What was the greatest Opening Ceremony of sport event ever? Including Olympic Games, World cup, Universiade, Mediterranean Games and whatever u think that was the best of all!

For me was, the opening ceremony of Barcelona 1992 olympic games, by far

fallowed by the a close tie between Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004, with a little advantage of Sydney, but its a close call.

For me was the opening ceremony of France'98, World Cup of soccer 1998!

Sydney 2000, SLC 2002, and maybe Athens 2004.

vI agree with Vivayo. Barcelona was awesome. But I think it was even bettered by the closing ceremony.

Probably Sydney 2000 or Barcelona 1992...though i'm expecting something special of the Chinese in 2008.

Athens 2004 was the best by far.

Followed by daylight, I loved Barcelona 1992 as well.

World Cup's dont generally have great opening ceremonies.

Barcelona was was really great :cheers:



.

Moscow, then distance. Maybe LA.

For me was the opening ceremony of France'98, World Cup of soccer 1998!
yes, this was great!

Barcalona...Moscow...Sydney

Athens 2004, Barcelona 1992, Sydney 2000

Barcelona 1992 of course!!

I agree.. Barcelona '92 is the best ever!

Barcelona '92 set the benchmark for the opening ceremonies of many great events especially the Olympics. The lighting of the Olympic Cauldron fir the Barcelona games is certainly the most daring and creative of all! :okay:

I could even see similar elements in Atlanta 96 that mimics the 92 opening :D Anyway I think Sydney2000 is slightly better than Athens but that is a very close call :yes:

Worth mentioning too are Seoul '88 ;) I too think that the Chinese are gonna put up a very good show as it did for the Asiad '94 (Asian Games). :okay:

And I certainly think that no other sporting events or whatever come close to the extravagance of the Olympics! :)

I had the Sydney and Atlanta opening and closing ceremonies on VHS :) Anyone knew where could I download the opening ceremonies of the other games? I would certainly like to see Barcelona '92 again ;)

sydney 2000

sydney 2000

LOL. Shrimp on bicycles.

Athens 2004 and Barcelona 1992 were the ceremonies that put new standarts without doubt. The Barcelona''s with the lighting of the cauldron and the Athens with the new view of the theatrical space-the water was true water after all and not any material who can be seem like water(plus the connection with the ancient Olympia).

LOL. Shrimp on bicycles.

LoL shrimp on bicycles??what does that mean??
well I liked it.Especially when the torch came out of the water and cruised to the stadium roof.

Come on, Sydney s Olympics Ceremony was a bit silly,like a circus. Shrimp on bycicles are funny for a tv children show, no doubt ,but I dont see what they have to do with the olympic spirit . Athens was simple (but not poor,it was the most expensive ceremony)and ellegant

Barcelona '92 Opening Ceremony, this "new" style has been copied often since then...

so far nobody as mentioned atlanta. I wonder why? LOL

Because it was the most non-inspired ever!

well for me it was Athens 2004. Because it wasnt just a show, it was art, a theatralic and technological masterpiece. But i can also remember that i was very excited after the Opening Ceremonie of Barcelona. Sydney was a good show. I watched it, i liked it and 2 days after forgot it... But it was a good show.

Because it was the most non-inspired ever!

I aggree

Sydney was a good show. I watched it, i liked it and 2 days after forgot it

Thats what everyone said. Kind of like an episode of "Barney". It's fun, but not particularly memorable. And the torch got stuck going up, as we've discussed many times.

Athens 2004 opening/closing ceremony.. :cheers:

oh yay its all starting again

athens had some good elements that were amazing and never done before but they were almost juxtaposed with some elements which certainly seemed lifeless in comparison, in terms of torch lighting it was mediocre, sydney;s did get stuck i do not argue with that but the actualy torch lighting and whole drama and water feature was better on any day...

the sydney opening i think had more x factor but was of a different type of ceremony basically more people based...but enough of that it had more consistency but failed in parts to produce something as dramatic as the lazers milky way and large water feature of the athens opening, however the large water pool was underused ...

barcelona was a classic like watching a great timeless movie, a better torch lighting than athens but overall a great opening, atlanta was okish...

1. sydney
2. barcelona
3. athens

we can expect great things of beijing..

Landos why do you put down anyone who doesnt pick Athens?

If somebody likes Sydney the most that is their opinion and they have every right to have it.

In my opinion the Athens 2004 Opening ceremony was amazing and the best ceremony ever.

oh yay its all starting again
Mo Rush attacking a small greek nation...shit ceremony,shit stadium,shit city....right Mo?

Mine are
Barcelona
Athens
LA
Moscow
Sydney
Also looking forward greatly to Beijing which I expect to be awesome.

I luved Athens and I really liked Barcelona, I remember Barcelona even to this day even if I didn't watch it all back then (or at least that is what I remember) because I was very young at the time. Sydney's was good because it had some good elements to it but to be honest apart from the whole water cauldron thing, I don't remember that much. I also remember something about Seoul but nothing to really talk about.

I can't remember any of these opening ceremonies and I am pretty sure I watched most of them. I personally like the Winter Games opening ceremonies better. I am not a big fan of figure skating and all that jazz but the mixing of the gracefull skating and people freezing their azzes off is pretty intreasting. I remember liking the SLC ceremony.

oh yay its all starting again
Mo Rush attacking a small greek nation...shit ceremony,shit stadium,shit city....right Mo?
Mo isn't starting anything, I believe that his is the comment that started it all:

Landos:
LOL. Shrimp on bicycles.

Come on, Sydney s Olympics Ceremony was a bit silly,like a circus. Shrimp on bycicles are funny for a tv children show, no doubt ,but I dont see what they have to do with the olympic spirit .

Pathetic excuse to try and degrade Sydney with the purpose of upgrading Athens. Man, do you know how long that even lasted? It's like going to Paris, and saying you hate it because one slice of cheese tasted bad. Stop dwelling on something that made up 1% of the show, and look at the other 99% that made the games worthwhile.

Thats what everyone said. Kind of like an episode of "Barney". It's fun, but not particularly memorable. And the torch got stuck going up, as we've discussed many times.

"Thats what everyone said"? I think thats what you want to believe, but if living in your illusionary world makes you feel better, then hey, whatever turns you on!

As for the best opening ceremony, I can't remember much of the Barcelona or Atlanta games, but I have to (unbiasly) say that I loved Sydney's Olympic games (Despite what several Greek forum members may try to say about it). It was just awesome and living in Sydney; the atmosphere was just so great! I also loved Seoul's World Cup opening ceremony! It was amaaaziing! Athen's Olympic Opening ceremony was beautiful also and displayed Greek history and culture perfectly, but I just think it was abit too short. ;)

Ah, Sydney like TOTALLY!!!

And just for your information many of the people that organised the athens opening ceremony were Australians as well.

Oh and the torch may have got stuck on the way up, but it was a far more interesting way to light the cauldron with all the water, than what athens did. And was the Athens stadium even full at the opening ceremony, because it sure as hell wasn't when the actual events were on.

Ah, Sydney like TOTALLY!!!

And just for your information many of the people that organised the athens opening ceremony were Australians as well.

Oh and the torch may have got stuck on the way up, but it was a far more interesting way to light the cauldron with all the water, than what athens did. And was the Athens stadium even full at the opening ceremony, because it sure as hell wasn't when the actual events were on.


http://img136.imageshack.us/img136/8308/dbrudg59xp.jpg

IMO Atlanta's Power of the Dream by Celine Dion is the best Olympic song and I really like the stage design of Atlanta.

Overall I like the musical combi of Barcelona the best as they have artists like Sarah Brightman & Jose Careras performing Amigos Para Siempre and Freddy Mercury & Montserrat Caballe's 'Barcelona'

The water thingy at Athens is one of the most unconventional feature of any Olympic and it is certainly an eye-opener! :eek:

I don't remember any opening ceremonies. The torch lighting in Barcelona was great though, so I'll choose the 92 games.

http://img386.imageshack.us/img386/4784/wall22b7yz.jpg
vs. Shrimps on bicycles...hmmmm...

Ok,forget the shrimps of Sydney. Can u tell me WHAT WAS THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT that Sydney gave to the games at the opening ceremony? Give me the connection between olympic spirit and Sydney s Opening please, but I think that there is not any such connection.

One of the greatest moment in my opinion in Athens ceremony,was the connection between the host city in the olympic stadium and the ancient olympic stadium in Olympia. For me was something very affecting and soulfull and the same for million of people around the world. Ancient value and modern era in connection. That is olympic games and that is a differrence between a great show and an O L Y M P I C opening ceremony.

Ok,forget the shrimps of Sydney. Can u tell me WHAT WAS THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT that Sydney gave to the games at the opening ceremony? Give me the connection between olympic spirit and Sydney s Opening please, but I think that there is not any such connection.


Daniel and other Greeks here:

Why do you keep trying to convince those that like the Sydney opening ceremenies the most that they weren't that great? Afterall, they are entitled to their opinions.

Some people just like circus theatrics and boring "MTV culture" styled entertainment.

Those of us who have over 3,000 years of history in our culture enjoyed the Athens opening ceremonies which was true to the Olympic spirit, artistic, dramatic, and contained what pyrotechnic experts call the best fireworks show EVER.

So, if shrimps on bicycles and MTV-generation culture is what some people liked, then so be it. When Beijing showcases China's incredible history in their opening ceremonies, these are the same people who will still cling on to their shrimp, clowns, and circus ceremonies and call them the best ever!

Come on, Sydney s Olympics Ceremony was a bit silly,like a circus. Shrimp on bycicles are funny for a tv children show, no doubt ,but I dont see what they have to do with the olympic spirit . Athens was simple (but not poor,it was the most expensive ceremony)and ellegant

You don't understand. The Sydney Olympic opening and closing ceremonys showed all aspects of Australian life. They had the Aboriginal thing, then they also had the Victa Lawnmovers, Hills Hoists, TapDogs, And BTW, they were PRAWNS!!! Not shrimp. Australian prawns are the best. Massive king prawns, Garlic prawns, Curry Prawns, Chilli Prawns.

Anyways, back to the point, we also had the Bushranger-type horsemen, we had all parts of the Australian life. I can't really remember heaps, so yeah

DAMN IT!!! I WANT PRAWNS NOW!!!!!

Samantha#

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:

Yea they show all aspects of Australian life, greeks did the same for greek life and history and chinese will do also the same with their history. But I asked to show me the little something that has to do with the olympic spirit on Sydneys ceremony. Without it any olympic ceremony becomes soulless.
As for the Athens ceremony, the concept was humanistic, as the greek culture is now and since 3000 years ago.Can u remeber the human in the center of the stadium trying to balance on a cube? It was something so great and high,it showed the value of the human individually and how the human can walk based in his logic. No relation with the mass of the actors and dancers in Sydney.

