London Olympics Closing Ceremonies

As readers of my blog will know, I like to put in my own two cents' worth of commentary on all the Olympics ceremonies and London is no different.

Now everyone has their own musical taste and favourites. I am not going to weigh in with the myriad of comments about the choices of musical stars for the London Closing Ceremonies as have countless others. Suffice it to say, there was something for everyone and the event left little doubt that it was all about the British contribution to pop music. How it was executed and the production values of that execution are another matter.

For an event that was not as technical as Beijing, I think that the producers did a really credible job, especially with the stadium lighting, that in my view, made the show. Sure, a few times key show components were left in the dark, but overall, it was well done. Again, as in the opening, the lighting in the seating was fabulous and provided an awesome stage backdrop for the musical acts.

Audio though, left a lot to be desired. Lip synching at events of this magnitude unfortunately seems to be the norm now. Some performers were well rehearsed; others not so. Of course producers have to do it. For any of you out there who have attempted anything even remotely as complex, you will realize that it is virtually impossible to pull off this type of event with its continuous - and rapid - stage changes without some technical glitches, hence the need for pre-recording. It also allows for improved audio in the massive arena environment so that volume - and feedback - no longer becomes a concern. Certainly for fixed stage acts, it becomes easier to perform live; however, for moving acts, it is a lot harder (can you say Spice Girls?). A notable exception last night was the Brazilian presentation which, I am pretty sure, was all live. As a result, the audio suffered and so did the impact of the presentation because the volume that was needed FOR the impact was just not there. How or why this happened, I won't even speculate on.

The theatrics of changing the acts and of presentation was generally very creative. It was essentially a basic alternating of stages, one in the centre of the stadium and the other at the end of the stadium, Nothing complicated there. Several of the entrances and exits and transformations were cool, though. My personal favourites were:

1. Entrance of Annie Lennox on some sort of demonic pirate ship (wasn't thrilled with her performance but liked the ship).
2. Morphing of Russell Brand's bus into a giant octopus.
3. The Spice Girls' entrance and drive-around in LED-illuminated London taxis.
4. Building of a giant pyramid of white blocks carried by costumed and choreographed volunteers to the Kate Bush song "Running Up That Hill."
5. John Lennon's 3D face.
6. Eric Idle's resurrection and performance.

Overall, I enjoyed the variety of acts and the general production although some of the meaning of the segments was probably lost on the global audience. A good effort.

A Review of the Creative Part of the London Olympics Opening Ceremonies

Well, it's taken two or three viewings of the London Opening Ceremonies but, as promised, here are my thoughts on them.

First of all - and costs aside - don't even attempt to compare them with the Beijing Opening Ceremonies. They both come from opposite ends of the conceptual spectrum. Beijing concentrated on technological spectacle augmented by precision choreography of massive numbers of performers. London concentrated on pseudo-spontaneous theatricality augmented by technology. Producer Danny Boyle's theatre and movie background was obvious as he wove a story line of British history since the 19th century with music, dance, and technology. Although at times it was convoluted and quirky, it nevertheless was ultimately very successful. Here are some of my personal favourite moments and also some questionable moments.

Favourite Moments and Concepts - What Worked

1. Slightly over-the-top steampunk meets the computer age opening segment of toiling 19th century workers and the construction of the Olympic rings. Great special effects, good design of the rising smokestacks, well-costumed performers, wonderful drummers and music. The choice of Sir Kenneth Branagh to play the part of engineer I.K. Brunel (he built some of the world's largest steamships, railways, bridges, etc,etc) was a good one.
2. Fabulous segment on the National Health Service. Mike Oldfield's instrumental rock music was spot on and an interesting choice. The kids were all great, as they were for all segments, and were obviously an important ingredient for the entire ceremonies. The flying monsters and multitude of Mary Poppins were a cool idea and added to the fantasy. Good choreography of them and hospital staff.
3. Use of comedy. Boyle did a great job of combining video and live performance for comedy. Of particular note was the Queen's arrival accompanied by "James Bond" and for me, Mr. Bean's participation as a musician and dreaming Olympic runner in which he nicely added the "Bean" touch to the beach running scene from the movie "Chariots of Fire."
4. Use of technology. Rigging, general stadium lighting, fireworks were all excellent. There was a lot of rigging for flying and it was amazing that nothing got mixed up. Audio, except for a couple of very momentary lapses, was almost perfect for such a large venue. I never counted the number of suspended line arrays around the stadium but there were a lot. Of special mention, however, was the use of LED panels attached to each seat which allowed for complete control of the audience graphics. It must have been a huge cost but forever ended worries about whether audience members would hold up signs at the right time. Also brilliant was the first-time use of social media in the performances - or at least the reference to it. Interestingly, a web site called "emoto" (http://www.emoto2012.org) actually began on the first day of the Olympics and can track and graph the emotional responses of audiences based on all the tweets coming in on a particular subject. Worth checking out.
5. Music. Apart from everything else, the ceremonies were about music and the amazing legacy left to the world by British musicians. From children's choirs and traditional songs, to the new age rock of Oldfield, to the British invasion, and modern bands, there was no end of material for Boyle to use to back up the dancers and performers. Performances by the children's choirs all over Britain, "Abide with Me" sung by Emeli Sande, the Arctic Monkeys' performance, the wildly colourful musical/dance segment from the 50s to the present were all fabulous.
6. Olympic cauldron. Very creative design, and all the arms - or maybe they were flowers - worked!!

