Dislike Kelly Clarkson. She adds no interest and is boring. What does she have to do with sports at all? Peyton Manning is good. Mike Tirico is a professional and seems relaxed. I much prefer Hoda and Savannah’s airtime.
@lookingforanswers , wwe watched the entire thing and it was absolutely pouring most of the time.
I actually just kept thinking about all the expensive pianos. Two were surely destroyed with the rain, and the other was surely destroyed by fire. I did like the emphasis on piano music though.
We really disliked Kelly Clarkson’s commentary and ended up turning the opening ceremonies off. We DVR’d the rest and may flip through highlights at some point.
I am glad others noticed the Can Can dancers lack of synchronicity. I thought I was just being a dance parent that was very critical! Or maybe it was suppose to be comical.
I recorded so I could forward through what I didn’t want to watch, so just watching now. It is a shame the weather was so bad.
Talking to my 93 year old mother this morning; she was very concerned that the athletes were in the cold rain for hours and had no place to sit. She is very worried that many will be sick and not able to compete.
For the Moulin Rouge dancers, the conditions were terrible. They stood in the rain for quite some time before making their way down to a very narrow strip to perform. I think the weather conditions were significantly underestimated. I got a weather alert on my phone!
Yes, it was a poor performance. But that weather! And that they never had the chance to rehearse! It was unfortunate, but we gave them a pass. We were concerned they may slip and fall and could sense the hesitancy some seemed to feel.
Does anyone have an explanation for Gaga being selected to perform? I’m not aware of a connection with France.
I could understand Celine as a French Canadian… and the impact her performance would have after years of health struggles. I admit it. I cried. My family made fun of me but I own it.
French singer-songwriter Juliette Armanet sang the 1971 hit during the 2024 Paris Olympics, accompanied by French musician Sofiane Pamart on piano.
Misc fun facts about Imagine’s connection with the Olympics:
Stevie Wonder first sang “Imagine” at the closing ceremonies of the 1996 Games in Atlanta, Georgia, according to Vanity Fair. (I was there!) A decade later, Peter Gabriel followed suit during the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Games in Turin, Italy.
John Lennon himself performed “Imagine” — via a remastered video, accompanied by a choir from his hometown of Liverpool — at the 2012 games in London. South Korean artists Ha Hyun-woo of Guckkasten, Ahn Ji-young of K-pop duo Bolbbalgan4, Jeon In-Kwon of Deulgukhwa, and solo artist Lee Eun-mi took turns singing the verses at the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. John Legend along with Angélique Kidjo, Keith Urban, and Alejandro Sanz — performed it via a recording at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. It came back again in 2022 in Beijing, albeit in another, anonymous recording rather than a live show.
I was lucky enough to be at both the opening and closing ceremonies. It was an amazing experience.
We attended as many events as we could manage. The bombing… we’d just left that area and were walking to the MARTA train, heard the boom then people started running our way. We opted to walk the 3-4 miles home rather than place ourselves in a crowded train car. We didn’t know what was happening and if there may be more attacks in crowded areas.
My family and I went to the '96 Olympics in Atlanta. The events we wanted to see were scheduled later, so we didn’t go to the opening ceremonies. We did go to the closing ceremonies
I mostly enjoyed the opening events last night; we watched on NBC. I think Celine Dione gave an amazing performance as did Juliette Armanet. Also, I can’t imagine performing in a cold rain; it must have been difficult for the performers. The only part of what I watched that didn’t do much for me was the commentary. Mike Tirico was fine, but Kelly Clarkson and Peyton Manning??? Why? They really added very little, especially Peyton Manning. You would think NBC might prep them before the event?