Ah, Sydney like TOTALLY!!!
And just for your information many of the people that organised the athens opening ceremony were Australians as well.
Oh and the torch may have got stuck on the way up, but it was a far more interesting way to light the cauldron with all the water, than what athens did. And was the Athens stadium even full at the opening ceremony, because it sure as hell wasn't when the actual events were on.
Where's Sudney??

Some people just like circus theatrics and boring "MTV culture" styled entertainment.

There was no "MTV Culture" styled entertainment. I think you missed the guys on the trumpets, and the horses, and the Aboriginal events (Which have absolutely NO connection with MTV at all). But hey, you're entitled to love Bjork! I had no idea what the hell she sung, and what she was wearing, and why she was moving so much, but if you call that "high-class music", then again, whatever turns you on!

Those of us who have over 3,000 years of history in our culture

Hm, Aboriginal culture is worth 50,000 years of history. But if you're going to play the "my-culture-is-better-than-your-culture" game, then I think you yourself are one of the most uncultured people I've seen.

which was true to the Olympic spirit

How the hell was it? All you did was show 15 minutes of Greek history and culture? Whats the difference between that and Australia showing 3 hours of history and culture? There is no difference. The only different thing was length.

And contained what pyrotechnic experts call the best fireworks show EVER.

I don't want to come across as too patriotic (we've seen how degrading it is to be an ultra-patriot), but you haven't seen the Sydney New Years fireworks, have you? ;) (And Iceland seems to have an awesome fireworks display in the New Year also)

So, if shrimps on bicycles and MTV-generation culture is what some people liked, then so be it. When Beijing showcases China's incredible history in their opening ceremonies, these are the same people who will still cling on to their shrimp, clowns, and circus ceremonies and call them the best ever!

Isn't the Olympic spirit about a POSITIVE attitude? You obviously have one of the most negative, and competitive attitudes. You've also got one of the most immature and ignorant attitudes. Man, if you're gonna speak, at least do some research before you know what you're saying. Otherwise you yourself simply look like a clown. I found it great to watch; so did the majority of the world. But stick to your subjective ignorant opinions, and watch how far you get in this world.

Can u tell me WHAT WAS THE OLYMPIC SPIRIT that Sydney gave to the games at the opening ceremony? Give me the connection between olympic spirit and Sydney s Opening please, but I think that there is not any such connection.

Then you're obviously highly ignorant who makes decisions subjectively based on his nation, as opposed to a decision that is objective. I think every single city that hosted the Olympic Games has generated its own Olympic spirit. (Even Atlanta ;)) First, should we define what the Olympic Spirit means? Sportsmanship comes to mind. I think thats been evident in every single host city. Then there has been the act of bringing all nations and people together, and as an Australian who experienced the games here, I can tell you that the Olympic spirit was definitely present here and the city was alive!

Give me the connection between olympic spirit and Sydney s Opening please

Did you see the Olympic flame go up? Yes, thats right! An Aboriginal Australian lit the Olympic flame! The fact that this happened shows that as the world gathered together, Australia also gathered as one. I think one other element of the Olympic spirit is peace, no? ;) If we compare this to the Athens torch saga, well heh, our athelete did no drugs, and the world knew who our torch bearer was. ;) Where the hell was the Olympic spirit in yours?

One of the greatest moment in my opinion in Athens ceremony,was the connection between the host city in the olympic stadium and the ancient olympic stadium in Olympia.

You can't just rely on something so simple to have the "best Olympic games ever"! If the games in Athens had bombs here and there, would you still think they were the best olympics just because it symbolised a "connection between the host city, blah blah blah"?

Yea they show all aspects of Australian life, greeks did the same for greek life and history and chinese will do also the same with their history. But I asked to show me the little something that has to do with the olympic spirit on Sydneys ceremony. Without it any olympic ceremony becomes soulless.

But again, wtf did your opening ceremony do that showed that "little something"?

As for the Athens ceremony, the concept was humanistic, as the greek culture is now and since 3000 years ago.Can u remeber the human in the center of the stadium trying to balance on a cube? It was something so great and high,it showed the value of the human individually and how the human can walk based in his logic. No relation with the mass of the actors and dancers in Sydney.

OH GREAT! A guy stood and walked on a cube for a few minutes! Man, that is the Olympic spirit right there! You no longer have to show me an opening ceremony anymore! Thanks for the Olympic spirit that you portrayed! But if you ask me, I still prefer the tap-dancing, the orchestra walking and forming the Sydney logo, knowing my torch bearer, AND, you guessed, my beloved prawns on bikes. :) Everyone is happy - the world is happy - Hello Olympic Spirit!

I hate this subject....

Of course there's going to be an 'olympic connection' in the Athens ceremony. Ah, correct me if Im wrong. But didnt the olympic's start in Greece? And personally I cant remember crap from any of them... just Kathy Freeman waiting for the torch to come down (Sydney), and this dude flying over the water (Athens)! Anyway, Sydney was my favourite. Im Australian, and it relate's to me the most. Athens was awesome though, I loved how it was neat (Sydney was really messy), simple, but still got the message across!

And to the guys who cant respect other people's decisions. Shut the hell up!

:bash:

Yea they show all aspects of Australian life, greeks did the same for greek life and history and chinese will do also the same with their history. But I asked to show me the little something that has to do with the olympic spirit on Sydneys ceremony. Without it any olympic ceremony becomes soulless.
As for the Athens ceremony, the concept was humanistic, as the greek culture is now and since 3000 years ago.Can u remeber the human in the center of the stadium trying to balance on a cube? It was something so great and high,it showed the value of the human individually and how the human can walk based in his logic. No relation with the mass of the actors and dancers in Sydney.

Sydney was hardly souless. But I guess being such an ignorant twat... you cant see that! And no I cant remember a person standing on a cube, its hardly a memorable moment that I would remember for the rest of my life. Maybe your reading to much into it... are you sure it just wasnt a 'person standing on a cube'. Kinda like the lake, was just a lake.

OLYMPIC SPIRIT IN ATHENS CEREMONY: 1)Human scale (against previous ceremonies with mass of silly dancers) If u like seeing the man on the cube like an acrobat without the high symbolization that it had, then it is not my problem if u have not culture.
2) direct and indirect connection with Olympia.Olympia gave the first "OK" at the beggining to start the ceremony with a comet, Olympia also was the first station of huge travel, ending with a global torch relay and arriving in Athen's stadium.

And just for your education. History counts from the moment that exists writing in a culture.So the history in Australia is not older than few hundred of years(50.000......lolololololol!)

How do you know Aboriginals werent writing poetry 50,000 years back?

Sydney showed Australia's development and culture. From the time of Aboriginals arriving to modern day. And like I already said, there's gonna be a connection in Athens, its were it started. NO other city will ever have that.

Ah, Sydney like TOTALLY!!!

And just for your information many of the people that organised the athens opening ceremony were Australians as well.

Oh and the torch may have got stuck on the way up, but it was a far more interesting way to light the cauldron with all the water, than what athens did. And was the Athens stadium even full at the opening ceremony, because it sure as hell wasn't when the actual events were on.
Yea the Athens stadium was full. It was also full during every night of the track events. :weirdo:

Even Juan Antonio Samaranch accepted that the Athens one was the best olympic ceremony ever . I dont have nothing with cultures of low level.I dont say that Athens was better because the greek culture are spaces more richer than the australian. But i say that it was given in a non-previous kind of show, far from the usuals, in terms of scenography and direction. For the first time Love was there, in a sport ceremony and "lovers" from different centuries wathced all the parade in a clever way. Technology was used in such a huge level in Athens but the result was not monstreus,was so simple and clear and thats why I think this ceremony put new high standarts for the next.

OLYMPIC SPIRIT IN ATHENS CEREMONY: 1)Human scale (against previous ceremonies with mass of silly dancers) If u like seeing the man on the cube like an acrobat without the high symbolization that it had, then it is not my problem if u have not culture.

So is the man on the cube all you had to offer? Well that's fantastic. But hm, I don't know. Prawns with bikes is looking pretty tempting to me. ;)

2) direct and indirect connection with Olympia.Olympia gave the first "OK" at the beggining to start the ceremony with a comet, Olympia also was the first station of huge travel, ending with a global torch relay and arriving in Athen's stadium.

Yeah yeah, all talk and no action. You can try to rely on your history, but that doesn't just mean that you can sit back and do absolutely nothing.

And just for your education. History counts from the moment that exists writing in a culture.So the history in Australia is not older than few hundred of years(50.000......lolololololol!)

Haha, righto. Just for your education, history is not determined by how you think (or want) it to be determined. According to dictionary.com (that's right! A dictionary! Shock - horror!), History is defined as:

The branch of knowledge that records and analyzes past events

Hence, if the Aboriginal CULTURE is known to historians and is studied, then it's almost certain that it accounts for history. Jeez, if you can't consider it history, what would you consider it as? Use your brain! It's the little things that count.

I know Valeroso, it sucks to be non memorable!! Try again with a more inspired ceremony after 200 years!

Well, some people chose Sydney in this thread, so I wouldn't exactly call it "non memorable". But with a good crowd attendance, perhaps we can move it up to 100 years instead. ;)

ok i appreciated the the display of greek history and was interesting to compare it to what i have learnt, but come on pleeeeease it was crap boring, a little figure parade at an opening ceremony??? it was ok but thats all...dont use ur 50 billion years of history as an excuse for it being boring and mediocre..thats all, as for bjork??? i love bjork but it was boring and so was throwing a cloth over the athletes to represent the ocean, what was needed was an inspirational song....torch lighting was mediocre...the opening was also great better than sydney, the lazer/milky way was arugably the best scene ever in opening ceremonies in terms of wow factor but again this was anti-climaxed/juxtaposed with some rather mediocre elements, the cube was "ok" as well most of the concepts were excellent but how they were portrayed was not always the best of most imaginative....the cyclaic head was great and fascinating too i really enjoyed that,

sydney had its faults of course, the "human" element is not always a bad thing, the "wow" factor was certainly very high and the opening drew on the history australia did have...certainly for its time it was great, it didnt need to fill the stadium floor as such with water..it had its uniqueness as a whole the sydney opening was better for me, less sketchy a good range of scenes and climaxed in a dramatic flame lighting...

and yes there were visbly seats open during the athens opening, but thats ok i suppose, i also think having 110,000 spectators was just super, the energy from that alone was great...you may disagree....

and yes there were visbly seats open during the athens opening, but thats ok i suppose, i also think having 110,000 spectators was just super, the energy from that alone was great...you may disagree....
What are you talking about? The opening ceremony was sold out. I watched it on TV and had the video, and it was definatley sold out.

Allianz Arena opening was great, i've seen it.
though it was relatively small compared to olympics etc.

