Pandemonium (London 2012 Opening Ceremony) Multiple Perspectives

[@eh_maybe]

What did everyone think of Paris 2024? I thought it was excellent! I found some echoes of 'Pandemonium' during the rebuilding of Notre Dame section!

[@cloverfield911]

Woefull!!! Nothing can top the 2012 Opening Ceremony!!!! All the rest since have been complete washouts!!!

[@wtbap26]

Found it very underwhelming.

[@Gr33nMamba]

It had its moments, I admire their desire to something different and show off the City, but the pacing was god awful, kept thinking I was playing assassins creed trinity.

[@andmos1001]

The Bastille section was f***ing METAL!!!! And Celine Dion singing in the top of Paris and the flames literally getting sent to the sky were the highlights for me. While it is a bit underwhelming in comparison of previous Olympics, it did show the most important part of any olympic in a good light: the athletes themself

[@jdghgh]

It was great. Due to editing and the sheer scope of the production I think it didn't put together like Pandemonium, but as far as visuals, I think it might be the greatest of all time. The Olympic Cauldron and the Eiffel tower alone will be remembered for a generation.

[@laurafitzpatrick2181]

Going to go out on a limb and say that overall this was the best live spectacle I've ever seen.

[@whoever_81]

Going to...absolutely agree One of the greatest moments in the televised history of the world. A singular masterpiece.

[@lau_bowery]

12 years later and this is still the greatest olympic opening segment in history

[@jdghgh]

It's not even close. You rarely experience this sort of audio-visual excellence in motion picture films, let alone from a live production. A fucking masterpiece.

[@MutantLucky]

I just watched the Beijing ones. They're the best of all time

[@Tanzong830]

@@MutantLucky i've seen many ppl arguing over which is better between the beijing one and the london one. imo it's hard to compare these two as they have totally different aesthetics - the beijing one focused much more on the audio-visual impact and the sublime, while the london focused more on artistic storytelling and is more down-to-earth. depends on what type of aesthetics you prefer

[@baab4229]

​@Tanzong830 i love London 2012 exactly because of their focus on storytelling. Anyone can get 2008 drummers to drum in sync with enough practice and money but the London opening was simple but creative, packed with history, cultural elements and accompanied by an awesome soundtrack. I don't think Beijing or any other olympics comes close to this. I am excited to see if LA will be able to beat this.

[@barahng]

@@baab4229 Agreed I love the storytelling aspect. And this isn't just a nation's cultural history, this is the history of industry itself. All the industry you see represented in this performance was being done for the first time in human history by the Brits. It hit me when we see the top hat fella looking up in awe at their creation; the entire stadium, the electricity, the planes that brought everyone to London, all of that is the legacy of those early industrialists.

[@Existential_Tempest]

Even years later, watching this brings me to tears. What loss. What gain.

[@mjb22]

I was fortunate enough to be in the audience for the opening ceremony of London 2012 and during this segment, the whole of my body vibrated with the cacophony of sound. It was a complete assault on the senses, both visual and in what we were hearing. it is the greatest live event I have ever been to, and I still think it stands the test of time 12 years later.

[@user-ed7et3pb4o]

So different to the live experience of the Paris ceremony

[@ronniedodge3299]

​@@user-ed7et3pb4o Opening ceremonys belong in the stadium in my opinion 😊

[@adamfull3181]

Might just be greatest 20 minutes of any opening ceremony ever

[@kingaroykid]

Thank you for putting this compilation together. I think we will look back in history and know that the 2012 London Olympics was probably the high point of the Olympic movement, certainly the Opening Ceremony. Don’t know how Paris 2024 will go but I think the Olympic movement and the ceremonies appear to changed forever.

[@capedluna]

True, I was looking forward to Tokyo's opening ceremeony. Covid really screwed it up. I heard A LOT of performances and segments backed out.

[@garrywallace1007]

With the enormous number of positive drug results and resultant medal changes, it definitely wasnt a high point for the Games sadly.

[@debonidaniel]

​@@capedlunathey had budget problems in Tokyo.They had to retake the opening ceremonies 4 times.What we see in 2021 was a medley of all the projects.There's noting about COVID-19 pandemics.The original idea comes from MIKIKO a world know japanese coreographer and producer.