What Did Not Work

1. Starting British history in the 19th century. I was a bit disappointed that Boyle chose to begin his history lesson with the 19th century rather than include some of the more distant exciting past of the British Isles, like Stonehenge, the Magna Carta, and the unique character of the Scottish, Irish, and Welsh peoples. I'm sure he must have agonized on where to begin as there is only so much time allotted.
2. Why David Beckham to carry the flame at an important juncture? He's never been an Olympian that I know of.
3. Why Paul McCartney to end it all? He would not have been my personal choice. I think he struggled with trying to get a huge stadium crowd to participate in "Hey, Jude." If Boyle wanted an aging rocker why not someone a little more musically eloquent, like Sting or Eric Clapton? Or if he wanted just plain old-fashioned stadium rock, why not prune-faced Mick and the Stones? "Start me Up" would easily have them all rocking. Again, it's probably just me.

Apart from these very minor points, I think Boyle scored a bullseye. Well done!

London Olympics Opening Ceremonies: My Guess at Creative Content

Well, it's getting very close to Olympics Opening Ceremonies time - less than a week to go. Authorities are not revealing much about creative content except to say the following (from their web site): 

"Work has now started to install the set for the opening scene of the Ceremony, which is called ‘Green and Pleasant’. On entry to the Olympic Stadium in east London the audience will see a scene that represents a traditional and idyllic view of the British countryside.

The whole of the field of play in the Stadium will be transformed into the rolling British countryside as the London 2012 Ceremonies Team creates one of the largest sets ever built. The set will be complete with meadows, fields and rivers, and featuring families taking picnics, sport being played on the village green and farmers tilling the soil whilst real farmyard animals graze – including 12 horses, 3 cows, 2 goats, 10 chickens, 10 ducks, 9 geese, 70 sheep, and 3 sheep dogs.

Each of the four nations will be represented by their national flower – the rose of England, the thistle of Scotland, the daffodil of Wales and flax from Northern Ireland. 

Titled 'Isles of Wonder', the Olympic Opening Ceremony will open with the ringing of the largest harmonically-tuned bell in the world and is predicted to be viewed live by a worldwide TV audience of over a billion people.

Danny Boyle, London 2012 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony Artistic Director, said: ‘The Ceremony is an attempt to capture a picture of ourselves as a nation, where we have come from and where we want to be. The best part of telling that story has been working with our 10,000 volunteers.

'I’ve been astounded by the selfless dedication of the volunteers, they are the purest embodiment of the Olympic spirit and represent the best of who we are as a nation.’"

I tried to guess the general content of the Beijing ceremonies and was pretty close as they did indeed focus on their extraordinary ability to marshall large numbers of people into a coordinated performance. I do not see that as much for the London ceremonies. I think it is going to be more focused on their history starting as far back as Stonehenge and including a lot of the culture from Scotland, Ireland and Wales as well as England. Look for original adaptations of the music of these countries as well as the historical content done in wildly creative ways (maybe advancing hordes of Picts, Celts, Romans, or Vikings!!?). I doubt they will try to match the technical wizardly of Beijing, preferring instead to use the theatrical approach of a woven story to the show. 

We shall see. I'll be back after the ceremony in a week. And don't forget to tune them in - or set your PVR - at 9:00pm GMT on Friday, July 27th.

Check out more at http://www.london2012.com/spectators/ceremonies/opening-ceremony/index.html.

