Above: the Olympic laurel crown used as an architectural motif on one of our more important public buildings. The British team is currently third in the gold medal table. Given Boris Johnson’s classicist background, perhaps he should welcome the team back to London with a traditional arch of victory (albeit one made of white cardboard and completely recyclable).
My immediate boss is the agency’s Creative Director Marc Baxter. This morning I asked him what he would do if he were made Creative Director of the 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony. He sprung into life, as if he had been waiting for someone to ask him that very question:
“The first thing I’d do is cut out all the politics and nationalism. No national stereotypes, no nationalistic visions, no politicians glad-handing everyone. And no kitsch, no tacky celebrities, no faded pop stars.
“I would entirely refocus it on sport. We have a tremendous sporting heritage in this country. A huge number of sports were invented in this country.
“I would design an Opening Ceremony that had three main things going for it. First all the sport that Britain has given to the world, including the non-Olympic sports. Second I would showcase all the sports that are currently played in London, which must be pretty much every single sport, with information and interactive links so you can find out more and start to get involved straight away.
“Thirdly I would focus on British sporting disasters…” (here he gave that bear-with-me look he sometimes uses on clients) “…because one of the greatest traditions we have given the world is that it’s okay to fail, that it’s the taking part that counts. So I’d do that in a humourous self-deprecating way. And I would also deliberately scale things down so everything is on a more human level.
“We need to say in twenty-twelve that you don’t have to be a megalomaniac state with billions to spend. Putting on the Olympics should be within the reach of all nations, even the poorer ones. Our economy is as big as China’s – we could outspend them if we chose to, but we choose not to do so.
“And as a legacy I would turn the Olympic park into a sports university, turning out Olympic athletes for the future.”
Article by Mick Hume (one of The Times nastiest and most negative writers - Editor of The Times is James Harding): http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/mick_hume/article755328.ece
5 comments:
There is not a lot of magic on that idea. Maybe asociating every sport to the period when it was created but in a imaginative way... People want to see exotic and surprising things that your country have and see only where all those sports born would be quite impersonal isn't it? I would use your rich magic world too (your tales tradition, the fairies country...), it's perfect to make a ceremony.
We will see today what the British demonstrate in the chinese ceremony.
Mmm, and to demonstrate to the world what a bunch of sports you created is quite nationalist... I say this because your friend didn't want nationalism (really I find a bit of nationalism is ok, you have to be proud of your country -in a cultural way-).
My own fear Iaia is that the "home made" element is going to prevail. For instance, we have at the hand-over ceremony a London bus (what might be called an "anorak" icon), David Beckham (who is past his prime) and a "rock star" I have never heard of. Plus I think the creepy Tony Blair is out there somewhere and will try to get in on the act.
It's probably going to be embarrasing.
At my home we were all thinking “what the hell is doing Beckham there?” It has been a really bad idea, because Beckham is not that popular out there (in fact, he is quite mocked) and he is not an Olympic sportsman at all; quite insulting to the people who do real efforts to go to the Olympic Games.
I liked when the bus arrived. It’s a strong and friendly icon that works (from the point of view of a foreigner, of course) but it's true, the rest of icons made the representation so grey.
If they wanted to do something iconic inspired in London, maybe those people wearing umbrellas had to have represented the most known districts of London as the bus travelled around the scenario (alegoric dresses inspired in every district or historical ones). And every district could represent a part of the culture, tradition, people and history of London… That’s more an idea for the ceremony, isn’t it? London has too personality to waste the ceremony with pop singers and umbrellas. The city has a lot of things that can be used.
PS. The major of London has weird legs.
A lot of the trouble is the 1960s generation (ie people born in the 1940s) are now the "establishment" in Britain, and they see everything in terms of themselves and their own selfish and self-obsessed way of looking at the world.
That is why I was a bit suspicious of the handover ceremony - a 1960s rock "star", a "swinging London" red bus and an aging footballer (standing in for the 1966 World Cup heros?).
You are lucky in Spain to escape this. For all of my life the 1960s generation have been pushing themselves to the centre of the stage saying "look at me". I wish someone could say to them: why don't you just give it a rest.
Now that generation is in their 60s and they STILL think they are the most important people in the country. In today's Observer Joan Bakewell was going on about how the younger generations will be forced to respect her generation because of demographic numbers - she forgets that when she was young it was her generation that destroyed respect for older people. Or perhaps she doesn't forget, she just chooses to misrepresent the truth (as she often does).
Sorry to go off on a tangent. Possibly now Ken Livingstonw has gone and younger people are in charge we might escape the 1960s recycled garbage.
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