Bonjour Véro. Un commentaire qui a fait du chemin. A very good idea to share this excellent document in French and English. The creators and artists of the Opening Ceremony deserved a better coverage than they got.
Oh thanks for the explanation! I watched it in French but a lot of my American friends were very confused by the whole thing so I had to explain a lot of things to them.
It was a fantastic games but international audiences were done a disservice by broadcasters during the opening ceremony. Even the BBC in UK seemed at worst perplexed and at best ambivalent to the cultural references. Fortunately the damage did not seem to be a longstanding impact to the games but a real shame nonetheless.
Australian Commentary was disgraceful too. Embarrassing really how little knowledge the journalists had, and their pronunciation was horrendous. No effort was made at all.
Throughout watching the BBC broadcast (and receiving appalled comments overnight from NBC viewers), I also kept wondering: wait, did they just *not* brief the media? Did they embargo everything until the last second? Is it just French artistic hubris on steroids? I mean, they even gave a fake title to Le Monde. Thank you so much for sharing these briefs, I'll compare with my notes!
Bonjour Comte. I am glad I am not the only one who wondered and was puzzled by all this. When you see how professional the Press document is too, and realize how much time and effort it took to produce, you can't help but feel a bitter taste in your mouth.
I, too, was angry with the appalling commentary by the NBC announcers, their total lack of knowledge, their far too frequent interruptions and the inanity of their comments during the magnificent opening ceremony! I kept hoping Kelly would be awed into silence! No such luck! It was lovely to have the first portion free of commercial interruptions. Perhaps they did receive the cliff notes late, but surely one of them could have read aloud as the show progressed! They were so in the dark it was dismaying!
With a team of several commentators, surely someone could have read the notes and enlightened the others. It mostly felt like they all decided to "wing it" on their own. Bad idea.
I am unable to read the commentator pages as they are too small on my computer. Is there a way to make them larger so I can read them? Or, is that just what is offered through the English link provided? Thanks for the great post!!
Thank you for the further explanation and the links to the "cliff notes" for the opening and the closing. The 2024 Paris Olympics were simply outstanding. The use of the city and showcasing of key monuments and buildings within the Olympic events calendar- it was a 'tour de force." Thank the members of the Paris 2024 committee for presenting the most memorable two weeks in July 2024.
How very sad that NBC celebrity hosts did not receive or did not read the “cliff notes”. NBC did such a great job covering the Olympics. Shameful that the controversy could have been avoided with preparation. There was so much beauty, culture and history to show to the world.
My thoughts exactly. Not only did they seem to ignore the “cliff notes,” Mssrs Tirico and Manning also ignored their co-host Kelly Clarkson, too. Just rude.
LOVED YOUR THOROUGH EXPLANATION! I though, am one American who watched the opening ceremony live, then again with NBC coverage. 🥰 I enjoyed the first time WAAAY more than hearing Kelly/Manning drone on with no facts, nor knowledge of what they were seeing.
I enjoyed every aspect of the ceremony. I thought it was brilliant and entertaining. Pfft to those that didn’t even try to understand each segment.🫤
I so appreciate your words. As we are fortunate to have a VPN this allowed us to begin watching the opening ceremonies on French TV but was 12:30 CST. By 4:30 it was over and before long the peacock channel began airing their watered down commercial ridden, fact lacking broadcast. Watching during the day and clearing understanding the premise and themes of the night, my husband and I knew 'this side of the pond' would never get it. It was unfortunate with rain but still magnifique. The fact that the only place people could watch here sadly had announcers that did not explain anything...except calling the catwalk a fashion show. Nothing about who those persons were (and they were real people regardless) walking the catwalk.. or the Greek God of Gastronomy in blue. I was frankly mad as well and still am at the coverage here. Other than it was Paris whose sites and sounds are always A+, their coverage IMO was a D-. Proud of ALL atheletes no matter where they came from. I have actually had to send emails to some friends to prove what the open ceremony wasn't. Simply pathetic. We loved watching on FranceTV and not having to endure commercials every 5 minutes. Thanks again for speaking your mind.
Thank you for confirming my impressions as I vacationed State-side. I can’t believe viewers had to pay to watch the sub-par version broadcast on Peacock too!
Anyway, we had better focus on the athletes and travelers’ feedback (it was overwhelmingly enthusiastic)
France did pull it off. I bet we will all remember the Paris Olympics for years to come.
C’est dommage, indeed! Frankly I enjoyed the Olympics from star to finis, though on the American channels, there did seem to be too much emphasis on one sport or another. True, many people in the US reacted negatively to the opening ceremony as they misinterpreted the basis of the stories. A “cheat sheet” would likely have been helpful, though may not have been in many cases. I, however thought the inclusivity was grand. Merci, Vero, for sharing!
Avec plaisir Fran. Yes, inclusivity was a big theme in the Paris 2024 Olympics and I am proud of France for insisting on it even if it shocked/riled up some people.
Recouping cost of broadcast rights, one click social media & shallow entertainment results in a less meaningful experience for viewers. Whaaaat! Snoop Dogg?
Bonjour Véro. Un commentaire qui a fait du chemin. A very good idea to share this excellent document in French and English. The creators and artists of the Opening Ceremony deserved a better coverage than they got.
Et merci encore à vous Lucie!
Oh thanks for the explanation! I watched it in French but a lot of my American friends were very confused by the whole thing so I had to explain a lot of things to them.
It was a fantastic games but international audiences were done a disservice by broadcasters during the opening ceremony. Even the BBC in UK seemed at worst perplexed and at best ambivalent to the cultural references. Fortunately the damage did not seem to be a longstanding impact to the games but a real shame nonetheless.
Yes, like many commented, a missed opportunity to learn, inform and educate, certainly.