[@carolrobson9097]

Were from North Yorkshire and my daughter and her family were in America for their holidays when the opening ceremony was being shown, and when people heard her accent, they were congratulating her on the opening ceremony, saying it was the best they had seen

[@aryastark772]

Never forget this. I worked there during this and for 4 months during Olympics and Paralympics. Was so young and dumb as it was my first job. Amazing to witness; wish I had been a bit older in some ways when I worked there but also glad it forms one of my main teenage memories.

[@gigteevee6118]

The best opening ceremony so far, and this was the best bit! Excellent job pulling the 4 source videos together!

[@eh_maybe]

Thank you!!

[@evgeniam685]

Yeah, very symbolic, beautiful nature and mother earth was erased and polluted with so called industrial revolution that was ruled by elites and poor working class was serving them. Even music sounds evilish. Now planet saying no to people, enough is enough. She is living being too.

[@garrywallace1007]

This was probably the best Opening segment ever, but overall the Opening was a bit of a mess compared to Beijing and Athens...

[@debonidaniel]

Rio was better as they made everything from trash and recycled materials.The samba school industries aplied their knowledge as they are very experient to take this shows.

[@debonidaniel]

​@@garrywallace1007as friend of mine who is a historian explained me about this "mess".The Industrian Revolution started from a hour to another.The people and the cities isn't ready to start.

[@trence5]

I started watching the Olympic openings after this. My hats off to ALL performers and chorographers of this.

[@coppertopolo]

Definitely one of the most impressive Opening Ceremonies in the history of the Olympics. Well done London - I continue to watch this years later because of how amazing the entire production was.

[@baab4229]

The way the entire stage changes gradually by the power of many volunteers, from green peaceful grasslands to the foundry of the Olympic circles, symbolizing the history of UK and London up to that point, accompanied by the most epic and beautiful soundtrack Ive ever heard in a live performance. Im actually obsessed with this segment. Best opening ceremony ever.

[@josephdove6240]

I was fortunate enough to watch this live on the telly in 2012 and that image of the chimneys rising from the ground like magic has stuck with me since. If I were born a decade earlier I'd have volunteered to be a part of it in a heartbeat.

[@capedluna]

wow, thank you for the Director's cut. I remember seeing it on BBC America but never saw it all the times I have watched this online. Thank you for uplaoding it.

[@adamfull3181]

The absolute chills watching this all years later was best thing ever seen on tv

[@theguildofthetranquilpine5360]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR MAKING THIS. I've been looking for this exact kind of video of this.

[@Marcustzb]

I remembered had to wake up at 3am just to watch this live

[@bobhatcher5505]

Great memories, thanks!

[@DanLoudShirts]

Nice work. I'll share this with my 2012 Ceremonies colleagues!

[@eh_maybe]

so glad you enjoyed!!

[@adamfull3181]

Was favourite bit of that night still 12 years later still amazing

[@angelashannon6824]

Directors cut even more amazing

[@sarkahalastova9667]

Still the best OG opening ever.

[@debonidaniel]

Rio was better,as they do everything with trash and recicled materials.As the samba schools made every year on the carnival.

[@muska34]

@@debonidanielRio was like an amateur drama production compared to London.

[@pt4005]

Na sorry this is by far the best. Well done GB what an opening what a games

[@simw0981]

thank you very much, what a ceremony it was ! truly amazing

[@canadianmonarchist6357]

I always loved this part of the opening ceremony and what it represented in my mind. To me it was the roar of great britan as they ushered in a new era of prosperity, As the smokestacks rose so to did the nation into the greatest state and empire in all of human history. The rise of the olympic rings symbolic of the new world that british ideals and experimentation forged, The industrial revolution was the greatest harald of the superiority of anglo ideas

[@mikosoft]

It's interesting to see some of the changes made (I am also quite surprised there's very little changes). Probably the biggest surprise is the missed first tear of the turf at the beginning (I would have thought they had a big red cue for that). I also liked the very subtle change to drummers clicking their sticks when the same thing starts in the soundtrack.

[@prateektiwari12]

Director's cut have higher frame rate than live edit

[@eh_maybe]

ahh i wondered why it looked so good!

[@Jadentheman]

There's also the 3D perspective feed back when they shot with 3D cameras that also showed different angles and scenes

[@marksnow7569]

Back in 2019 I tried doing a "multiple perspectives" video of Pandemonium which included the 3-D version. It got blocked after 1 view!

