So the Olympics finally ended on Sunday, and now the baton has to be picked up by London. Since the television is hardly ever switched on in my house - except to watch DVDs of my current obsession, Curb Your Enthusiasm — my own enthusiasm for the entire Olympics story was distinctly curbed and I didn’t see any of it till it was very nearly over. But I finally tuned in on Sunday afternoon for the closing ceremony, since I was curious to see the much-heralded British contribution to them that I had even previewed here last week. But if I expressed the thought that “If the current Olympic victories are putting a smile on everyone’s faces, then Sunday’s closing ceremony is sure to keep it there”, I was definitely premature in those hopes.
The discrepancy between China’s seemingly limitless budget to stage the rest of its spectacular closing ceremony and how far we’ve got to go was cruelly demonstrated by this utterly feeble, eight-minute “handover” sequence and only proves that they’ve given us an immensely tough act to follow.
A bunch of dancers prancing around a facsimile red bus (and not even a Routemaster), some with umbrellas, were barely legible, and then a guitarist rocker from Led Zeppelin accompanying Leona Lewis in an indistinct rendition of ‘Whole Lotta Love’ didn’t exactly inspire awe and wonder or suggest much imagination had been used. As one correspondent to London2012.com’s own blog entry on the event put it, “How embarrassing! What a poor effort to represent London 2012. I was cringing in my seat when I saw the London Mayor, with his scruffy appearance and blazer almost falling off his shoulders, step up to take the flag! Then [what] a shambles the 8 minutes segment was! What was the significance of the little girl getting off the bus to collect a football??!! What was the significance of the old guy on guitar? What was the significance of the song that was chosen for Leona Lewis to perform?? What was the significance of the bus queue? I’m lost for words, absolutely lost for words. It was quite an embarrassment to our nation and our athletes, and I sincerely hope London pulls out all the stops to match, hopefully better, the Bejing Olympics when it comes around to 2012… PITYFUL :(”
I saw a far better, more genuinely awe-inspiring spectacle myself on Friday night at the Roundhouse, where I finally caught an old-fashioned variety evening that has been given a dazzling contemporary make-over in Miss Behave’s Variety Nighty — a series of variety and circus trapeze acts put onto the same bill in one of the year’s most entertaining shows so far. The Roundhouse - where I had last spent over 25 hours in all taking in the RSC’s eight-play History cycle earlier this year - contributes its own cathedral-like spectacle to powerfully add to the communal experience of sharing this event, with the auditorium reconfigured with a new welcome intimacy that has cabaret seating at the front and wrap-around stadium seating behind it.
It proves, too, that it is imagination, not money, that creates art; and the best part of it is the democracy of a £15 ticket price across the packed house, no doubt full partly thanks to that low price. There’s also a welcome sense of a continuing history as this long-neglected artform is reclaimed: as a programme note points out, “A cursory glance through the pages of history readily shows that so many of the greats of the last 100 years found their first football in one branch or another of Variety. Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, The Marx Brothers, Bruce Forsyth, Dean Martin, Tommy Cooper, Morecambe and Wise, Jack Benny, Sammy Davis Jnr all started on a bill of mixed performers with an affordable ticket giving access for everyman.”
The talent pool that spawned them is obviously still out there; it just needs to be harnessed (sometimes literally so, in the case of the trapeze acts). This variety show proved that it can still be done; and unlike the sorry spectacle in Beijing, we simply need to be bolder and braver to pull them together. The Olympics “spectacle” felt like “art by committee” - an attempt to encompass too much in too little time that ended up achieving nothing.
But if their representatives in Beijing sadly failed to convey the magic of what they do, the arts groups represented there are also still to be seen in London doing what they do best: in the case of the National Youth Theatre, they are currently in residence mat Soho Theatre in a series of new plays; while fans of ZooNation have just one week left in which to see Into the Hoods at the Novello Theatre. I incidentally drove by there on Friday evening, and it looked like there were mob scenes at the staged door - all thanks to the current presence in the cast of Britain’s Got Talent winner George Sampson! Variety, as the show at the Roundhouse proves, is definitely making a comeback on all fronts.
you're totally right about the embarrassment of London's handover moment . However that "old guy " on the guitar was Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin who for people who follow that sort of thing is one of the great rock guitarists ever. For you I guess it would've been a duet between Anna Neagle and Rory Kinnear. What is most worrisome is that Tessa Jowell and co will probably turn the opening ceremony over to Simon Cowell, David Ian and Andrew Lloyd Webber and any hope of class , taste or artistry is completely fucked.
I would agree with your comments on the Leona Lewis/Jimmy Page although I was thrilled to hear snatches of the Top of the Pops theme, which I have been informed was a Led Zeppelin 'tune'. Leona Lewis is purported to be our biggest current export (?) so I can understand the choice, if not fully agree with it.
I would disagree about the dance segment however, as I felt it pulled together characters from London society and presented them through a well choreographed pieces of modern dance with the musical piece pulling in the London soundscape in a really intersting way.
I think we need to remember that the target for this piece was not the London/English/British viewers but the billions that were watching from around the world. Without being too stereotypical how would you demonstrate the modern city in such a vibrant way and in only 8 minutes?
Lewis was actually a good choice - young, mxed race, brought up and lives close to the 2012 games site and she has experienced true global success this year.
The biggest problem was the sound quality of the televised segment - it seems it was far worse on the BBC than on many foreign broadcasters. The segment was also filmed with the BBC's own cameras and again their work seems to have been a bit shoddy compared to the likes of NBC.
I totally disagree that Britain's segment was "utterly feeble". I had read no previews, didn't know what to expect, and I was surprised, thrilled and delighted by the whole thing. The Whole Lotta Love idea was an invigorating blast of fresh air amid the suffocating wet blanket of the Chinese ceremonies which were inhuman in scale and impersonal in tone.
The football, it seemed obvious to me, signified sport, which was collected by a child representing London from a child representing the children of the world. The "old guy on guitar" is an icon of British music. The song - well, if you need the significance of Whole Lotta Love explaining to you, you should give up now.
But then, anyone who finds Curb Your Enthusiasm amusing is clearly no judge of anything.
It's been said again and again, and if you had been paying any attention to the Olympics coverage you would know this - Britain is not, cannot, and will not, attempt to out do China, or even do the same as them. Britain's Olympics will be a smaller affair, not just because of money but because of our ethos.
I felt what the British sequence had was soul, and fun, and entertainment. Not rigorous militant precision that looks good from a bird's eye view. The handover was a performance incorporating the arts we're so good at (dance, theatre, song) with our own personality, and some eccentricity.
I did think the song was a bit garbled but hearing the old TOTP theme tune was great - that's totally representative of the UK. Okay so the red bus wasn't identikit routemasters - but how many routemasters do you know that open up at the top in sections to elevate a No.1 singer and legendary guitarist?!
I thought it was UK through and through. Including the queueing (v. British!) and the umbrellas (again, a nod to our traditional climate).
Also think I spotted Nicola Benadetti playing the violin when Becks was there, she wasn't much if it was her playing, but again, bringing in all the talented people.
What I have issue with is the focus on youth to the exclusion of all else. As if you can't be fun and energetic and sporty and artistic beyond the age of 18?!