The opening ceremony of the 2018 PyeongChang Olympic Games was non-political in a way that actually made it political, but it came off surprisingly well. Regardless of whether you think it is actually possible to have peace with North Korea, the message of unity and hope was encouraging.
If you missed the opening ceremony, here are some highlights:
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It was an incredible display of technology, incorporating videos, drones and futuristic props. Information and ambience were projected across the crowd in the pentagon-shaped stadium with lighted squares by every seat.
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The storyline was led by five cute kids with big dreams!
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Stars and the night sky were used throughout to show the future and possibilities.
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Tigers are a big deal in Korea: a tiger guided the kids across virtual mountains at one point and a set of dancers wore black and white tiger hats (though honestly they looked like panda hats).
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Huge mythical puppets guest-starred throughout the children’s journey.
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Traditional Korean outfits were much in evidence, from the dancers to the flag bearers to the band.
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The Parade of Nations was ordered by the Korean alphabet, meaning it started at Greece and ended somewhere around Tonga. The background music was a succession of K-pop songs, including the infamous Gangnam Style (the US came in during this one).
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Hats: The coolest hats were those of the Nigerian delegation (its women’s bobsled team), which looked like poofy green turbans with sequins. The Mexican flag bearer wore a sombrero and his female compatriots flower crowns. Otherwise, it appears pom-pom hats are trending.
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Gloves: The US team wore tan articles that looked like cowboy gloves with Indian-style fringes. Not sure how I feel about them. The Swiss gloves had their cross in the palm, and Canada had their maple leaf, which was super cute.
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Unusual outfits: Most of the athletes wore parkas and boots, but there were a few outliers. The Bermudans wore shorts and blazers with scarves and therefore looked very, very cold (it was fifteen degrees Fahrenheit with the wind chill). The Colombians wore ponchos and wide brimmed fedoras. The flag bearer from New Zealand wore a traditional feathered cape and the flag bearer from Kazakhstan a cool outfit in white and gold with fur. And if you remember the shirtless guy from Tonga (a south Pacific island) at the Rio Olympics, he was here too, still shirtless and competing in a new sport!
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The President of the International Olympic Committee made some pointed remarks about fair play and staying clean during his speech. Lookin’ at you, Russia.
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The Olympic Anthem (that’s a thing, btw) was sung by a Korean opera singer who performs in Germany, wearing a gorgeous traditional dress. Forget the tacky keychains, that’s what I’d like reproduced for souvenirs.
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The journey to lighting the cauldron was perilous and nerve-wracking, as the second to last torchbearers, members of the joint Korean women’s hockey team, had to climb a steep flight of stairs up the side of the stadium, while the final torchbearer, figure skater Yuna Kim, skated a short routine on a tiny ice rink at the very top of those stairs before she lit the cauldron. I was on pins-and-needles waiting for a tragic fall or two.
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An intruder in a bright red coat showed up twice on the stage, first to take a selfie(!) with the elderly gentleman singing Korea’s best-known traditional song, and again in the middle of the action during a dance sequence with doorway props (representing the future, of course). Apparently security didn’t imagine he’d try again after the first time?
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The only doves released were balloons, since they wanted to avoid any live animals flying into the cauldron (that actually happened at the last Korean games).
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Everything ended in fire! Literally. The last ten minutes or so was fire dancers, some even wearing fire-spewing roller skates!
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After the ceremony was officially over and while the audience was packing up, the announcers called the Olympics “a platform for passionate peace.” Not exactly the first thing that comes to mind when I think about the Olympics, but I suppose they wanted to justify the two and half hours the audience spent in the cold.