Finally - An Organization for Event Producers

Ever since I began in this crazy business in the mid-1980s, I have felt like an orphan. Why? Because I did something nobody else seemed to do. I acted as a coordinator for all things technical in an event as well as dreaming up creative ideas for decorating and staging the event. I was not a planner or manager. Heck, I hated coordinating buses and airline flight arrivals. Couldn't stand arranging hotel bookings and registrations. Catering was not really my thing. But leave me to the creative and "making the show happen" and I was in my glory. It took a few years, but eventually I realized that the term that defined me was "event producer." Now everyone wants to be one. After all, it's what "causes the applause."

At long last, there is now an advocacy organization for event producers called the Live Show Producers Guild of America (LSPGA), although I am baffled as to why it has to be restricted to America, since they risk alienating many unbelievably talented producers from the rest of the world. Well, let's at least give them a chance. They've only been established since May 2012.

My request for information from them has not been acknowledged but their web site provides quite a bit of information. Supposedly they advocate for anyone who may be a part of a live event production management team, from the Executive Producer down to stage managers. They go on to state that "the LSPGA also welcomes technicians, artisans, crafts people, and essential service providers in the live entertainment industry to be part of the community by becoming involved in their Recommended Services network." According to them, live events include "special events, sport events, live theatre, theme attraction shows, trade shows, touring concerts, and more." Like me, they recognize that such an organization is long overdue.

I think it bodes well for the industry that this organization is now in existence. What would really help clients and make the industry more accountable is to use this organization as not only one for advocating for its members but also one for policing its members. By this I mean that for the far too many event disasters that annually are caused by technical problems - already there is at least one major stage roof collapse in 2012 - the LSPGA should set up an investigative body to determine what happened and have the authority to allocate appropriate punishment, be it membership restrictions, fines, or whatever. This would certainly make the industry at least appear to be accountable to the outside world.

Lastly, they have the stated noble goal of providing accreditation for those in the production business. Again, very worthy. However, if past experience in special events and other "professions" is any indication, this accreditation should be accomplished by a completely independent body and not the advocacy body. But, hey, at least they are starting and for that I give them full credit.

Check them out at http://www.lspga.org.

The Greatest Parade Ever Held?

About a year ago, I promised more posts about ancient events. This post is about another of the many spectacles that occurred throughout history.

In or around 278 BCE, a spectacular event was held in Egypt. Not long after he came to power, Ptolemy II, the son of Ptolemy I (a general and close friend of Alexander the Great), staged a monumental procession the likes of which had never been seen before in the ancient world. Event planners and producers of today could learn some creative lessons from this spectacle.

At the time, Egypt was enmeshed in a series of struggles amongst the diadochi, the generals from Alexander the Great's army and their successors who were competing for the remains of the gigantic empire that had been carved out across western Asia and northern Africa. Ptolemy I and his son were part of this group of competitors. Egypt was rich in raw materials, precious gems, and food. It was one of the most sought-after regions of the empire.

Ptolemy II's goal in staging the event was supposedly to impress and intimidate his political rivals with the sheer magnitude of Egypt's military might and incredible wealth of resources.

So that is the first interesting aspect to this event. Another is the sheer intrigue and mix of personalities involved. They include: Ptolemy II, a voluptuary and dilettante and the son of Ptolemy I; and Arsinoe II, a strong-willed beauty thirsting for political power, and a woman easily the intellectulal equivalent of her future more famous relative, Cleopatra VII. She was the daughter of Ptolemy I and, if history is to be believed, eventually the wife of her brother, Ptolemy II. It was this marriage that later resulted in Ptolemy II being forever known as "Philadelphus" or "loving one's sister."

Finally, all this takes place in Alexandria, the most beautiful, advanced city in the world at that time, thanks to the ingenuity of these same Ptolemies. For want of comparison, it was in those days a contemporary mixture of the debauchery of a Las Vegas and the sophistication of a Paris, London, or New York.

Let us imagine, then, this great city spread out in its whitewashed splendour beside the Mediterranean. It's around the middle of February, 278 BCE.

The superbly designed stone avenue, Boulevard Argeus, stretches southward from the royal palace for stadia. Although sixty cubits wide, it is an ethnic stew approaching the full boil of overflowing excitement under a searing mid-day sun: soldiers with clanking swords on nervous horses; dignitaries in chariots; rich, perfumed matrons in curtained palanquins; bearded Jews with strange hats; black-skinned Nubians; haughty Macedonians in multi-hued chitons; native Egyptians in diaphanous white linens; snorting work elephants; carts filled with tantalizing fruit and vegetables; and official delegations rushing to appointments. Seers, touts, and itinerant street people fight for attention. The city’s normal population of about a hundred thousand has swollen to twice that number in a tidal wave of humanity from countries surrounding the entire Mediterranean. It's the day before the beginning of the first Ptolemaieia, a festival to rival the Olympics with days of athletic and artistic contests to be held in the city's magnificent stadium, known as the Lageion, and theater. Alexandria is the only place to be.

