Some comments on what has been posted before.
Yes, I know that the modern Olympics is different from the original ethos of Pierre de Coubertin and very different indeed from the Ancient Games but it is huge global event with a tremendous "reach" - something that does bring together people from across the globe, not just athletes and officials but vast viewing audiences.
Olympic opening ceremony: some I never watched at all. Others I have watched in part but I have never watched it in its entirety before (not ever). This year was the exception for me and, somewhat to my surprise, I enjoyed it and even found it uplifting in a way. I had expected to leave the room shortly after the start but I stayed in my seat right to the end.
We only just got back in time for the broadcast (having gone up to London to collect some Olympic tickets at Club France, the tickets having been bought through the French Olympic website). I mention this because (and I hope I haven't said this already) we were given a small booklet at Club France. This was the morning of Opening Ceremony and thus in advance of the actual ceremony. This booklet specifically mentioned a film of James Bond called "The Arrival" and suggested that the Queen would surely be involved. So much for it being a surprise.
Anyway, I thought that sequence was great, plus the raising of the five Olympic rings and the lighting of the flame.
The closing ceremony : This was less enjoyable. Yes, there was a lot of music but, as someone said earlier, it was simply a parade of British rock and pop over the years. It didn't hang together particularly well.
The torch relay: This went really well. The flame stayed overnight where I live, so I saw its arrival in the city one evening and its departure quite early the following morning. On both occasions, the crowds were large in numbers. This torch relay really did generate a lot of momentum behind the games amongst the ordinary British public. I also got to hold one of the torches, which I found quite exciting - unexpectedly so, I might add.
Over-commercialisation: There is some basis in this criticism, though, in the Olympic Park itself, much less than I had expected. There were too many "proud to be a VISA partner" signs around - each quite small but at every retail outlet? MacDonalds building was large but not intrusively so and there were many other food outlets, where the quality, in our experience. was quite high and the prices not really any more than you'd pay at similar events. Brtish Airways promoted their Park Live set-up (basically following Olympic events on big screens) and this was incredibly popular. You could go into the Olympic Park at any time with an event ticket, even if your event was much later in the day, so people soaked up the atmosphere before and after watching their own events.
The travel to and fro went extremely well. The security checks barely held us up at all (better than almost any airport security I can think of) and the there was terrific atmosphere, with everyone we met and talked to being very friendly. We spent the whole day in the Olympic Park and thoroughly enjoyed it.
The cheering in the Stadium was for everyone and must have been encouraging for all those taking part but was especially loud for British athletes. We were there for the last night of athletics. As the 5000 metre runners circled the track, the crescendo of noise followed them around, rather like a Mexican wave of sound. There was almost a physical weight to the sound. Everyone shouting, flags waving, old and young, Brits and others, throughout the race but, as the athletes approached your section of the crowd, you knew that this tsunami of sound was about to hit you. It just swept over you, through you almost and your own contribution added to the effect. It was incredibly exhilarating. We have been to athletics meetings before (at Gateshead International Stadium, at Meadowbank in Edinburgh and at Crystal Palace in London - more than once in each case - and I even attended sporting events, including some athletics, at the old White City Stadium in London when quite young, not to mention football and Rugby League matches at Wembley) but I have never heard anything like it. It is a cliche but I doubt I'll ever forget that evening.
There were only six events that night, all finals, and 11 victory ceremonies in all, but, once the events had ended, only a small proportion of the crowd left. I would estimate that more than 90% stayed on for the remaining victory ceremonies. Many were staying there for the Mo-moment but I suspect most simply didn't want to leave, just wishing it could all go on longer.
And, as we left the Olympic Park, how could I forget a line of policemen and women doing a "Mo-bot" as we left, followed by a "lightning Bolt" - mugging for the crowds, who were all laughing and trying to take their photos. Or the line of security people along one fence, high-fiving the passing crowds.
If I had a complaint, it was the ticketing arrangements. The ballot was opaque and its lack of clarity was annoying. Most of our applications were unsuccessful but even the successful one left us uncertain where we would be in the stadium until the tickets actually arrived. Seeing empty seats on TV for events or venues for which we actively wanted tickets was immensely irritating.
Now we're checking the sites for Para-Olympic tickets, particularly for the Velodrome. And I'd like to think that we will manage to get to Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games in 2014. We thought LONDON 2012 was a "once in a lifetime" opportunity for us but, maybe, we should start saving now for Rio in 2016.