[@eh_maybe]

@@Jadentheman omg never heard of that!! Where can one find it

[@Nostalgio]

Sir Danny Boyle directed this whole segment and it shows. I had the opportunity to be in the Steve Jobs movie he directed as an extra and the sets and the vibes were just immaculate, just like this performance was.

[@RhaenysXIX]

Danny Boyle never failed

[@leonardof.f.7749]

14:19 iconic

[@agus_rmz]

Fantástica edición. Hay partes del corte del director que recuerdo de la transmisión en vivo Doce años y aunque la vi en televisión sigue siendo una joya

[@eh_maybe]

iGracias!

[@TravelJack]

I wish somebody would upload the complete ceremonies using the "stadium audio" from the DVD (in other words, without the awful broadcast commentary). I've been searching for years.

[@eh_maybe]

i did try but sadly it gets nuked off the internet immediately, even when unlisted :,( IOC are very strict

[@lau_bowery]

almost all olympic ceremonies are in the IOC channel without commentary... except for this one. i hate it. i ended up making my own edit with the official soundtrack over the artistic parts lmao

[@richardvernon317]

@@eh_maybe Look on the Brightside, the BBC original is going to be dead, dead , dead because Huw Edwards was involved in the commentary.

[@RebeccaGunn]

Honestly I love everything about this performance, so many volunteers all doing their part to make it look good, the music, and how well it matches events and the fact everything just comes together even though there was so much going on in that stadium. Bit pompous maybe - but it's what we're known for so...may as well go for it!

[@johnhuggins1394]

London and Beijing were the best opening ceremonies of the summer Olympics I love the Industrial Revolution and the many drums

[@MartinFarrell1972]

I live in Scotland and this is how you do an opening ceremony. Glasgow's commonwealth games having dancing teacakes and shortbread vans. That's not a true representation of Scotland. Just show the world trainspotting and old firm violence! The music in this is fantastic. I eventually bought the blu ray of this.

[@PastPresented]

To be fair, the original plan for the Glasgow 2014 opening ceremony was to demolish all but one of the remaining Red Road tower blocks, but it was decided that was too true a representation of Scotland.

[@joshwestwood3727]

​@PastPresented the same went for the raging bull for Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. That was originally going to be scrapped but saved after outrage and campaigns about the scrapping. The bull is now located at Birmingham New Street train station, standing nice and strong and now named Ozzy.

[@happyapple4269]

choose life.

[@GianGood17]

7:15 is it just me or the perspective of the camera in the 3rd video looked like a city from the future?

[@crc5244]

Thank you so much for uploading. Do you know where I could find just the Live Edit in the same quality on KZbin?

[@eh_maybe]

Hiya! I got the live edit from the official upload on the Olympics youtube channel which can be found here -> kzbin.info/www/bejne/anLWYZhqmcpgqKs the pandemonium section I used in this video starts at 18:41 but usually when I rewatch I start at 9:37. Hope this helps!! :)

[@crc5244]

​@@eh_maybe Thank you! I had found that official upload before but the sound seemed to be poor quality - did you find the audio elsewhere?

[@eh_maybe]

@@crc5244 the audio itself is actually from the Director's cut version which can be found on the official DVD release. You have to enable 'stadium audio' (iirc) in the settings and it should give you that crisp quality. There's also an upload of the song on spotify - search 'And I Will Kiss', it should be on Underworld's 'A Collection 2' album :)

[@nuto6738]

this opening was really made for camera more than the audience itself. you barely see anything from the audience pov, mostly people walking in and out, industrial part is full of smoke, the oympic rings effects is seen from below etc. but atleast the song is probably the best we ever heard during an olympic ceremony

[@marksnow7569]

Quite the opposite, if anything. Try to imagine the "audience POV" coverage on an IMAX scale (i.e. in real life); you'll be aware of details which were either completely missed by the live TV coverage (like the carnival dancers & steel band, and the historical footage shown on the big screens), or under-emphasised (like the patterns made by selectively removing pieces of turf, and the routines performed by the Beatle clones). As for the rings, people on the lowest levels of seating could look up at them, while people on the highest rows could look down at the ring pattern the cascading embers made on the floor.

[@HonkGongCN]

Expendable door 30

[@DanGamingTV]

Was the bit at 9:13 meant to be a segment played on the actual broadcast? Looks like something that may have been filmed by 59 Productions. Duration of the shot on the live edit suggests it too, so maybe playback just failed...

