London 2012
Sitting on a little patch of grass, surrounded by tall office towers in the centre of London, I am ready to watch the London 2012 Opening Ceremonies. As we get closer to the 9pm start time, the crowds gather and soon there are hundreds of us sitting around the square eagerly anticipating the show. Even the short spurt of rain can’t dampen our spirits.
At 9pm, we chant down the last 10 seconds and kick start over three hours of a tremendous show. My favourite is watching and listening as individuals and small groups within the large crowd stand up to cheer their own country’s athletes on when their national teams parade through the Olympic stadium. I’m with a few fellow Canadians and a group of Aussies and we jump up and cheer when Team Canada comes up. With London being the multicultural kaleidoscope that it is, I’m not surprised to hear many cheers erupt, even for small countries. This is what the Olympics are all about — different cultures coming together in the spirit of sport.
After an epic almost 4 hour long ceremony, we all band together and start singing “Hey Jude” along with Paul McCartney on screen. The party spirit of this city has been ignited and I see groups of happy drunk Londoners singing and laughing in the tube stations on the way home. Let the games begin!