2nd chance with the WC 2006 opening though ;)

OLYMPIC SPIRIT IN ATHENS CEREMONY: 1)

And just for your education. History counts from the moment that exists writing in a culture.So the history in Australia is not older than few hundred of years(50.000......lolololololol!)

Talk about ignorance.

Get an education buddy and learn about Aboriginal art/dreamtime and their way of life and you might clear your dumb mind of your racial views.

pfff...Fucking racist idiots.

What are you talking about? The opening ceremony was sold out. I watched it on TV and had the video, and it was definatley sold out.

i actually dont want to argue i am sure it was sold out unfortunately sold out does NOT equal or mean all seats were taken...but not more than a few....its prob not even a significant amount...

Even Juan Antonio Samaranch accepted that the Athens one was the best olympic ceremony ever.Bullshit, he didn't say that. He called the athens games one of the best ever. He called Sydney "The best Olympic games ever". The Sydney media made a big thing of it at the time.

btw...To all the peanuts playing the 'My history is better than your history' game, take a breath and read back through this thread and see how stupid you look.

History counts from the moment that exists writing in a culture.So the history in Australia is not older than few hundred of years(50.000......lolololololol!) Or maybe history counts from the moment it suits you :okay:

how dare you say those things daniel. Your opening ceremony was dead boring, so was your little flick at our closing ceremony. We had the best olympics ever and your just jealous

^^
I dont think that anyone is jealous. I can see many reasons why daniel may think that Athens had the best games ever. Let's face it Athens 2004 was an amazing Olympics.

I can also see why many people would think that Sydney 2000 were the best Olympics. They were also amazing.

In my opinion Athens was better since it was more meaningful to me. I am Greek so to see the Olympics return home was very special. It had a lot more sentimental value than any other Olympics.

And if you are only going to use how many tickets were sold as criteria for who had the best Olympics than Atlanta was the best Olympics ever since they sold almost 9 million tickets. Honestly I think that Atlanta was the one of the worst ever, regardless of how mant tickets it sold.

Also by that same standard Athens would be better than Barcelona and Seoul.

What I am trying to get too is that each person can believe what they want. It is not a matter of being jealous as there is nothing to be jealous about.

There has never been a "bad" Olympics or even an "ok" Olympics. They have all been great and I can see why anyone would call Athens, Sydney, Barcelona, etc.... the best ever.

I never said Sydney's ceremonies (both openning and closing) were "awful". I said they weren't particularly memorable. And I note that appears to be the majority opinion of just about every nationality here except for the Australians. Ok, fine. Their Olympics and they want to be proud of it.

But from the perspective of a non-aligned observer, I thought their ceremonies were bourgeois and given more to M-TV entertainment than to any deep, philosophical statement about the meaning of the Olympic Spirit or mankind's purpose. Compare their kitsch ceremony with Barcelona or Athens. Sorry, doesn't measure up. Or even come close. Way it is.

Personally I thought the Sydney ceremony was great but a little bit over-the-top in some aspects. On the otherhand, I thought the Athens ceremony was a little bit too sedate and it appeared to me that it was far more designed for television (the parade was great with the static tv shot.) I guess this is why I went for Barcelona which I think had a much better balance of style, sophistication and celebration.

My bet is 2008 Beijing Olympic game. I am sure the chinese want to impress the world.

I don't want to come across as too patriotic (we've seen how degrading it is to be an ultra-patriot), but you haven't seen the Sydney New Years fireworks, have you? ;) (And Iceland seems to have an awesome fireworks display in the New Year also)

err do some reserach before you post. the Athens games opening (or was it closing?) were declared the best pyrotechnic show EVER.

Sure sydney harbour is the BIGGEST but i mean WTF! its all just random uncoordinated fireworks going everywere. Look at Athens fireworks. they were SPECIAL

I never said Sydney's ceremonies (both openning and closing) were "awful". I said they weren't particularly memorable. And I note that appears to be the majority opinion of just about every nationality here except for the Australians. Ok, fine. Their Olympics and they want to be proud of it.

But from the perspective of a non-aligned observer, I thought their ceremonies were bourgeois and given more to M-TV entertainment than to any deep, philosophical statement about the meaning of the Olympic Spirit or mankind's purpose. Compare their kitsch ceremony with Barcelona or Athens. Sorry, doesn't measure up. Or even come close. Way it is.

What is so deep and philosophical about a man standing on a cube? The theme of the Athens game's seem's to be 'mankinds purpose' and 'olympic spirit'. Good for you.. but I guess that wasnt Sydney's theme! It showed the history of Australia.

Each ceremony the host does something different, if Sydney had done 'mankinds purpose' do you think Athens would have done the same? Its all choreographers, and planners. Each game you have something different.

In 4 years time, 1 year after Beijing, the memories of the Athens ceremony will be the same as what you remember of Sydney's today.

I loved the Athens 2004 Olympic opening ceremony. It was the best ever!! Forget the fact that it was the only I have probably ever seen :lol: It was still very special to me :) I even have the BBC broadcast of the 2004 Olympic opening saved on my computer. Kind of large at 2 GB; I've been tempted to delete it a few times for space, but I'm glad I didn't, as I can relive the moment any time I want!

The first Olympics I had ever seen were the 1996 Olympics. I was barely even able to watch it, and I don't think I was even able to see that opening ceremony. Unfortunately the Olympics just happened to be held while I was at summer camp. The funny thing is that I lived in Atlanta at the time. I guess it's pretty bad luck to just happen to be out of town during maybe the most important moment in Atlanta's history. I was very young and didn't understand the significants of the Olympics. I wish I could have gone downtown during the Olympics. Even if not to see any events, atleast I could have seen all the people, and the huge crowds gathered.

Anyone here have a particular moment during their favorite opening ceremony that makes it their favorite, or was it the whole presentation?

Maybe another reason I liked the 2004 Olympics so much is because the number 103 and 35 are pretty cool :) I love 3s! :rofl:

Barcelona 1992

no doubt

Even the video with breathtaking plans from Greece nature and the ruins of Olympia that tv showed 2 minutes before the opening ceremony was much more impressive than the 3hours Sydney ceremony :cheers:

Barcelona set a new standard, but then Sidney came with this awesome fireworks display all over the stadium and over the bridge, that Athens tried to match.

Albertville 1992 by philippe Decoufle was the best

MOSCOW 80 the best opening ceremony in Olympic Games.
SEOUL 88 off course the best clossing ceremony

err do some reserach before you post. the Athens games opening (or was it closing?) were declared the best pyrotechnic show EVER.

Sure sydney harbour is the BIGGEST but i mean WTF! its all just random uncoordinated fireworks going everywere. Look at Athens fireworks. they were SPECIAL

Well sure, they were great the first time they went off, but they never actually changed much. They were pretty GENERIC if you could say after a while. The fireworks in Sydney aren't uncoordinated; they HAVE to be coordinated, and I think that Sydney Harbour is abit bigger than the Greek stadium, don't you think? ;) Pft, no one needs people like you in this country. Leave now while you have the chance! We'll have the best of both worlds.

wtf! Sydney ios the same everyyear. Fireworks just pop from the harbour wow big fucks.

NOTHING Spectacular about them. same shit every year. take a look at the athens one MATE.

My bet is 2008 Beijing Olympic game. I am sure the chinese want to impress the world.


Exactly! And impress they will!

About the best Olympic ceremony. My opinion is that Athens had one of the best Olympic ceremonies followed by Barcelona. Sydney did a great job as well. This is all subjective people! You choose what you like. What is wrong with that?

Lastly, let me remind everyone again that Sydney and even Barcelona, they did not sell out every single event! So cut us some slack will ya?

Pft, no one needs people like you in this country. Leave now while you have the chance!

LOL. The sheep herders in Toowoomba and the street sweepers in Perth want the business owners in Melbourne to leave because they aren't Australian enough. They should leave-and take their money with them. They're welcome in America!

Greeks and Italians MADE australia. the country was nothing but Englands CONVICT DUMPLAND!

KEY WORD: DUMP

Athens was the best. ;) Sydney was awesome as well.

But hey in 2020...San Diego/Tijuana is going to put on a hell of a show. :colgate:

Put some fotos of Athens please!

Athens was the best. ;) Sydney was awesome as well.

But hey in 2020...San Diego/Tijuana is going to put on a hell of a show. :colgate:
I would like to see San Diego host the Olympics. It is a very beutiful city. I think San Fran/Oakland is first in line for US cities though.

You can relive parts of the opening ceremony here:

Athens 2004 Opening Ceremony (http://www.jackmorton.com/home/default.asp)

Just cick on "Watch Highlights from the Athens 2004 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony"

This are some of my favorite pictures:
http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/51086559IW001_OLYopener.jpghttp://smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/08/14/a12_gallery__550x356.jpg
http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/6596/athens2020043bo.jpg
http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/51086559IW060_OLYopener.jpghttp://images.qianlong.com/mmsource/images/2004/08/15/bjpt0815015.jpg http://www.poros-island.com/photos/albums/athens-2004/opening_ceremony_8.jpg http://www.abc.net.au/olympics/2004/galleries/opening1/images/13_fireworks.jpg http://smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/08/14/a7_gallery__550x415.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/51086559SF013_OLYopener.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/51086559NL052_OLYopener.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/51086559JS038_OLYopener.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/1961417_b.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/51086559JS041_OLYopener.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/51086559JS042_OLYopener.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/51086559JS045_OLYopener.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/1961422_b.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/1961423_b.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/1961425_b.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/51086559MS046_OLYopener.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/1961729_b.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/1961679_b.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/1961424_b.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/51086559SF009_OLYopener.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/1961617_b.jpg
http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/14%20August%202004/51086559JS154_OLYopener.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/1961456_b.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/1961508_b.jpg http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/1961616_b.jpg
http://www.jackmorton.com/photos/images/olympic4.jpg
http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/1249/openingceremoniegif0ty.gif
And 2 Wallpapers:

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/2598/athens2004ceremonie24mu.th.jpg
Opening Ceremony (http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/2598/athens2004ceremonie24mu.jpg)

http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/2390/athens2004ceremonie14pz.th.jpg
Olympic Fire (http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/2390/athens2004ceremonie14pz.jpg)

Too much blue and colorations made a fantastic job in a fantastic stadium! The most sophisticated and elegant ceremony ever!

I agree, the lighting was superb! Simply amazing!

The Opening Ceremony of Athens won an EMMY AWARD before some weeks, for the BEST LIGHTING EFFECTS. :cheers:

I really loved Athens 2004, with Tiesto djing at the Parade of Athletes. That was cool.

http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/13%20August%202004/51086559IW060_OLYopener.jpg
this effect alone beat the previous opening ceremony!

Sydney was ok...Athens was spectacular.