Two weeks later, the event is climaxed. VIP guests of King Ptolemy II and his sister Arsinoe II begin filling the stadium well before sunrise. At the same time, the hordes of commoners and visitors begin lining the city's wide, stoa-bordered boulevards to get the best spots for viewing what is supposed to be the most lavish spectacle ever seen. The excitement is palpable and Ptolemy does not disappoint.

Arsinoe II, sister and wife of Ptolemy II

Ptolemy II and Arsinoe II

Just as the sun rises a golden chariot upon which stands a handsome, winged youth representing Eosphorus, the morning star, and holding aloft a torch that glows brilliantly, enters the stadium to a tumultuous roar. After him come official delegations from the competing kingdoms of the diadochi, the theoroi, plus priests and sacrifices to honor all the Greek gods. They first pass beneath the royal box, and bow profusely to Ptolemy before they circle the stadium in a clockwise direction and exit out the porticoes.

Then Silenoi, followers of the god Dionysus, in purple and scarlet himatia run into the stadium to stop the people in the stands from approaching the parade. They are acting as parade "police."

There follow myriads of other representatives and symbols of the god - satyrs holding gilded lamps…people dressed as Nike with golden wings…then more boys in purple tunics…and forty satyrs with gold crowns and painted bodies. Then the god Hermes…then Penteteris, a voluptuous beauty, tall and adorned with quantities of gold. She has a superb dress. In one hand she’s holding a garland of peach blossoms; the other one has a palm branch...more satyrs with garlands of gold ivy leaves. Then actors from the Guild of the Artists of Dionysus...

Now a section of the procession that represents the mythical life of Dionysus - a large wagon with a hundred eighty slaves pulling it by ropes. It holds a tall statue of Dionysus wearing a purple garment. The statue is posed as if pouring wine out of a golden goblet. A canopy shades the entire statue…another statue that represents Nysa, the place in India where Dionysus was nursed. The statue moves with no person applying his hand to it...the wagon holding the statue is drawn by sixty men and in it the tall female statue is in a sitting position, clothed in a gold tunic. She stands up on her own, pours milk out of a golden bottle, and then sits down again. She is crowned with gold ivy leaves and holds a thyrsus. A parasol shades the wagon.

Next come over three hundred slaves pulling a huge cart on which is a gigantic wine press full of grapes. Sixty satyrs trample the grapes, singing a song in praise of the wine press to flute music. The bald and fat, drunken tutor of Dionysus, Silenus, presides over them. The newly-pressed wine runs out from the bottom of the cart, leaving a purple trail in the dirt of the stadium track. Then another wagon even larger than the last with six hundred men drawing it. There’s a sack on it of sewn leopards’ skins that must hold three thousand measures of wine. This cart too allows its contents to escape onto the track…and now more bumbling fools—a hundred twenty satyrs and silenoi, all wearing garlands. They too carry casks of wine, bowls, and gold goblets…then sixteen hundred boys crowned with ivy and vine leaves and clad in knee-length white chitons march smartly through the stadium porticoes. They all carry a variety of gold and silver wine coolers. After them, hundreds more boys enter carrying drinking cups. They run up into the crowded seats and offer the entire audience a draught of sweet Mareotic wine, refilling the cups from the coolers as necessary.

More "floats" with statues and scenes follow - a wagon decorated as the bed chamber of Semelê, the mother of Dionysus and another decorated as a large cave, the cave where Dionysus was raised. Live doves and pigeons fly out of the cave for the people to catch by long threads attached to their legs. The cave also has running fountains of milk and wine...another wagon containing a beautifully painted statue of the god riding on an elephant. Sitting in front of him on the elephant’s neck is a satyr crowned with a golden chaplet...then five troops of asses ridden by crowned silenoi and satyri...

Sarcophagus with Triumph of Dionysus - Marble from the island of Proconnesus, Turkey

Courtesy http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerub-baal/2534611388/

 These scenes were depicted in much greater size and with much greater pomp in the Grand Procession, but no artistic renderings exist of the procession.

