Olympic Ceremony
 

I didn't realise this while watching but...

Boyle’s show did not just focus on the benefits of industry, he looked at the impact of industry on ordinary lives. The growth of cities and the industrialization of war which allowed young men to be mown down by their millions in the battlefields of Europe.
The fallen from all wars were represented by the names of the ‘Accrington Pals’, who lost 500 of their 700 members in the battle of the Somme in the First World War.

Very nice for it to be recognised.

Nice one Mr Boyle

Re: Olympic Ceremony
 

You've said you didn't realise the significance while watching...
Even if it were comprehensible to those in the stadium, I still think most of the rest of the world would not have had a clue what it was all about.

Re: Olympic Ceremony
 

Think you've got a very valid point there Susie

Re: Olympic Ceremony
 

Susie,
Read my post again. At which point did I say that I don't realise the significance?
What I didn't realise was that there was a memorial in the ceremony with the names of the Accrington Pals on it. At no point did the BBC commentary mention this. My brother lives in Australia, their tv commentary mentioned it.
I posted an extract from the Daily Telegraph review of the ceremony.

Chris

Re: Olympic Ceremony
 

Much as was prophesised, the opening ceremony proved to be a mish mash of undecipherable pop related gibberish that the rest of the world would struggle to recognise. Indeed, I was embarrassed at the crass way that our modern youth displayed themselves as being 'hooked' on technology, which just served to demonstrate how far removed they are from the reality of what is going on around them.

Re: Olympic Ceremony
 

Fair enough, you didnt say that but that is what I took it to mean. I should have read more diligently and perhaps you were not as clear as you thought. But you're right, the BBC didn't mention it.

Re: Olympic Ceremony
 

I think these two quotes from a review of press comments on the BBC website sum up my feelings about other sections of the show and I also totally agree with what you said above.

Former Labour deputy leader Roy Hattersley, The Times:
"Presumably he hoped to capture the ethos of the whole host nation. But it is hard to feel romantic, or even sentimental, about anything as amorphous as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. And it is near impossible to identify characteristics that are common to the Cotswolds and the Gorbals, the Falls Road and the Brecon Beacons without taking refuge in references to 'this happy breed' — a bogus description of the English written by Shakespeare before the kingdoms were united."

Andrew Gilligan, The Telegraph
"The NHS segment in particular underlined how surprisingly parochial this ceremony was. The idea of the Health Service as a beacon for the world is, bluntly, a national self-delusion."

Re: Olympic Ceremony
 

Mention is specifically made in the programme notes available to the media, page 22.

http://www.london2012.com/mm/Documen...DE_English.pdf

I watched this with quite a few members of the military here in Wapping but none of about 30 troops noticed so I guess the BBC was once again at fault.

Re: Olympic Ceremony
 

Great find Tealeaf, enjoyed reading that, thanks.

Chris I couldn't find the comment in any Telegraph reviews on the net, wish you'd posted a link.

Re: Olympic Ceremony
 

The fallen from all wars were represented by the names of the ‘Accrington Pals’, who lost 500 of their 700 members in the battle of the Somme in the First World War.

Very nice for it to be recognised.

Nice one Mr Boyle[/quote]
Thats a load of tripe, the Accrington Pals casualties on the 1/5th July 1916 were well over 600 of the fighting strength of 720.
Wonder where they they got the names from, their not even all listed in Bill Turner's books, even Bill didn't know the true figures, I was getting ready to give Bill the figures when he died, if only I'd been ready 2 hours earlier.

Re: Olympic Ceremony
 

Thats a load of tripe, the Accrington Pals casualties on the 1/5th July 1916 were well over 600 of the fighting strength of 720.
Wonder where they they got the names from, their not even all listed in Bill Turner's books, even Bill didn't know the true figures, I was getting ready to give Bill the figures when he died, if only I'd been ready 2 hours earlier.[/quote]In the media guide posted by Tealeaf above it says the Pals lost over 500 casualties. Will that do?

It also says "To represent the dead, we see the names of some of the 'Accrington Pals' on the screens."

Just watched the scene again on iPlayer, they didn't show the screens on TV so only the folks in the stadium saw them. And they played some awful whistling music which was not at all in keeping.

Re: Olympic Ceremony
 

I am retired and living in Austria. While watching the opening ceremony on Austrian TV I was stunned to hear mention of Accrington in the middle of the German language commentary. Especially moving as the brother of my grandmother was one of the Pals who died on 1st July 1916 and is named as one of the 'Missing of the Somme' on the memorial at Thiepval.