I really loved Athens 2004, with Tiesto djing at the Parade of Athletes. That was cool.


I rather enjoyed that too!!!

The laser light show was AWESOME, especially the DNA part! Thats going to be a tough act for Beijing to follow, as attested to by Chinese delegates at the closing ceremony.

LOL. The sheep herders in Toowoomba and the street sweepers in Perth want the business owners in Melbourne to leave because they aren't Australian enough. They should leave-and take their money with them. They're welcome in America!

I am not a Sheep herder, nor am I from Toowomba, nor am I street sweeper, nor have I been to Perth. ;) Though its funny that the uneducated man who claims to be Greek assumes the role of denigrating others so he can build up his self esteem. Fortunately, your act of denigration fails and you again, look like an utter retard just like your "friend" .::G!oRgOs::. I am sure that if they leave and take their money to America, yet bag out America as hard as they possibly can, most Americans would not want them to be in America either. Ha! Got you there again! How the ignorant have fallen.

Greeks and Italians MADE australia. the country was nothing but Englands CONVICT DUMPLAND!

KEY WORD: DUMP

You really are a very uneducated man with very DUMB posts. It was not SOLEY the Greeks, nor the Italians, nor the Anglo's, nor the Asians, who made Australia what it is today. Australia is what it is nowadays because EVERY SINGLE ethnic group contributed to its current formation.

KEY WORD: DUMB!

Pft, no one needs people like you in this country. Leave now while you have the chance!

Hoist on your own Petard, Valeroso. Your own words condemn you in front of the entire forum for the ignorant individual and bigot that you are! Nothing more need be said.

I don't need to defend myself against ignorance claims. I do think however that both you and him are the epitome of ignorance, hence your post is entirely meaningless to me. (And I think infact, all your posts are entirely meaningless to everyone else also). Oh, and I don't deny those words! Infact, I still support them! ;) So "hoist of" my "own petard"? I don't think so!

I don't need to defend myself against ignorance claims. I do think however that both you and him are the epitomy of ignorance, hence your post is entirely meaningless to me. (And I think infact, all your posts are entirely meaningless to everyone else also). Oh, and I don't deny those words! Infact, I still support them! ;) So "hoist of" my "own petard"? I don't think so!

Just move on. It's not worth your time.

I don't need to defend myself against ignorance claims.

What would be the point, anyway? You can't defend the indefensible.

As I said, hoist on your own petard. :weirdo:

@ Landos:
You're such a toss. You never like anything unless it's greek. Just look at your pathetic signature! Wake up to yourself boy.

@ G!oRgOs:
You're not much better! How dare you attack the people of Australia who aren't Italian or Greek! It's uncalled for.

Now, why can't everybody just get along FFS?

Down under attitudes are so colloquial. LOL.

As for my signature, it's a line out of a record-breaking movie-"My Big, Fat Greek American Wedding". I added it for humor, but you have to have a minimal level of intelligence to appreciate it. Keep studying it and you may figure that out-in about a year. :)

Sydney 2000, Barcelona ¨92 second place

Down under attitudes are so colloquial. LOL.

As for my signature, it's a line out of a record-breaking movie-"My Big, Fat Greek American Wedding". I added it for humor, but you have to have a minimal level of intelligence to appreciate it. Keep studying it and you may figure that out-in about a year. :)
Sorry, i don't sit on my arse and watch movies 24/7!

oh no your wrong. the movie only went for 112 minutes.

:deadthrea

Barcelona 1992 followed by Athens 2004 and third place Sydney 2000.

Sorry, i don't sit on my arse and watch movies 24/7!

You ought to watch movies once in awhile. I might broaden your horizons a little bit. Reading comic books obviously hasn't.

:bash:

You ought to watch movies once in awhile. I might broaden your horizons a little bit. Reading comic books obviously hasn't.

:bash:

What do you mean, you don't eat no meat? ... That's okay.
I'll make lamb

MOSCOW 1980 !!!!!!!!!!

In Order of what I can remember....

Sydney 2000
Moscow 1980
LA 1984
Barcelona 1992
Seoul 1988
Atlanta 1996
Athens 2004

Athens 2004
Barcelona 1992
Soul 1988
LA 1984
Atlanta 1996

Landos, you're a complete toss. You're insignificant anyway, so from now on, i won't make any comment at or about you.

so from now on, i won't make any comment at or about you.

One down, two dozen to go.

:bash:

Edit: Deleted. Can't be bothered wasting my time on these people.

Edited: Everything deleted again. Again, it's not worth arguing with those that don't have much history left at this forum.

You planning on leaving us, Valeroso? Too bad, we enjoyed the entertainment. :bash:

I won't be leaving, but you will ;)

no hes not

Valeroso can't argue with any degree of success, so he whines to the Moderator staff to get me evicted. I wouldn't expect anything less from him. He couldn't contend with my "hoist on his own petard" statement for his bigotted comments, so he whines to the Moderators. Whatever.

I stand on my record in this forum. I'll be around for a long time-under one guise or another-to stick pins in inflated ego's and take to task the woefully ignorant. My fans need have no fear of that!

i love to read all that bashing, whenever there is sthg about Athens 2000, u just gotta read, because a couple of ####### greek guys really cant mean what they are writing...they are driving some guys mad by purpose, they must be fakes...mmuuaahhhhhhhh....well done...

I'll be around for a long time-under one guise or another

I believe once you're banned, you're not eligible to come under any other guises. Are you openly speaking about trying to break the forum rules now?

its called IP Banning and technically, he hasnt done anything wrong. it isnt his fault you like to flame...

I never flame. I only attack flamers! Obviously you're in denial about MANY things including the topic of this thread.

Ignore him, Palikari. He's all gas and no spark. :)

Ignore him, Palikari. He's all gas and no spark. :)

whoa look who's talking.....since when did you progress from "all talk all bull" to a higher status of knowledge...

This is a thread for all of you idiots who seem intent on arguing who has the bigger penis, sorry better olympics, and are intent on ruining the london olympics thread.
so please add all of your tiresome bitching in here.
ill start... sydney was the best games ever and athens was a pile of poo. that should get you going.

This is a thread for all of you idiots who seem intent on arguing who has the bigger penis, sorry better olympics, and are intent on ruining the london olympics thread.
so please add all of your tiresome whinging in here.
ill start... sydney was the best games ever and athens was a pile of poo. that should get you going.

What?

Barcelona 92

atlanta ofcourse...

LA '84 because the Soviets didn't participate.

barcelona 92

Calgary '88! w00t!

It's all about the Winter Olympics baby!

Melbourne 1956 :righton:

Sydney 2000 the best. I have actually been there and watched some games.
Barcelona 1992 was very good also.
Maybe, Berlin 1936 directed by Hitler was marvelleous.

There were two Olympics Games, that I did enjoyed tremendeously, Barcelona 1992 and Sydney 2000. The last one in Athens was also incredible beautiful, that would be my third selection.

Shouldn't be long now til this thread turns into a shitfight! lol

you damn rightt. whats diss bout athens is a pile of poo da only thing is ur face byatch. Athens was da best damn Olympics this planet experienced and wit out athens greece there would be no Olmypics so keep dat in mind b4 i take a shit on yo face.

1936 games in Berlin was special, in spite of the obvious attachment to the then German regime.

# It was the first Olympics ever on television.
# The stadium was second to none and has stood the test of time. It will be in use for next years 2006 soccer cup and is used regularly for local soccer in Berlin.
# First time the torch was carried from its birthplace to the opening ceremony to be lit in the cauldron.

Second best for mine was Moscow in 1980. Incredible opening ceremony that may never be bettered.

Looking forward to Beijing to see if they can beat the above.

Berlin followed by Munich :cheers:

Athens 1896 and 2004 ,because OLYMPICS FAR FROM HOME ARE LIKE CYBER SEX. IT MAY BE GOOD, BUT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE REAL THING.

sydney
barcelona
athens

Rome 1960
Athens 2004

Athens.. was the first time an Olympics was held in a third world country.

duh? are you kidding? :sleepy:

Athens deserves a special mention as it was the first time an Olympics was held in a third world country.

No it wasnt. Greece invented the Olympics and they were held there for a thousand years...

Athens 2004 for me. A world torch lay and a gantastic opening in the extras.

Barcelona ´92

Maybe, Berlin 1936 directed by Hitler was marvelleous.
:runaway: :runaway:

I liked Athens 2004 the most.

This thread seems to be going well. Hopefully it wont turn into a flamme war.

I have to agree slightly with the thread starter. Sydney 2000 was the best i saw and Athens has to be the worst. The venues were both very nice and the Greeks did well in the end to be almost fully prepared. The fans seemed a lot more passionate in Sydney than the ones in Athens. I think it might be a cultural thing, without disrespecting the Greeks enthusiasm. They probably showed it in a less vocal way. I can't wait for London 2012 because i think Australians and the British are quite similar at major sporting events. I believe we might even improve on the effort of sydney 2000. I've only really been able to see the olympics since atlanta 1996 as im too young for the ones before. Therefore i can't comment on any of the others. Atlanta was the games i first got excited about the olympics and athletics.

:runaway: :runaway:

Yes, I saw the 1936 Berlin Olympics from the documentary films. There were a sea of Nazi flags in the stadium, so gorgeous scene!

The most dramatic scene was Jesse Owens got 4 golds in Track & Field. Hitler refused to shake hand with him.

U got excited from Atlanta, the worst games in history????That says a lot why u think Sydney the best and Athens the worst.

I liked it when Jesse Owens beat Hitler's Zeppelin. No wait that was an episode of the Simpsons. Sydney for me was the best.

edit

U got excited from Atlanta, the worst games in history????That says a lot why u think Sydney the best and Athens the worst.
^^
Here we go again...............................

Let the guy believe what he wants. He has his own opinion. We think Athens was the best and he thinks it was the worse. That is fine he can think what he wants.

Dang. We posted at the same time.

Moscow 1980 was da best!!!!

http://img377.imageshack.us/img377/9571/londonplaza9rl.jpg

Just you watch, someone is going to accuse Landos of starting this thread and instigating a flame war. Probably one of my Greek compatriots who are scared to death of showing a proud face to the world. LOL.

:)

I don't know about the "best", but Athens 2004 was desperately needed after the Americans nearly destroyed the modern Olympics with their rampant commercialism and the Soviets with the professionalism of their athletes. Athens breathed new life into an Olympic spirit gone sour.

"Dream Teams" composed of idiotic, spoiled, professional US basketball players hotdogging, putting on slam-dunking clinics and beating amateur teams by 50 points. Soviet "professional" hockey teams beating college players without effort. East German women swimmers who shaved their chests prior to enterring the pools. That stuff was finally put to bed in Athens. Drug tests that were actually MEANINGFUL and seriously conducted, weeding out the hypodermic cheats.