The next section of the procession is preceded by the singularly unattractive smell of wild animals...twenty-four chariots drawn by four elephants each enter the stadium, clouds of dust surrounding them and covering the spectators on the lower rows of seats...The elephants randomly trumpet, snort and deposit their breakfast on the track, adding to the general stench and mess... then a ridiculous parade of foreign animals pulling chariots ensues—goats, antelopes, buffaloes, ostriches, zebras. Two costumed boys also ride on every animal. Camels carrying spices bring up the rear, but there's much more - huntsmen with thousands of dogs…men carrying trees with birds and beasts of every country…hundreds and hundreds of sheep, Ethiopian oxen, an immense white bear, leopards, panthers, lynxes, caracal, vast numbers of horses, enormous lions, a cameleopard, and a rhinoceros.

A depiction of ancient Alexandria looking southwest along one of the wide boulevards (Meson Pedion)

on which the Grand Procession could have travelled

By now it is well into the afternoon and the procession of symbols, floats, and wealth continues with some politically subtle messages of the time - a cart with a large colorfully painted statue of Dionysus flying to the altar of Rhea, the earth mother, being pursued by his real mother Hera. Priapus, his son, stands by him crowned with gold ivy leaves. The second cart contains exquisitely designed statues of Alexander and Ptolemy I, both crowned with gold. A statue of Arête with a gold crown stands beside Ptolemy. Again, another statue of Priapus is with them, wearing a gold crown of ivy leaves. A fourth statue wearing a golden diadem and representing the city of Corinth also stands beside Ptolemy. The two carts are followed by women in sumptuous dresses, jewelry, and gold crowns. They all hold signs announcing cities in Ionia, Greece, Asia, and islands, all of which were under Persian control before Alexander conquered them.

There follow two chariots with oversize symbols of the cult of Dionysus. The first has a golden thyrsus ninety cubits long and a silver spear sixty cubits long; the second contains a gigantic golden phallus a hundred twenty cubits long wreathed with golden garlands and having on the end a golden star six cubits in circumference. Right after this are three hundred musicians with gold crowns and playing gold kithara enter the stadion. Immediately after, a tremendous dust cloud returns. It precedes the entry of two thousand black sacrificial bulls adorned with gilded horns, gold frontlets, gold crowns in the middle of their foreheads, gold necklaces, and gold breastplates. 

The procession must surely be near the end. A magnificently decorated golden statue of Alexander rolls in, borne on a chariot drawn by lumbering elephants, their snouts constantly swinging. Beside him stand statues of Nike, the companion of Zeus and the winged goddess of victory, and Athena, the goddess of war. An ivory and gold throne for Ptolemy Soter (Ptolemy I) is paraded in by slaves. On it is a crown made of ten thousand gold coins. It is followed by numbers of similar thrones, some of which hold crowns and some golden horns, then an obnoxious display of wealth - hundreds of gifts, items of booty, and seemingly useless icons carried in by slaves or creaking, shiny carts. Most of the items are oversized exaggerations of what they represent.

What appears to be the end approaches as the first ranks of the infantry march in step into the stadium, all in polished bronze breastplates and helmets. They carry sarissas. In ranks of ten abreast, there are 57,600 of them. The infantry is then followed by 23,200 cavalry, all in polished brass with helmet feathers flying. The whole army takes almost three hours to pass through the stadium. It is a truly impressive and intimidating example of Egypt’s military might. At the end, night has enveloped the Lageion as Hesperus, the evening star, rolls through in his golden chariot. Just as Eosphorus did, he holds aloft a flaming torch to signal that the spectacle has ended.

So here's my question. Would we even attempt to duplicate such an event today? Would politicians and special interest groups allow it? Would you as an event planner or producer be willing to plan it?

References:

• Athenaeus of Naucratis. The deipnosophists, Volume I, Book V. Yonge, C.D. (Ed.). London: Henry G. Bohn. pp. 287-352. Retreived August 12, 2009, from http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/Literature.AthV1.
• Bennett, C. (2008). Arsinoe II. Egyptian Royal Genealogy. Retrieved April 4, 2009 from http://www.geocities.com/christopherjbennett/index.htm.
• Bevan, E.R. (1927). The House of Ptolemy: A History of Egypt Under the Ptolemaic Dynasty. London: Methuen.
• Lendering, J. (April 9, 2007). First Syrian War (Carian War; 280-279). Livius.Org. Retrieved March 16, 2010, from http://www.livius.org/su-sz/syrian_wars/1a_syrian_war.html.
• Rice, E.E. (1983). The Grand Procession of Ptolemy Philadelphus. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 209-210.
• Tarn, W.W. (Nov.1928). Ptolemy II. The Journal of Egyptian Archaeology 14:3/4. pp. 246-260.