbians!

Gay men know how ruthless they can be.

Did anyone clock Brodie Malone being frosty to Paul Juda throughout the qualifying competition? Even before it was clear Paul was gonna take Brodie's pre-anointed place in the all-around.

Isn’t Brodie always brooding?

Worst, tackiest, cheapest looking Opening Ceremony ever!

Yeah, the Texas flag corps and drill team types aren't going to go for this one.

It terms of stadium spectacle, Beijing ruined it for everyone else. Why even try?

This at least was specific to Paris, though I think it relied too much on pre-taped material and they didn’t pay enough attention to how to make it look good on TV, though maybe the rain ruined some plans.

Men’s Volleyball - Argentina vs USA, on now.

Adam Peaty and his increasingly ugly tattoos is coming up - I think he might be a Gloria Estefan fan going by the ink on his stomach.

The BBC's coverage is very good - horsey lesbian Clare Balding as the main interviewer with homosexual Mark Foster and accidentally-married-a-homosexual Rebecca "Becky" Adlington as the experts offering expert expertise on swimming.

My favorite men’s volleyball player is still Micah Christenson.

The hot ginger umbrella holder from last night has been identified.

He's a tattooed Danishman called Daniel Elmstrom.

There's this gigantic woman now playing beach volleyball for the US.

Isn't Brodie a religious zealot?

Let's hope Simone can repeat Brodie's performance... or better yet, get the Twisties "again" before qualifications!!!

[quote]There's this gigantic woman now playing beach volleyball for the US

Taryn 'overbite' Kloth?

[quote] Let's hope Simone can repeat Brodie's performance... or better yet, get the Twisties "again" before qualifications!!!

Screw Simione BILE and her "Twisties."

She's a goddamned quitter.

The bitch shouldn't even be at these Olympics, after dropping out of the last one.

I can't even stand to look at her stupid quitter face, because she makes me sick!

Of course, NBC is going to play endless hours of women's beach volleyball (as they've done in the past), but I bet straight guys are pissed that the girls are no longer in those skimpy bikinis for the T&A show.

Simone is lucky she's competing in this era. She never would have made it to the Olympics in the 90s

The NBC Sports YouTube channel does a reasonable job of presenting videos of various matches that give the gist of what happened so that you don’t have to sit through watching the whole event. Good for seeing what you don’t have time to watch otherwise. The Japan vs. Germany volleyball match was five sets, so I’d rather watch the condensed version.

By the way, DL's new Golden Boy had his feelings hurt regarding the Drag Queen Last Supper act. Anyone please console him!!

Caleb Dressel's tattoos are not quite as bad as Adam Peaty's.

Here's Peaty:

Although Dressel has them going down his leg now.

R538, That's a perfect example of a bitch whose 15 minutes were up and rather than drifting back into irrelevancy, will say or do anything to get a little attention when no one really gives a damn what he thinks or believes.

*gives a damn about what he thinks or believes.

R535, They missed the backside-baring Platform Diving suits for the US women.

Did that little fucking cry baby sob with his baby now? Man that PP locked him down good. He's too hot to be acting like such a pussy.

Why are Australians so good at swimming? No offense, but was there something about British criminals that led to this?

Oops.

[quote]Olympic organizers have issued an apology after the South Korean team were mistakenly introduced as North Korea during the opening ceremony in Paris.

I would have hung onto Rafa's butt.

I hope Céline releases last night's song as a single.

Ah Tahiti, so beautiful. I missed who won the men's 1st round, but a French Polynesian woman won the women's 1st round.

Brody Malone is apparently very MAGA and the best quote I've seen about his failure:

"Funny he wants to control women's bodies but he can't even control his own."

I'm embarrassed about our fundies. We're the Saudi Arabia of the western world.

[quote] Brody Malone is apparently very MAGA

I've been trying to find his falls all afternoon on replay, I think they've been scrubbed. He's a Trumper through and through. There's a picture of him in the White House wearing a Trump tie having it signed by the devil himself.

[quote]There's a picture of him in the White House wearing a Trump tie having it signed by the devil himself

[quote]I've been trying to find his falls all afternoon on replay, I think they've been scrubbed.

It's still on Peacock. It's within the replay video labeled "Men's Qual. Subdivision 1" from today.

I like the cute nerdy guy wit the glasses on US mens gymnastics team.

R555 I know him. He's known for being a bit of a cunt about his fellow teammates.

[quote]I like the cute nerdy guy wit the glasses on US mens gymnastics team.

Stephen Nedoroscik

Nedoroscik has amazing PITS.

How so R556?

Just saw a clip of celebs at the Olympics. Tammy Cruise was there. The NBC people didn't say what events he was at.

R554, Did you go to Penn State with him? Or is he your homeboy?

I'll tell you what, and I'll "Meow!" right now:

Gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik's mother in the stands (with her husband) was the most unkempt relative of an athlete I've ever seen. Knowing she might be in TV, this broad did not even comb her hair, never mind apply a modicum of makeup or a top other than a T-shirt.

Nedoroscik is smokin' hot, but you can tell he's blind as a bat without those specs. He squints CONSTANTLY.

Canadian commentator commenting on Men's Gymnastics when the Canadian athletes rotate to parallel bars:

"The Parallel Bars are a Canadian strong suit; it's hard to fall off the parallel bars"

R559, he thinks more highly of his own gymnastics than he does of his teammates... which is cool, but not necessarily warranted. The problem is he let's them know it. And has been known to just act rudely or more superior than the others. He's also publicly ridiculued/laughed at some of his teammates who didn't make it to Tokyo and therefore pushing on to Paris. He would basically mock them and roll his eyes to others about it, indicating he thought they were morons without a chance and that they were wasting their time.

r562, yes he basically can't see without them. He used to compete with them on.