The Olympics desperately needed a return to ground in Athens. Those that deprecate the Greek games strictly on the basis of some misguided, colloquial nationalism are doing a great disservice to the Olympic spirit.

What was the "best" Olympic Games? That depends on your cultural background, naturally. Germans like the Berlin and Munich games. Americans favor Los Angeles and Atlanta and Russians prefer the Moscow Games. But nobody should question the impact on the Olympic spirit by bringing the games back to Greece. It was desperately needed. The Games will last another century on the recharge they obtained in Athens. No question in my mind. :)

There are two kinds of people: those who have watched Olympics and everyone else who wishes to watch it. :)

I am the former one. In 2000.
Australia has shown the true spirit of Olympics. Good spectators(the Oz). Well-organised. Not particularly commercial but still managed to more than break-even.

Nothing compares with the MArathon in its authentic, original route! AthEnS!

Nothing compares with the MArathon in its authentic, original route! AthEnS!

But the Athen Marathon became not that perfect when a Scot rushed out from the spectators to push down the leading Brazilian runner 6km before the finish.

Athens deserves a special mention as it was the first time an Olympics was held in a third world country.

WHAT? THIRD WORLD COUNTRY?!!! I think you arent well.

WHAT? THIRD WORLD COUNTRY?!!! I think you arent well.

Don't be discriminating! though I dont vote Athens.

I don't know about the "best", but Athens 2004 was desperately needed after the Americans nearly destroyed the modern Olympics with their rampant commercialism and the Soviets with the professionalism of their athletes. Athens breathed new life into an Olympic spirit gone sour.

"Dream Teams" composed of idiotic, spoiled, professional US basketball players hotdogging, putting on slam-dunking clinics and beating amateur teams by 50 points. Soviet "professional" hockey teams beating college players without effort. East German women swimmers who shaved their chests prior to enterring the pools. That stuff was finally put to bed in Athens. Drug tests that were actually MEANINGFUL and seriously conducted, weeding out the hypodermic cheats.

The Olympics desperately needed a return to ground in Athens. Those that deprecate the Greek games strictly on the basis of some misguided, colloquial nationalism are doing a great disservice to the Olympic spirit.

What was the "best" Olympic Games? That depends on your cultural background, naturally. Germans like the Berlin and Munich games. Americans favor Los Angeles and Atlanta and Russians prefer the Moscow Games. But nobody should question the impact on the Olympic spirit by bringing the games back to Greece. It was desperately needed. The Games will last another century on the recharge they obtained in Athens. No question in my mind. :)

Atlanta was a terrible Games. The Games were reborn at the Sydney Olympics. And Athens continued the good work once the torch (literally!) was passed to them.

U got excited from Atlanta, the worst games in history????That says a lot why u think Sydney the best and Athens the worst.

I was an innocent child of 10 lol. I didn't take any notice of commercial aspects that were a part of the games. I was just captivated by all the different events and the competition between athletes from around the world. I watched it on the BBC who don't show adverts and in any case i wouldn't have took any notice of negative issues, especially being quite young. It's just the first time i remember being very interested in the olympics and athletics as a spectator. :carrot:

Barcelona 1992, no doubt about it. The best olympics ever. Barcelona set a break-point in Olympics, with a before and an after clearly delimited.
In second place, Athens 2004.
In third place, Sidney 2000.

Greetings!

I don't know about the "best", but Athens 2004 was desperately needed after the Americans nearly destroyed the modern Olympics with their rampant commercialism and the Soviets with the professionalism of their athletes. Athens breathed new life into an Olympic spirit gone sour.

"Dream Teams" composed of idiotic, spoiled, professional US basketball players hotdogging, putting on slam-dunking clinics and beating amateur teams by 50 points. Soviet "professional" hockey teams beating college players without effort. East German women swimmers who shaved their chests prior to enterring the pools. That stuff was finally put to bed in Athens. Drug tests that were actually MEANINGFUL and seriously conducted, weeding out the hypodermic cheats.

The Olympics desperately needed a return to ground in Athens. Those that deprecate the Greek games strictly on the basis of some misguided, colloquial nationalism are doing a great disservice to the Olympic spirit.

What was the "best" Olympic Games? That depends on your cultural background, naturally. Germans like the Berlin and Munich games. Americans favor Los Angeles and Atlanta and Russians prefer the Moscow Games. But nobody should question the impact on the Olympic spirit by bringing the games back to Greece. It was desperately needed. The Games will last another century on the recharge they obtained in Athens. No question in my mind. :)

Well, all the athletes now participating in the Olympics are full-time athletes(whether they are sponsored or not). They are the best athletes in their events in the world. If we insist to be amateur. The level of Olympics will surely go down. And only the World Championships of particular event will represent the highest level. The result? No one will watch Olympics. Becuase they are lower level than World Championships where the athletes are full-time, representing the highest level. It's clear. If no/not enough spectators, how can Olympics exixt?

For me, I would rather watch IAAF Grand Prix Athletic Meet or World Championships rahter than Olympics track & field. Because the level is TOO LOW to be attractive if go amateur

Barcelona 1992, no doubt about it. The best olympics ever. Barcelona set a break-point in Olympics, with a before and an after clearly delimited.
In second place, Athens 2004.
In third place, Sidney 2000.

Greetings!

I agree Barcelona 1992 was very good, especially the official & background music which was composed by the renowned modern composer SAKAMOTO.

But for overall best, I will choose Sydney 2000 which I really participated. Barcelona's surely the second.
The third? No idea. Maybe Berlin 1936 lead by Hitler? :)

But the Athen Marathon became not that perfect when a Scot rushed out from the spectators to push down the leading Brazilian runner 6km before the finish.

Actually, it was a drunk Irish ex-priest. The ironic thing was, after all the bellyaching the British did about security and their insistence the Greeks spend more and more money on it, guess where the only "incident" originated from? An ex Irish priest who came to Athens through-you guessed it-London Heathrow Airport.

If the British think they can cheap out on security for the 2012 games, they have another think coming. Greece should insist London spend at least as much as Athens spent in 2004-and probably more. They have a terrible record on terrorism in London.

Actually, it was a drunk Irish ex-priest. The ironic thing was, after all the bellyaching the British did about security and their insistence the Greeks spend more and more money on it, guess where the only "incident" originated from? An ex Irish priest who came to Athens through-you guessed it-London Heathrow Airport.

If the British think they can cheap out on security for the 2012 games, they have another think coming. Greece should insist London spend at least as much as Athens spent in 2004-and probably more. They have a terrible record on terrorism in London.

Yes, British should pay more attention to security coz of their records.

Athens Olympics were diffrent from others. They were the Authentic Olympic games. the Games were all was reset. Atlanta was forgotten, Sydney had passed, and the games returned to there roots for the first time in over 100 years. in WHICH country can Athletes run the original Marathon Track?? in WHICh country can they compete in the Ancient olympic Stadium in Olympia, something that everyone posting on this thread should honour if they are true olympic followwers and not just some patriotic trolls with grudges against other nations.
how many times has a stadium been turned into an artificial sea for a multi million dollar opening ceremony? How many times has a 1000 tone cycladic head risen from the bows of a stadium? how many times have you seen an amzing laser show appear in full 3D and motion in the centre of a stadium? How many times have you seen the Olympic Flame burn brightly over its spiritual home? This is totally unmatched.
Sydney was great dont get me wrong. but who in the fucking world can beat all of that i have just mentioned?? and i respect people opinions, but wtf?? Sydney was the true spirit of the games with its crowds?? do you think the aim of the Olympics is to make the most revenue and have a good atmosphere? NO. its about personal excellence and mankind you fool. Visit Olympia an pick up a history book before you make false statements as such.
the spirit of the olympics is totally unmatched in Athens....

At least, the Olympics has to be able to break-even or make little profit. Right?

No. It isnt about Money. sure for the countries that host it for the money. But Greece host it for the Journey and for the history and spirit. it isnt about money. 13 billion dollars were spent in Athens, and who is complaining? Its for the love of the games and the respect of the origin.
I dont give a fuck if not one ticket was sold. the games returned home in a beautiful way, no one can argue that.

Yes, Olympics is not for money. But it has to be backup by money. Olympics cannot exist if no one buy a ticket.

I know very well of sports coz I am an amateur athlete(Marathon) before. But I also has to be pragmatic enough. I don't mind Olympics to have a few commercial elements coz I want more people to watch it, feel it.

The Anglo-Saxons (US included) have killed the modern Olympic Spirit and have mutated the Games in a commercial travesty. The IOC is not to be blamed less about this corruption. So, for me, it is not strange to have all these opinions about "Break-even" , "No. of spectators, revenue and debts" , "Third World Countries" etc. etc.
This is why in these forums all Aussies, Tommies, Yanks and their lackeys say "Sidney best! Sidney best!".
As some others have already pointed out, it is not about the money!
I wish there was a reaction to this farse they call "Olympic Games"!
We could start by thinking that they would no longer have to be called "Olympic" , there is nothing "Olympic" in them any more! They'd better be called "Universal Games" or something similar but definately not "Olympic".
Even their return to Athens in 2004, despite all the efforts done by the Greeks, could not revive the true Olympic spirit as it was envisioned by De Coubertin and Vikellas.
Just think how many Anglo-Saxonic Cities have hosted the Games in the last 20 years and you will start to realise why the Olympic movement is so much degraded. Guys, your societies and your cultures may be all about money, but the Games simply have nothing to do with it. That's why you 're ruining them by trying to lower their spirit down to your modest commercial standards.

The Anglo-Saxons (US included) have killed the modern Olympic Spirit and have mutated the Games in a commercial travesty. The IOC is not to be blamed less about this corruption. So, for me, it is not strange to have all these opinions about "Break-even" , "No. of spectators, revenue and debts" , "Third World Countries" etc. etc.
This is why in these forums all Aussies, Tommies, Yanks and their lackeys say "Sidney best! Sidney best!".
As some others have already pointed out, it is not about the money!
I wish there was a reaction to this farse they call "Olympic Games"!
We could start by thinking that they would no longer have to be called "Olympic" , there is nothing "Olympic" in them any more! They'd better be called "Universal Games" or something similar but definately not "Olympic".
Even their return to Athens in 2004, despite all the efforts done by the Greeks, could not revive the true Olympic spirit as it was envisioned by De Coubertin and Vikellas.
Just think how many Anglo-Saxonic Cities have hosted the Games in the last 20 years and you will start to realise why the Olympic movement is so much degraded. Guys, your societies and your cultures may be all about money, but the Games simply have nothing to do with it. That's why you 're ruining them by trying to lower their spirit down to your modest commercial standards.

Chinese & Japanese are not Anglo-Saxons. Right?

Weren´t Mexico City the firt olympics in a third world country?

The first and the last..