[@eh_maybe]

I have no idea! In the directors commentary, Boyle just says its "showing the Industrial Revolution happened on levels" but I can't recall anything about it's original positioning. I do know the re-edit was mainly to catch some shots that had been lost in the live broadcast however. Interesting point!

[@DanGamingTV]

@@eh_maybe I've had a look at some audience recordings of the technical rehearsals, and couldn't see any playback during this segment. Pretty odd if they recorded it just for the Blu-Ray!

[@marksnow7569]

In the "One Night in 2012" documentary (and also briefly in the 2013 BAFTA Award to live director Hamish Hamilton) there are shots of the bank of screens showing the output from all cameras & other sources towards the end of Pandemonium. Near the bottom left is a source called EVS A, which mostly shows the first frame of "Happy and Glorious" ready to roll, but before that it shows a scene of people in semi-darkness which may well be a prerecording of the wheel pit. I agree that duration is likely to be significant- Hamish may well have decided that he couldn't risk showing a prerecorded segment of that length in case something really good happened live while it was on.

[@DanBmthUK]

UK viewers via BBC1 saw the Director’s Cut, whilst international audiences received the TV Edit relayed by Olympic Broadcast Services.

[@Loki128]

Afraid this isn't correct. On the day itself, the TV edit is what was seen in the UK and around the world. The director's cut was the version edited together for the Blu-ray / DVD releases, and subsequent showings on the BBC. There's a documentary called "imagine: One Night in 2012" released by the BBC in which the live TV director lamented missing parts of the Pandemonium section (the suffragettes, Brunel in the zoetrope, etc.) during the live TV broadcast due to the amount that was going on at once, and that some of it had not been included in the rehearsals.

[@marksnow7569]

@@Loki128 _"due to the amount that was going on at once,"_ As originally planned, it wasn't going on at once, but on 13 July, when officials calculated the length of the ceremony without the optimistic estimates by Danny Boyle's team (e.g. parade of nations 45 minutes shorter than in Beijing) they demanded cuts of at least 15 minutes to make it finish before 1am. Danny chose to shorten every section, rather than simply cutting one out altogether (though there was originally going to be *much* more cycling than just the "doves," with all sorts of BMX stunts).

[@barahng]

Lisa Kudrow killing it on the drums 😂

[@kikinou42]

Nothing beats the opening ceremony of the Paris Games. Much more daring, transgressive and incredibly set to music! Stunning !

[@Ivybelle50]

I agree. Paris was amazing! I was skeptical when I heard it would be outside, but i loved how it turned out. It was more interesting than usual.

[@happyapple4269]

bots

[@happyapple4269]

fake bots that delete comments.

[@johnhuggins1394]

It was rubbish,compared to London and Beijing

[@joiedevivre5119]

If I was clearing that astroturf I would want that music. I would wear the fancy dress anyway. It's a deal.

[@marksnow7569]

A lot of it was real turf- the farm animals featured in the pre-show couldn't eat plastic!

[@joiedevivre5119]

@@marksnow7569 ty for the insider knowledge! (Still a deal.)

[@greywolf9292]

Then the Mary Poppins floated down with their Corona umbrellas, the nurses danced and the people clapped, Boris was ill in his bed. Then came the cure in the form of a big syringe, this was followed by Rowan Atkinson playing a piano, sneezing in a tissue then throwing it to a fellow musician, much to their horror. Not so much an opening ceremony as a demonic ritual, reversing 2012 to 2021

[@eh_maybe]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHAHAHHAAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAAHHA

[@greywolf9292]

@@eh_maybe Laugh all you like, personally I don't find it funny that in 2012, they performed a ritual which would lead to the deaths of millions of people World-wide. If you check out Opening ceremony London 2012 Olympics, Great Ormond Street hospital and you'll clearly see they predicted the scamdemic.

[@continentalrcinglg]

Why do you virgins like embarrassing yourselves on the Internet so much?

[@greywolf9292]

@@continentalrcinglg Really is that the best you can do? Aren't you due a booster for your booster? See if this time they can inject you with good humour. Another little prick to accompany the one you've got already.

[@deanmann2210]

Grey wolf.i and my daughter never had the jab..i hope you are like me and realized sooner rather then later

[@barahng]

Scouring of the Shire circa 2012