Australian Commentary was disgraceful too. Embarrassing really how little knowledge the journalists had, and their pronunciation was horrendous. No effort was made at all.
I don't think I realized how disappointed many international viewers were until I read all the comments following this post. What a shame.
Throughout watching the BBC broadcast (and receiving appalled comments overnight from NBC viewers), I also kept wondering: wait, did they just *not* brief the media? Did they embargo everything until the last second? Is it just French artistic hubris on steroids? I mean, they even gave a fake title to Le Monde. Thank you so much for sharing these briefs, I'll compare with my notes!
Bonjour Comte. I am glad I am not the only one who wondered and was puzzled by all this. When you see how professional the Press document is too, and realize how much time and effort it took to produce, you can't help but feel a bitter taste in your mouth.
I, too, was angry with the appalling commentary by the NBC announcers, their total lack of knowledge, their far too frequent interruptions and the inanity of their comments during the magnificent opening ceremony! I kept hoping Kelly would be awed into silence! No such luck! It was lovely to have the first portion free of commercial interruptions. Perhaps they did receive the cliff notes late, but surely one of them could have read aloud as the show progressed! They were so in the dark it was dismaying!
With a team of several commentators, surely someone could have read the notes and enlightened the others. It mostly felt like they all decided to "wing it" on their own. Bad idea.
Wow thank you so much, Véro! I will be studying this!!!
I certainly did and was impressed with the quality of the information and formatting of the Press document.
Thanks for the commentary links and your explanation. Maintenant, je peux améliorer ma maîtrise du français pendant que je reste en Angleterre.
Exactement Debbie. Tes devoirs de vacances. ;-)
I am unable to read the commentator pages as they are too small on my computer. Is there a way to make them larger so I can read them? Or, is that just what is offered through the English link provided? Thanks for the great post!!
I am afraid this is the best you will get with the English link. The French link is easier to read but… en français. :-)
Thank you for the further explanation and the links to the "cliff notes" for the opening and the closing. The 2024 Paris Olympics were simply outstanding. The use of the city and showcasing of key monuments and buildings within the Olympic events calendar- it was a 'tour de force." Thank the members of the Paris 2024 committee for presenting the most memorable two weeks in July 2024.
Tour de force is right and a great way to describe the scope of the ambitious 2024 Paris Olympics.
Wonderful explanation. Enjoyed the ceremony before reading this but this helped me understand even more subtle nuances. Thank you.
I enjoyed researching this and sharing what I found out. Happy to hear you found this article of value. Merci Jenni.
How very sad that NBC celebrity hosts did not receive or did not read the “cliff notes”. NBC did such a great job covering the Olympics. Shameful that the controversy could have been avoided with preparation. There was so much beauty, culture and history to show to the world.
Lost opportunity.
My thoughts exactly. Not only did they seem to ignore the “cliff notes,” Mssrs Tirico and Manning also ignored their co-host Kelly Clarkson, too. Just rude.
Yes indeed, a lost opportunity. This handy guide painstakingly put together for the press might have very well quelled some of the controversy I feel.
LOVED YOUR THOROUGH EXPLANATION! I though, am one American who watched the opening ceremony live, then again with NBC coverage. 🥰 I enjoyed the first time WAAAY more than hearing Kelly/Manning drone on with no facts, nor knowledge of what they were seeing.
I enjoyed every aspect of the ceremony. I thought it was brilliant and entertaining. Pfft to those that didn’t even try to understand each segment.🫤
It’s become obvious to me viewers experienced vastly different ceremonies around the world. It didn’t need to be this way. Merci Nan.
I so appreciate your words. As we are fortunate to have a VPN this allowed us to begin watching the opening ceremonies on French TV but was 12:30 CST. By 4:30 it was over and before long the peacock channel began airing their watered down commercial ridden, fact lacking broadcast. Watching during the day and clearing understanding the premise and themes of the night, my husband and I knew 'this side of the pond' would never get it. It was unfortunate with rain but still magnifique. The fact that the only place people could watch here sadly had announcers that did not explain anything...except calling the catwalk a fashion show. Nothing about who those persons were (and they were real people regardless) walking the catwalk.. or the Greek God of Gastronomy in blue. I was frankly mad as well and still am at the coverage here. Other than it was Paris whose sites and sounds are always A+, their coverage IMO was a D-. Proud of ALL atheletes no matter where they came from. I have actually had to send emails to some friends to prove what the open ceremony wasn't. Simply pathetic. We loved watching on FranceTV and not having to endure commercials every 5 minutes. Thanks again for speaking your mind.
Thank you for confirming my impressions as I vacationed State-side. I can’t believe viewers had to pay to watch the sub-par version broadcast on Peacock too!
Anyway, we had better focus on the athletes and travelers’ feedback (it was overwhelmingly enthusiastic)
France did pull it off. I bet we will all remember the Paris Olympics for years to come.
C’est dommage, indeed! Frankly I enjoyed the Olympics from star to finis, though on the American channels, there did seem to be too much emphasis on one sport or another. True, many people in the US reacted negatively to the opening ceremony as they misinterpreted the basis of the stories. A “cheat sheet” would likely have been helpful, though may not have been in many cases. I, however thought the inclusivity was grand. Merci, Vero, for sharing!
Avec plaisir Fran. Yes, inclusivity was a big theme in the Paris 2024 Olympics and I am proud of France for insisting on it even if it shocked/riled up some people.
Recouping cost of broadcast rights, one click social media & shallow entertainment results in a less meaningful experience for viewers. Whaaaat! Snoop Dogg?
Yes, people sure loooooved that Snoop Dog guy (who provided the type of consensual, easy entertainment that never rocks the boat.)