Sydney and Barcelona

My score:

Atlanta - 6 (a disaster waiting to happen, and it did. country roads, take us
home, to a place, where this event belongs!!)
Barcelona - 8 (because of the beautiful city locations, the excellent logo,
but kind of disappeared from memory because of sydney)
Sydney - 9 (when the country loves sports it shows, how about 2016?!
no? 2020? no? 2024.. just say when)
Athens - 7 (the olympic rituals/ceremonies are really getting boring, the
open ceremony had some high points, the pool events stole the
show, the rest was boring)
Beijing - will it be exotic and stimulating or another mass-produced chinese plastic happy-happy-we-know-good-english-see-we-superpower-you-little? show
London - If the millenium dome is anything to go by, see remark for Atlanta.
but for loving sport events, it may turn out to be A "Sydney".

My score:

Atlanta - 6 (a disaster waiting to happen, and it did. country roads, take us
home, to a place, where this event belongs!!)
Barcelona - 8 (because of the beautiful city locations, the excellent logo,
but kind of disappeared from memory because of sydney)
Sydney - 9 (when the country loves sports it shows, how about 2016?!
no? 2020? no? 2024.. just say when)
Athens - 7 (the olympic rituals/ceremonies are really getting boring, the
open ceremony had some high points, the pool events stole the
show, the rest was boring)
Beijing - will it be exotic and stimulating or another mass-produced chinese plastic happy-happy-we-know-good-english-see-we-superpower-you-little? show
London - If the millenium dome is anything to go by, see remark for Atlanta.
but for loving sport events, it may turn out to be A "Sydney".

Yes! Sydney 2000 was really great. I did feel it myself. The Oz are great, friendly & love sports. It's so well-organised & smooth. For me, I met my idol, Haile Gebrselassie(Ethiopia). So unforgetable.

My faves are Athens 2004 and Barcelona, one of the reasons is because the overall feel of those two games you can't really surpass! Sydney was good too although not my 1st choice, they do deserve credit in staging a very good Olympics!

Athens deserves a special mention as it was the first time an Olympics was held in a third world country.

rather controversial, mind you the way the building schedule and parts of the Olympic Village were, you never know

Athens deserves a special mention as it was the first time an Olympics was held in a third world country.

You have some serious issues to deal with! Please get some help!

At least, the Olympics has to be able to break-even or make little profit. Right?
Athens made a small profit from the Olympics.

Athens made a small profit from the Olympics.

yes the accountants made sure of it.... :weirdo:

Conan has been reported for his profanity. I gave him a few days to edit it, he didn't, he got reported. Hopefully he's gone for awhile. :)

I really only remember a bit of the 84 Olympics in LA, 88 in Calgary and Seoul. 2000 was pretty good, so was 96 in Atlanta.

i am really looking forward to peking 2008. although i am quite jealous that the games were not awarded to toronto. . . but go china anyways!

Actually, it was a drunk Irish ex-priest. The ironic thing was, after all the bellyaching the British did about security and their insistence the Greeks spend more and more money on it, guess where the only "incident" originated from? An ex Irish priest who came to Athens through-you guessed it-London Heathrow Airport.

Hahahahahahahahaha!

Yes, yes, a gargantuan security breach which had catastrophic consequences! Every single red flag should have been flashing in MI5 headquarters when this fella stepped on board that plane. Disgraceful that he slipped the net. ;)

The Anglo-Saxons (US included) have killed the modern Olympic Spirit and have mutated the Games in a commercial travesty. The IOC is not to be blamed less about this corruption. So, for me, it is not strange to have all these opinions about "Break-even" , "No. of spectators, revenue and debts" , "Third World Countries" etc. etc.
This is why in these forums all Aussies, Tommies, Yanks and their lackeys say "Sidney best! Sidney best!".
As some others have already pointed out, it is not about the money!
I wish there was a reaction to this farse they call "Olympic Games"!
We could start by thinking that they would no longer have to be called "Olympic" , there is nothing "Olympic" in them any more! They'd better be called "Universal Games" or something similar but definately not "Olympic".
Even their return to Athens in 2004, despite all the efforts done by the Greeks, could not revive the true Olympic spirit as it was envisioned by De Coubertin and Vikellas.
Just think how many Anglo-Saxonic Cities have hosted the Games in the last 20 years and you will start to realise why the Olympic movement is so much degraded. Guys, your societies and your cultures may be all about money, but the Games simply have nothing to do with it. That's why you 're ruining them by trying to lower their spirit down to your modest commercial standards.

Oh, please.....get that huge chip on your shoulder surgically removed.

Wanting the Olympics to break even isn't about those nasty, horrible, naughty, beastly, greedy, bullying, mean Anglo Saxons corrupting the Olympic ideal with their free market dogma.

It's about making sure that the giant that the Olympics has now grown to be doesn't become a crippling burden on the cities and countries where it is held. Pontificating about the Olympic ideal and the purity of sporting endeavour is all very well. But if every Olympic Games was to make a loss of, say, $5 billion - that would be $5 billion less that any Olympic city and country could spend on things that really matter, like hospitals and schools and welfare and grass roots sporting facilities. All of a sudden, head-in-cloud idealism at the expense of fiscal reality doesn't seem like such a good idea, does it?

yes the accountants made sure of it.... :weirdo:
I am only stating what I read in articles.

The Games should be held permanently in Athens and that will stop all the current nationalistic corruption and jingoistic crap.

I am only stating what I read in articles.

ok thats acceptable, but you do also have a mind of you own right?

Yes, yes, a gargantuan security breach which had catastrophic consequences! Every single red flag should have been flashing in MI5 headquarters when this fella stepped on board that plane. Disgraceful that he slipped the net.

The point being, fool, is that the British insisted Athens go WAY overboard and spend Billions extra on security. They did and the only problem they had was some kook who slipped through British security. I hope you can follow that line of thinking.

With the bombings in London I expect the British will admit they have a problem and stop trying to cheap out on the security budget for the 2012 games. If they don't, Greece should boycott the games.

The Games should be held permanently in Athens and that will stop all the current nationalistic corruption and jingoistic crap.

We already had that discussion and some fools turned it into a flame war. Bunch of spoil sports in my book.

The point being, fool, is that the British insisted Athens go WAY overboard and spend Billions extra on security. They did and the only problem they had was some kook who slipped through British security. I hope you can follow that line of thinking.

With the bombings in London I expect the British will admit they have a problem and stop trying to cheap out on the security budget for the 2012 games. If they don't, Greece should boycott the games.

Security is a very important issue now. Who want the incidents in Munich happen again? Though high probability to happen in London.

Atlanta 96

London is practically an open city for terrorism. How in hell they ever landed an Olympics after 9/11 is beyond me. No way would I go to that city to see the games. A friend of mine, a Greek Cypriot girl living in London, was on the train car just behind the one that blew up. She was lightly injurred in the blast. From IRA bombers to unhappy east asians or Islamic terrorists, London has them all. They have 7 years to get their security improved or nobody is going to show up!

for me Barcelona were the best ever, they set a breakpoint,

also in the overall opinion there seems to be a first place tie between Sydney and Barcelona.

the only think that is for sure, is that Atlanta was a disastier..

The olimpic stadium was soooooo ugly, the Frankenstein of stadiums, also the terrorist incident, plus bad transportation, a giant Mc Donalds french fries pack used as olympic torch

yes the accountants made sure of it.... :weirdo:

Once again, you totally avoid the mature accurate comments of me and dimitrious. i really hope for your sake that Cape town dont get the olympics until its citizens actually come to terms with the actual meaning and spirit.

Once again, i dont give a rats ass how many people were in the sydney venues or how much profit they made. The spirit was lacking badly. Tell me, what made them so good besides 'good' crowds?

Athletes didnt run the original track, didnt compete in the Original Ancient Stadium, didnt feel the power of the true olympic spirit. I suppose thats why 80% of Athletes competing in both athens and sydney were absouloutely thrilled they were some of the only people in history to compete in the true home and true place of the Olympic games and spirit. Theres no such thing as olympics outside of greece. They become comercialised money makeing plans that the stupid public fall for because there too ignorant to open there own eyes.

Like i said, i dont give a toss if Athens sold not one ticket. These were the true olympics. the clean olympics, the free olympics, the spiritual olympics, the REAL olympics. You got no generic crap in Athens. It was all the olympics...So dont go around saying shit like debt and fuck because the topic is best olympics and no one can beat greece at its own game....not even sydney.

Oh, please.....get that huge chip on your shoulder surgically removed.

Wanting the Olympics to break even isn't about those nasty, horrible, naughty, beastly, greedy, bullying, mean Anglo Saxons corrupting the Olympic ideal with their free market dogma.

It's about making sure that the giant that the Olympics has now grown to be doesn't become a crippling burden on the cities and countries where it is held. Pontificating about the Olympic ideal and the purity of sporting endeavour is all very well. But if every Olympic Games was to make a loss of, say, $5 billion - that would be $5 billion less that any Olympic city and country could spend on things that really matter, like hospitals and schools and welfare and grass roots sporting facilities. All of a sudden, head-in-cloud idealism at the expense of fiscal reality doesn't seem like such a good idea, does it?

Then those cities shouldnt be hosting the olympics. The olympics shouldnt be held to make a profit. wtf? Greece is the only nation in the world with good reason to host the games. tell me another nation?? you simply cant...

The 2004 Olympics wernt Just Greeces Games, they were Europes games and more importantly the athletes games. They wernt held for profit or for the spotlight. They were held because Greece is Home and the games desperatly needed revival a year after Atlanta. Thus Greece was voted as hosts in 1997. IOC knew that profit wasnt an issue. What was the purpose of the Sydney games besides profit, national recognition and a form of lureing tourists?

Theres no such thing as olympics outside of greece.
no one can beat greece at its own game....
Greece is the only nation in the world with good reason to host the games. tell me another nation?? you simply cant...
:deadthrea

Then those cities shouldnt be hosting the olympics. The olympics shouldnt be held to make a profit. wtf? Greece is the only nation in the world with good reason to host the games. tell me another nation?? you simply cant...

The 2004 Olympics wernt Just Greeces Games, they were Europes games and more importantly the athletes games. They wernt held for profit or for the spotlight. They were held because Greece is Home and the games desperatly needed revival a year after Atlanta. Thus Greece was voted as hosts in 1997. IOC knew that profit wasnt an issue. What was the purpose of the Sydney games besides profit, national recognition and a form of lureing tourists?

Sorry! I do feel the spririt of the athletes in Sydney. It's nothing to do with the organiser, whether they make money or not. It's the athlete that bother. Please focus on the athletes please.

If you are to insist that one can feel the power of the true olympic spirit only in Athens, then I have nothing to say. It will be better for Athens to hold it forever. I would rather watch the "UNIVERSAL GAMES" then, or the World Championships which have higher standard.

