please empty your brain below
I thought the London Olympic cauldron was the poorest ever. An unimpressive cauldron, badly sited inside the stadium so not a beacon visible for visitors to the Olympic park and surrounding area. The view of the cauldron was restricted rather like the view out from one of Heatherwick's /Boris buses. Lets see what he makes of the waste of money garden bridge.

John | 27.07.16 - 7:14 a.m. | #

I was there yesterday actually and loved seeing the cauldron again. I thought it was wonderful when I watched the ceremony on TV and seeing the clips again was weirdly emotional. Fascinating structure and so different

AliE17 | 27.07.16 - 7:44 a.m. | #

Just 4 years later, and everything is different.

Geofftech | 27.07.16 - 7:55 a.m. | #

I've occasionally started watching the Opening Ceremony on YouTube, intending to watch just the couple of minutes of the intro, and finding myself still watching an hour later.

And when I get a chance, I'm going to watch the Making Of which is on iPlayer for the next three weeks.

martin | 27.07.16 - 8:02 a.m. | #

Considering most people watch these things on TV, this is the primary audience, the internet is the secondary audience, the actual crowd in the stadium is secondary.

With the old Wembley Stadium, it looked fantastic on TV, but the actual stadium was a real dump, now it no longer exists, all that's left are the media images, so unless you were there, you'll be left thinking what a wonderful place it was.

| 27.07.16 - 8:48 a.m. | #

I still get a weird tingly feeling when thinking back to those Wonderful days and iconic moments - particularly so as I was in the stadium for the opening ceremony, a real dream come true and something I will genuinely never forget.

| 27.07.16 - 8:51 a.m. | #

I remember being mesmerised by the hiss of the gas pipes and the whoofs of the flames when Betty started to get going (I was one of the marshals protecting the cauldron from the athletes, and the athletes from burning). And partying around the cauldron for an hour afterwards!

t | 27.07.16 - 9:00 a.m. | #

For opening ceremony aficionados, one of the performers took a hidden camera in and also recorded the production audio. It's fascinating:
Olympic Opening Ceremony Hidden Camera - With Performers In Ear Monitor - Full Video

Alex | 27.07.16 - 9:49 a.m. | #

I was surprised by the comment about "the DVD you probably bought". Was it that popular?

Messiah | 27.07.16 - 11:31 a.m. | #

Will have to see this.
Good memories, too, from 2014, when there was a carnival at the QEOP - a pretty impressive one at that - to mark the mid-point between London and Rio

RogerW | 27.07.16 - 11:36 a.m. | #

by January 2013, the BBC's London 2012 DVD had sold 550k copies - making it the best selling sport and fitness DVD.

martin | 27.07.16 - 11:48 a.m. | #

Even the cynics amongst you should watch the Making Of mentioned above.
Terrific tribute to all who made it possible. By rehearsing in the rain in Dagenham for more than most of us would wish to do.

And for those of you who just marvel at the sheer logistics of stuff on that scale.

Peter Cummings | 27.07.16 - 12:14 p.m. | #

I can claim a tangential link to the cauldron in that I had to do a planning application for a "medium pressure gas main" from Maryland direction, into the Olympic Park. From recollection, the low pressure consumer supply was too weak, and the high pressure mains too strong.
On opening ceremony day I was at a house party just over the River Lea - from that vantage point, about half an hour after the royal party arrived by car, we could see the next vehicles down that very restricted access road were two white vans resplendent in National Grid livery, I assume to make sure the gas all worked properly.

Jon B | 27.07.16 - 1:52 p.m. | #

I'm not sure the comment about the spirit of 2012 being very different to 2016 in relation to the tightened security at the Museum of London is fair, I for one have not forgotten the 2005 terrorist attacks on the tube and the earlier IRA attacks far worse UK events before 2012 than after.

Nicks | 27.07.16 - 2:01 p.m. | #

"far worse UK events before 2012 than after" ...question really is if that will still be true say 10, 25 or 50 years hence.

E | 27.07.16 - 2:53 p.m. | #

Are we going to continue to re-live that evening in 2012? Like England's one and only World Cup victory, fifty years ago this month, the London Olympics are over.

That is, unless you want to get from north London to South London this Sunday.............
https://roadclosures.prudentialridelondon.co.uk/

timbo | 27.07.16 - 3:15 p.m. | #

I may be wrong, but I don't remember every visitor to the Museum of London being patted down in say the 1980s, or after 2005.

The question is whether this sort of security theatre actually makes us very much safer from the threat of a nutter with a knife or an axe, or an HGV. Surely crowds of people queuing in the atrium to get through the security cordon are just as much a target as people who have got through it into the actual museum.

Andrew | 27.07.16 - 3:21 p.m. | #

The Museum of London's security patdown zone has been operational since December - I asked - but seemingly only three days a week.

diamond geezer | Homepage | 27.07.16 - 4:33 p.m. | #

Hmm, I hope they vary (and keep secret) which days they do the patting down.

Whether we are justified in feeling more, or less, secure than at various other times in the past is a very subjective question. Historians will probably be arguing extensively about it next century (if there is a next century for humanity --- oops, there I go!).

It's good, though, to be reminded of what, for almost everyone in the UK, was a very special time. Thanks for the post. And a belated thank you, too, to all the games volunteers who made it all possible.

Malcolm | 27.07.16 - 5:05 p.m. | #

Heatherwick, who designed the cauldron, is also involved in the Garden Bridge and probably one of the beneficiaries of this waste of public money even if the bridge is never built. (Thankfully one work does not necessarily devalue another.)

Joachim | 27.07.16 - 6:32 p.m. | #

The London Olympic opening ceremony was a flat out in your face demonic ritual for those with eyes that see. Check out the Chinese handing over ceremony too, where the top of a red London bus was blown off

Mason | 27.07.16 - 9:15 p.m. | #

...and 4 years since I discovered DG with his excellent day by day Olympic coverage

Jeremy D | 27.07.16 - 11:27 p.m. | #

I found the opening ceremony hit and miss, more hit than miss, and at times very emotional. The forging of the rings with Caliban's Dream music can still bring a tear to my eye.

SJM | 27.07.16 - 11:28 p.m. | #











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