World's Beginning!

Rings Of Fire

The Olympic Opening Ceremony - there's no getting around it, it's probably been the biggest telly event of the year, seen by more people than the Jubilee (I believe it was estimated to be 1bn viewers worldwide), and probably of more interest to many than the events themselves... by 'many' I mean me, obviously. I don't feel the right to comment on the events themselves because I've had a life-long indifference-bordering-on-hatred of athletics meaning that I should rightly be ignored when it comes to the subject. The opening ceremony is likely to be the only part of London 2012 that I will engage with on any level. So I made the effort to engage with it whole-heartedly.

But first, predictably, let's get all the bitchy gossipy stuff covered. It's caused a little bit of political contoversy that I (perhaps naively) hadn't expected; people claimed the ceremony was some kind of leftist propaganda. I'm talking, of course, about the man Twitter loves to hate this week, Adrian Burley. But then again, it's not just him. He's been the person who has been singled out most for his ignorant views, but he's far from the only one. Toby Young's piece in today's Sun for instance also seems shockingly backward.

For those who haven't seen them, here are the tweets wot Adrian Burley did that caused all the controversy:

"The most leftie opening ceremony I have ever seen - more than Beijing, the capital of a communist state! Welfare tribute next?"

"Thank God the athletes have arrived! Now we can move on from leftie multi-cultural crap. Bring back red arrows, Shakespeare and the Stones!"

This is is ignorant nonsense from a man previously best known for attending parties dressed as a Nazi, and in that context are actually not remarkable. (And perhaps he missed the fact that the whole thing started with Ken Branagh quoting from The Tempest?) He probably figured he's got nothing to lose by ttolling the world, because people will mention him again (and he certainly scored a few radio interviews out of it).

Where did this idea come from that multi-culturalism is somehow a party political thing, something that only appeals to Labour voters? And that aside - frankly, what do you expect from an Olympic event? You know, something where every single culture in the world is there? Some people have argued more convincingly that the event wasn't multi-cultural enough, which although I don't actually agree with, I can appreciate the viewpoint more.

And before we move on, YES "the welfare tribute next." YES. Because, apart from universal sufferage, it's about the biggest thing that has been beneficial to every single person living in Britain since Britain was made up in a room somewhere. More than fancy planes flying and globally-renowned poets (and people who can run very fast for that matter).  It's one of the few things that Britain can boast about without it feeling like it's rolling in the mud of its own history.

Toby Young bemoans the lack of millitary history represented in the ceremony. Let's just think this through. A slightly dense child could tell you that a millitary force exists to fight other countries. When you've got all the countries in the world there, is it really a good idea to say, 'Hey Germany, France, India, Argentinia and a bunch of other people who talk all different to what we do, this is what we used to dress like when we killed your ancestors; didn't we look cool?' It's embarrassing enough having a reputation as a country that can't stop thinking about WWII, to the point where we look like we yearn for the good old days of being able to shoot at foreingers and claim moral authority. I dont't think having Spitfires swooping over the audience to the tune of the Dambusters would have had much appeal to anyone apart from a relative minority of Brits.

So, basically when Young says there should have been more for Tories to enjoy, what did he want? He wanted us to have Wellington and and Nelson and more references to WWII. Well. I'm not sure that's a 'Tory Thing', it's a 'People Of A Certain Age Thing'; most people below 45 appreciate these people at best as important figures from Britain’s history, but not representative of what it means to be British today. This was not intended to be 'The Ladybird Guide to Great Britons... Live!' but a chance to show the world that Britain is colourful and has a distinctive voice in the world.  Our main asset is our diversity and our pride in our mongrel heritage, and this is what I thought was being celebrated.

Of course what Young really wants to do is rile social-lefties like me into writing earnest blogs like this one, so fair enough Mr Young - mission accomplished.

So enough of what right-wing politicians and journalists thought of the opening ceremony; what did I think? Well, I really enjoyed it, up until the part where all the various countries of the world walked past. Pro-multicultralism as I am, I went to bed, because it took about 20 minutes of watching smiling athletes strolling past at a leisurely pace and we were still on Austria.  Before then though, I thought there were lots of clever sequences, and I especially liked the blending of film and theatre (although I thought the much-lauded 'Queen-arriving-via-helicopter' bit didn't quite hold together, continuity-wise; how did the Duke of Edinbugh arrive next to her? Perhaps he arrived via a different helicopter.  With Steed at the controls). Rowan Atkinson proved that he still can be funny and although I didn't actually see Macca, it was kind of a given that Paul McCartney would be there somewhere.  He's always invited to these things, because John Lennon continues to be unavailable.

I think the best summary of what the whole thing 'meant' came from my good friend @MrDougelaars. I paraphrase, but he summed it up as :

"It was just Lord of the Rings, really, wasn't it? We started in the green and pleasant land of the Shire, then Isengard kind of grew around it, we saw burning rings in the sky, and there was at least an hour of people walking and walking until everyone was bored."  Tolkien was British and wrote a story beloved by millions of people worldwide; not such a bad way of celebrating British culture at all!