I wonder if you have been a serious athlete or not? I have been and I know how much have to be sacrificed and taken out to become an athlete, whether you are amateur or professional. I got nothing(I mean material & fame) except memories.

I heard Seoul was the best...

Sorry! I do feel the spririt of the athletes in Sydney. It's nothing to do with the organiser, whether they make money or not. It's the athlete that bother. Please focus on the athletes please.

If you are to insist that one can feel the power of the true olympic spirit only in Athens, then I have nothing to say. It will be better for Athens to hold it forever. I would rather watch the "UNIVERSAL GAMES" then, or the World Championships which have higher standard.

I wonder if you have been a serious athlete or not? I have been and I know how much have to be sacrificed and taken out to become an athlete, whether you are amateur or professional. I got nothing(I mean material & fame) except memories.

oh ok. lets focus on the Athlete. The Athens Games were the CLEANEST games in the HISTORY of the Olympics. As well as this, Athletes had the chance to excel in there feild at the home and heart of the largest Sports Festival in the world started 3 thousand years ago in Greece.

What compares to an Athlete of Running the Original Marathon track, were the name comes from, or even competeing in the true stadium of the Olympics?

Justify that please.

If you are to insist that one can feel the power of the true olympic spirit only in Athens, then I have nothing to say. It will be better for Athens to hold it forever. I would rather watch the "UNIVERSAL GAMES" then, or the World Championships which have higher standard.


You dont only feel the olympic spirit in Athens, but in Olympia as well. You can go watch the universal games. They carry no meaning. history or spirit. in other words, there in no way glorious.

Barcelona 92, of course :D

Then those cities shouldnt be hosting the olympics. The olympics shouldnt be held to make a profit. wtf? Greece is the only nation in the world with good reason to host the games. tell me another nation?? you simply cant...

The 2004 Olympics wernt Just Greeces Games, they were Europes games and more importantly the athletes games. They wernt held for profit or for the spotlight. They were held because Greece is Home and the games desperatly needed revival a year after Atlanta. Thus Greece was voted as hosts in 1997. IOC knew that profit wasnt an issue. What was the purpose of the Sydney games besides profit, national recognition and a form of lureing tourists?

Where did I say anything about the Olympics having to make a profit?

Well, I'm waiting......!

Exactly! I said nothing of the sort. I merely replied to Demetrius' risibly chippy post about those horrible, nasty, mean Anglo Saxons and I pointed out that, if it wishes to survive, the Olympic movement cannot ignore at least a modicum of financial responsibility.

As to you claiming that no country has good reason to host the Games other than Greece.......please, just get over yourselves. Every country that hosts the Games has good reasons and those reasons aren't just about money. Those reasons include the honour of being awarded the Games. They include being able to indulge their nation's passion for sport. They include pride for their country and city and wanting to share that pride with the world.

We saw those reasons personified in Athens. We saw it in Sydney too. Two different cultures. Two great Olympics. So stop getting all arsey whenever anyone has the temerity to disagree with a fellow Greek!

oh ok. lets focus on the Athlete. The Athens Games were the CLEANEST games in the HISTORY of the Olympics. As well as this, Athletes had the chance to excel in there feild at the home and heart of the largest Sports Festival in the world started 3 thousand years ago in Greece.

What compares to an Athlete of Running the Original Marathon track, were the name comes from, or even competeing in the true stadium of the Olympics?

Justify that please.

Yes, yes....all very nice and I'm sure that the athletes appreciated both the historic sites and the modern venues.

But they also appreciated Sydney as a magnificent Olympics for the athletes too.

The point being, fool, is that the British insisted Athens go WAY overboard and spend Billions extra on security. They did and the only problem they had was some kook who slipped through British security. I hope you can follow that line of thinking.

With the bombings in London I expect the British will admit they have a problem and stop trying to cheap out on the security budget for the 2012 games. If they don't, Greece should boycott the games.


No. The point being, fool, that this drunken ex Irish priest was hardly likely to have been one of the fifty most wanted terrorists in the world. Or one of the fifty thousand most wanted. Or one of the fifty million most wanted. Or one of the.......you get the point?

I'm sure that, over the next few years and in the immediate run up to the 2012 Games, the British will be forced to spend far more on security than is currently budgeted.

And if Greece boycotted the Games (oh no, shock, horror, wailing and gnashing of teeth - what would we do?), that would affect the likely destination of, what, as many as two silvers and three bronze medals? ;)

Once again, you totally avoid the mature accurate comments of me and dimitrious. i really hope for your sake that Cape town dont get the olympics until its citizens actually come to terms with the actual meaning and spirit.

Once again, i dont give a rats ass how many people were in the sydney venues or how much profit they made. The spirit was lacking badly. Tell me, what made them so good besides 'good' crowds?

Athletes didnt run the original track, didnt compete in the Original Ancient Stadium, didnt feel the power of the true olympic spirit. I suppose thats why 80% of Athletes competing in both athens and sydney were absouloutely thrilled they were some of the only people in history to compete in the true home and true place of the Olympic games and spirit. Theres no such thing as olympics outside of greece. They become comercialised money makeing plans that the stupid public fall for because there too ignorant to open there own eyes.

Like i said, i dont give a toss if Athens sold not one ticket. These were the true olympics. the clean olympics, the free olympics, the spiritual olympics, the REAL olympics. You got no generic crap in Athens. It was all the olympics...So dont go around saying shit like debt and fuck because the topic is best olympics and no one can beat greece at its own game....not even sydney.

Blimey.

Have they pioneered the operation for surgically removing people from their own arses yet?

Where did I say anything about the Olympics having to make a profit?
Well, I'm waiting......!

Exactly! I said nothing of the sort. I merely replied to Demetrius' risibly chippy post about those horrible, nasty, mean Anglo Saxons and I pointed out that, if it wishes to survive, the Olympic movement cannot ignore at least a modicum of financial responsibility.

As to you claiming that no country has good reason to host the Games other than Greece.......please, just get over yourselves. Every country that hosts the Games has good reasons and those reasons aren't just about money. Those reasons include the honour of being awarded the Games. They include being able to indulge their nation's passion for sport. They include pride for their country and city and wanting to share that pride with the world.

We saw those reasons personified in Athens. We saw it in Sydney too. Two different cultures. Two great Olympics. So stop getting all arsey whenever anyone has the temerity to disagree with a fellow Greek!

When someone says that cities shouldnt be making a loss, it kind of Suggests that cities that host, want to host it for the profit.

i simply stated that Athens is the Only city that truely dosent mind about Profit or loss because it has something that other cities dont. Olympic Heritage. Now im not saying this in an Uptight fashion, but come on. That is an undeniable aspect which made the Athens games great. And i am disgusted in people who fail to admit that the Athens games was equally as good as Sydney if not better.

Not because i dont respect there opinion, but because they dont want to believe that the Athens games were a smashing success. We have countless Articles to prove it, and a few articles stating that seats were always empty dont affect the overshadowing culture of the Hellenic Games in 2004.

Like i have said. Sydney held superb games. Athens held Games that were just as good. In Sydney i liked the Crowds, in Athens i liked the way the Modern games were tied in to the Ancient Origion.

i am so sick and tired of this.... it is so exhausting...

When someone says that cities shouldnt be making a loss, it kind of Suggests that cities that host, want to host it for the profit.

Did you read my post at all?

I was replying to Demetrius' ridiculous and bleating post about commercialism in the Olympics - blaming those ghastly Anglo Saxons for everything. I merely pointed out that no city and no country hosting the Olympics (not even Athens and Greece) can afford to ignore commercial opportunities and financial prudence. Sure, in an ideal world, the Olympics cost nothing. In an ideal world, everything is free. In an ideal world, sport remains untainted by advertising.

But, unfortunately, we live in the real world. And in the real world, the Olympics cost billions and billions of dollars. And if the costs can't be met by the proceeds from exploiting commercial opportunities, then they must be met by public money - money that could otherwise have been far better spent elsewhere. Because in the real world, hospitals have to be paid for; schools require investment; and the helpless in society need welfare.

In this respect, it could be argued that the Anglo Saxon model helped to save or rejuvenate the Olympics. After the financial disaster that was the Montreal Olympics (a city that is still, I believe, counting the cost of staging the 1976 Olympics), there was a great threat to the future of the Games. Cities did not want to commit themselves to decades of debt. And it was the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984 that first showed the Olympic movement that the Games needn't be a crippling financial burden on the host city and country.

So, to conclude, if a host city says that it doesn't want to make a loss, that doesn't remotely imply that all they're interested in is making a profit. It simply means that they acknowledge that they have other, greater priorities when it comes to spending the public's money and that, therefore, commercial opportunities offered by the Olympics will be exploited in order to cover the costs.

i simply stated that Athens is the Only city that truely dosent mind about Profit or loss because it has something that other cities dont. Olympic Heritage. Now im not saying this in an Uptight fashion, but come on. That is an undeniable aspect which made the Athens games great.

I'm sure that Athens didn't care about making a profit. But I'm also sure that they didn't want to make a huge loss either. And I'm equally sure that the Greek people wouldn't have been too impressed if they had made a huge loss.

And i am disgusted in people who fail to admit that the Athens games was equally as good as Sydney if not better. Not because i dont respect there opinion

You see, there you go again. The very definition of not respecting other's opinions. That last little bit, "as good as Sydney if not better", effectively says that you believe that Athens was the better Olympics. If you can believe that Athens was the better Olympics (and you absolutely have that right), then why on earth can't someone else believe that Sydney was the better Olympics without you being "disgusted" by them? Do they not have the same right to their opinion as you to yours?

The 5 best:
1- Sydney 2000 (for everything and ecology)
2- Barcelona 1992 (the games and all things around: a real party)
3- Montreal 1976 (great)
4- Helsinki 1952 (friendship, fellowship)
5- Mexico 1968 (results, lot of world record broken)

All other were quite good exept, IMO:
1- Berlin 1936 (without any commentary)
2- Moscow 1980 (politics)
3- Atlanta 1996 (commercials)
4- Munich 1972 (very well done but, unfortunatly, nobody can forget external reasons. That's pitty for Germans who wanted to forget Berlin)

ok thats acceptable, but you do also have a mind of you own right?
You really shouldn't be so hostile to other opinions. I read in multiple articles that the games made a small profit. There were facts to back it up.

And if Greece boycotted the Games (oh no, shock, horror, wailing and gnashing of teeth - what would we do?), that would affect the likely destination of, what, as many as two silvers and three bronze medals? ;)

Greece won 16 medals in Athens and has steadily been increasing its medal count in every games since Barcelona. Greece also finished 8th in the medal count per population(Ahead of the UK, BTW)

This thread is dead. It has just turned into another flamme war. :ohno:

Greece won 16 medals in Athens and has steadily been increasing its medal count in every games since Barcelona. Greece also finished 8th in the medal count per population(Ahead of the UK, BTW)

Oh dear. Someone's had a sense of humour bypass!