[quote] Gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik's mother in the stands (with her husband) was the most unkempt relative of an athlete I've ever seen. Knowing she might be in TV, this broad did not even comb her hair, never mind apply a modicum of makeup or a top other than a T-shirt.

The cameramen were being quite cunty.

You can tell that they loved focusing on his Aspie mother.

I think that Stephen is quite cute, but probably Aspie also.

[quote]And has been known to just act rudely or more superior than the others. He's also publicly ridiculued/laughed at some of his teammates who didn't make it to Tokyo and therefore pushing on to Paris. He would basically mock them and roll his eyes to others about it, indicating he thought they were morons without a chance and that they were wasting their time.

Ok, so a basic DLer type. What's the problem?

Here he is being interviewed.

Stephen seems okay. I don't notice any kind of attitude from him.

He's very cute, and he has a banging body too.

He's giving off some major Clark Kent vibes.

Paul Juda is a cutie. His mother’s lovely looking. Poles are a very pretty people.

[quote] Don Jr. Slams ‘Satanic’ Olympics Opening: ‘Mom Was Olympian’

Donald Trump Jr. hopped on the Satanic panic bandwagon after part of the Paris Olympic Games' opening ceremony included drag queens posing in a style he found reminiscent of da Vinci's “The Last Supper.”

“It’s such a shame that an event that used to create so much national pride now creates, at best, indifference,” he wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, showing more interest in Renaissance art than had been previously appreciated. “Using the games to push woke ideology has zero to do with anything the games stands for.”

The former president’s son called the scene “seemingly satanic,” and revived an apparently false claim that his late mother was an Olympian. In 1988, Ivana Trump said she was selected as an alternate for the Czechoslovakia ski team at the 1972 Olympics in Grenoble. But that statement was later denied by the Czech Olympic Committee.

Ivana Trump, Don Jr.’s late mother, claimed to be an Olympian as part of the Czechoslovakian ski team, a claim disputed by its successor, the Czech Olympic Committee.

Trump Jr.’s comments echoed a growing number of users on the app scandalized by the drag queens including Elon Musk who wrote “Unless there is more bravery to stand up for what is fair and right, Christianity will perish.”

While Kansas City Chiefs’ kicker and controversial Catholic, Harrison Butker quoted a verse from Galatians.

Don Jr.’s late mother Ivana was seen with drag queen Miss Understood in New York City in 1998.

“Man-o-sphere” influencer, conspiracy theorist and accused rapist Andrew Tate also chimed in, claiming the tableau showed how, “Satanists control the west and they show you that they worship the devil.”

“Disgusting” and “Sodom and Gomorrah” were among the top trending phrases on the app after the ceremony

According to the Olympic Committee, however, the blasphemy allegations were misplaced, explaining that the performance was an interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus that “makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.”

What kind I’d suck fuck looks at that and sees Jesus?

La veuve Angélil était phénoménale!

[quote]According to the Olympic Committee, however, the blasphemy allegations were misplaced, explaining that the performance was an interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus that “makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.”

It is a silly controversy. Not every scene with a bunch of people on one side of a table is meant to be a re-interpretation of the Last Supper, and this one certainly wasn't. I thought the grotesquely obese woman in blue in the middle with the headdress was offensive, but that only ties to the sin of gluttony.

The only thing missing from the opening ceremonies was Grace Jones singing La Vie en Rose.

"Worst, tackiest, cheapest looking Opening Ceremony ever!"

I appreciate they tried something different. It was clearly made for TV (I know, that's obvious). I know it's still geared towards TV when it's in the main stadium per usual, but I still think it works better for an assembled audience. I like the big stadium Opening ceremonies when all the teams walk out and around the track and there's stuff happening in the center of the field and on a stage. And you can really feel the collective energy of the massive crowd.

If you saw the Imagine performance this means nothing

All the people whining about it not being in a stadium are tiresome. Go back and watch ever other opening ceremony in history. Some people are happy that Paris did something different and that only Paris could do.

[quote]According to the Olympic Committee, however, the blasphemy allegations were misplaced, explaining that the performance was an interpretation of the Greek God Dionysus that “makes us aware of the absurdity of violence between human beings.”

C'est des conneries !

Gaga comments on her performance. I didn't catch the dancer wipeout!

I'm in love with this Paraguayan rower. This is why we love the Olympics!

For some reason the "For You" section on Twitter was showing me tweets about an Irish/Israel badminton match last night and fucking hell the comments by Irish people about "the Jew" would have been normal in 1930s Germany.

There's a Mexican gymnast with a BLUE FRINGE? I wonder what her pronouns are?

Nit sure, but we can call you an asshole at all times, r581, and be perfectly on-target

Oh calm down R582

Could you cite an instance in which that phrase has ever worked, r583? Why can't you just stop being a cunt? We know that works.

Part 2 thread for when this one fills up.

Lots of women's sports today. Not as interesting.

There's women's gymnastics, but it's just the qualifying round.

The Mexican gymnast is Alexa Moreno, the first Mexican gymnast to win a world medal. She was heavily featured in commercials during the Tokyo Olympics as she was expected to medal in vault, but ended up just missing Bronze.

Look at the thighs on Javier Insfran, R579.

Faster!

Higher!

Firmer!

[quote] Look at the thighs ...

R589 I'm also noticing how the hemline of his shorts is somewhat higher on his right thigh, probably because the material has to stretch around what's up above on that side.

As expected, the rains messed up the plans for the Seine.

Let's close this thread down so there's no confusion.

OK.

Fine.

I'll.

Do.

It.

Vive la France!