Hint: when someone puts ;) after a post, it usually means that they're not being serious!

Lighten up!

You really shouldn't be so hostile to other opinions. I read in multiple articles that the games made a small profit. There were facts to back it up.

k forgive me....but u do know profit is just incomes less expenses..doesn;t mean they made any money out of the games....but i do see ur point

Have they pioneered the operation for surgically removing people from their own arses yet?

Obviously not where you come from.

Every forum needs one, as an object lesson of the minimum allowable standards for posting. Nobody is perfectly useless, Jimboy. You can always serve as a bad example.

Greece won 16 medals in Athens

Let me apologize for Jim's misinformation. He can't count that high. Only has 10 toes.

:deadthrea

That last little bit, "as good as Sydney if not better", effectively says that you believe that Athens was the better Olympics.

And they told me you'd flunked Reading Comprehension!

it could be argued that the Anglo Saxon model helped to save or rejuvenate the Olympics.

Lets all rise and join together in a heady rendition of "God Save the King!".

:weirdo:

k forgive me....but u do know profit is just incomes less expenses..doesn;t mean they made any money out of the games....but i do see ur point

Whats Profit got to do with the best olympics? Once again your money hungry in your comments...i dont blame you...:runaway:

You see, there you go again. The very definition of not respecting other's opinions. That last little bit, "as good as Sydney if not better", effectively says that you believe that Athens was the better Olympics. If you can believe that Athens was the better Olympics (and you absolutely have that right), then why on earth can't someone else believe that Sydney was the better Olympics without you being "disgusted" by them? Do they not have the same right to their opinion as you to yours?

True and im Sorry. My point was that people who dont acknowledge the Athens Games on purpose. Saying that they wernt in the Top 5 best is total B*Shit. Thats not opinion, thats being bias. I respect it if the have more favorite olympics ( Sydney, Barcelona) but Saying that the Athens Games were 'mediocre' or not in the top 5 best is total crap. Dont you agree?

My point was that people who dont acknowledge the Athens Games on purpose. Saying that they wernt in the Top 5 best is total B*Shit. Thats not opinion, thats being bias. I respect it if the have more favorite olympics ( Sydney, Barcelona) but Saying that the Athens Games were 'mediocre' or not in the top 5 best is total crap. Dont you agree?

Ah .::G!oRgOs::., you have EMBARRASSED yourself with your hypocrisy! Because I do remember seeing you SPECIFICALLY say this in the "BEST OPENING CEREMONY" thread:

Athens 2004
Barcelona 1992
Soul 1988
LA 1984
Atlanta 1996

Now I find that you were EXTREMELY biased in that poll given that Sydney wasn't mentioned (On purpose, might I add). How could you think they weren't in the Top 5? "Thats not opinion, thats just being biased", right? ;) Don't disease us with your hypocricy and double standards. We've seen enough! Heres the URL incase you forgot what you said:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=261445&page=6&pp=20

Whats Profit got to do with the best olympics? Once again your money hungry in your comments...i dont blame you...:runaway:

uhm you can;t disguise a financially unsuccesful games by manipulating figures to produce a "profit" as if to say things are rosy and the DEBT has suddely disappeared...money hungry?? you're such an idiot profit is NOT money...gosh you even thicker than i thought

Why do people insist on posting twice in a row? The edit function works quite well.

True and im Sorry. My point was that people who dont acknowledge the Athens Games on purpose. Saying that they wernt in the Top 5 best is total B*Shit. Thats not opinion, thats being bias. I respect it if the have more favorite olympics ( Sydney, Barcelona) but Saying that the Athens Games were 'mediocre' or not in the top 5 best is total crap. Dont you agree?

I think that both the Athens and Sydney Olympics were excellent and I cannot understand why it is so important for so many people, on both sides, to argue that their Games was better than the other's. It's enough, surely, to say that both cities did a great job.

Personally, I don't give a toss about opening and closing ceremonies. I never watch them. I've never attended an Olympic Games so my judgement about the quality of any Olympics is based purely on the drama and quality of competition in the stadiums and arenas. And that's as it should be.

Ah .::G!oRgOs::., you have EMBARRASSED yourself with your hypocrisy! Because I do remember seeing you SPECIFICALLY say this in the "BEST OPENING CEREMONY" thread:



Now I find that you were EXTREMELY biased in that poll given that Sydney wasn't mentioned (On purpose, might I add). How could you think they weren't in the Top 5? "Thats not opinion, thats just being biased", right? ;) Don't disease us with your hypocricy and double standards. We've seen enough! Heres the URL incase you forgot what you said:

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=261445&page=6&pp=20

oh sorry, let me add sydney to that list in that case.

http://img419.imageshack.us/img419/333/closing387km.jpg

Can we please let this thread die already..........................

For me Athens where Very Good Organized but maybe it could have been better in some aspects . What I didn't like is the Empty stadium in some sports. The cost of the Tickets didn't help though. I wanted to see The Athletics but with 250 Euro it’s simply creasy for most Greeks. :runaway:

And I don’t ever think of Greece as the only Country of the Olympics :weirdo:

I liked Sydney Olympics too :yes: ., but my favorite where Athens as I was there

Quote from Landos: "I don't know about the "best", but Athens 2004 was desperately needed after the Americans nearly destroyed the modern Olympics with their rampant commercialism and the Soviets with the professionalism of their athletes. Athens breathed new life into an Olympic spirit gone sour."

Greece breathed new life into the Olympic Spirit ? Like the Greek atheletes doping scandal?

Don't tell me this shit is still going on a year after it started.

I don't even have to be here to see Giorgos making a complete twat of himself. Nice to see his total backflip. Only a few months ago he could not even acknowledge Sydney had staged an olympics let alone make a nice remark about it.

I am flabbergasted - i think the beauty of all of this proves who is the more naive.

http://img419.imageshack.us/img419/333/closing387km.jpg


See...this is why you are a punk!

You just wont let a topic die, will you? Grow the hell up little boy. You go and find some pic which obviously is taken at a point where all of the athletes have not come out yet, or at the end of the ceremony, and try to make some assinine point. You are pathetic!

Here is a TRUE representation of the closing ceremonies at Athens 2004:

http://varnedoe.smugmug.com/photos/18031166-L.jpg

http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/29%20August%202004/51086878MB229_OLYcloser.jpg

http://news.bbc.co.uk/media/images/40015000/jpg/_40015116_ceremony8.jpg

http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/29%20August%202004/51086878SF113_OLYcloser.jpg

http://www.athens2004.com/Images/Sport%20Gallery/Ceremonies/29%20August%202004/51086878SF120_OLYcloser.jpg

http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/08/30/closingcauldrondown_gallery__550x361.jpg

http://www.codycafe.com/images/frech_celebrate_closingceremony.jpg

http://www.codycafe.com/images/closing_ceremony.jpg

http://www.codycafe.com/images/greek_fotini_papaleonidopoulou.jpg

http://www.codycafe.com/images/china_liye_yaoming.jpg

http://www.codycafe.com/images/olympic_fireworks.jpg

I liked all Olympics and naturally they will only get better.

Honestly, who gives a shit about Opening and Closing ceremonies? Seriously, who gives a shit?

They're nothing more than pretentious, tedious TV slot filler for the brain dead. If I want to be entertained by something artistic or aesthetically pleasing, I'll go to a gallery, a gig, the opera, the cinema or the theatre. I certainly wouldn't turn on the TV to watch a few hundred stupidly grinning people dressed up as swans or dragons running around an athletics stadium and masquerading as serious commentary on their country's history and culture.

The Olympics are about sport. Remember that? Sport. Hope, fear, glory, ignominy, elation, despair, beauty, beast, pain, ecstasy, sweat, composure, grace, force, power, finesse. Real people, real stories, real drama. Raw and untainted. That's all the spectacle that I need.

To hell with the self congratulatory, bloated, money wasting orgy of over indulgence that Opening and Closing ceremonies have become. They are an insult to the Olympic spirit.

If an insult makes most people enjoy, let the insult continue.
Today's athletes prefer in a game with millions of spectators to a few thousands.

Mo Rush u can really be a huge jerk.It will be my time the next time to post million of fotos to your threads showing the poor children of SA who live in the streets and die cause they have nothing to eat and I will say :FANTASTIC CITY....U are really such liittle in mind...

This thread is so funny, especially when I come across Giorgos's posts. It's like reading a story :lol:

Giorgos would fit as a kindergarten teacher; he’s so good with the “And they lived happily ever after” kind of stories. I suggest that they use him in F.R.I.E.N.Ds 2 for phoebe’s male character.

huh?? whast all the fuss about i posted a pic thats certainly during the ceremony...there is a peformer on stage...whats the hassle about??? leafs and daniel keep your panties on...

I think Athens put on a great Olympics and backed up from the good work that Sydney did. It looked grim there for a while for Athens, but they scraped through and produced the goods. There were a lot of Australians that were in involved in Sydney 2000 working on the Athens games and in a number of aspects it showed, with the security forces and general precision of the games.

In my opinion, Sydney have been the best games ever because it excelled in all aspects. Athens was also great, but there were areas that could have been better in terms of spectator numbers and the relative lack of enthusiasm from the Greek public (considering this was the olympics coming home) compared to Sydney's complete embrace of the Olympics.

Venues and ceremonies, Sydney and Athens were on par. Personally, I enjoyed the Sydney Opening Ceremony more, but that could be because of a biased viewpoint and the fact I was so excited for the games being in my home city/country. In retrospect, I think that the Athens Opening ceremony was on a grand scale and a more ingenius show than Sydney's, however it was quite a bit shorter and seemed a bit 'made for tv'.
The venues, well Sydney's venues were larger and have all gained solid use since 2000 because of a well thought out plan to stop them from becoming white elephants.
I'm not so sure how some of the Athens venues will fare in the future, with the Greek government not quite as forward planning and cashed up as the Australian and NSW government.

Overall, Sydney 2000 - 10/10, Athens 2004 - 8.5/10
for comparison, I rate Atlanta 1996 as 4/10, Barcelona as 10/10 and Seoul as 7.5/10

Definitely Sydney 2000.

Why does everybody hate the Atlanta Olympics?

Perspective is everything. It's funny how to all the Aussies, the Sydney Games were the be-all and end-all of modern Olympics. They seem genuinely surprised that the rest of the world doesn't share the same admiration for them.

The Sydney Games were fine. The put on a good games and the ceremonies were ok. They delivered. But people won't be looking back on them with the same admiration as Munich in 1972, Rome in 1960 or Athens in 2004. They were ok, but they won't figure prominently in the Olympic memories of most people around the world. My opinion.