The Big Picture: Opening Ceremonies for Vancouver 2010

I knew we'd get some The Big Picture photos from the Olympics and the Opening Ceremonies, but I didn't think it would be this soon.

Last night, Vancouver, British Columbia welcomed the world, as over 2,600 winter athletes from 82 countries entered the BC Place arena, ready to compete in 86 events in 15 different sports. The opening ceremony focused on Canadian diversity and heritage, with emphasis on the many cultures of the First Nations. After the longest Torch Relay in history, the Olympic Flame has come to rest and now lights the cauldron of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. (30 photos total)

via www.boston.com

Click that link above to see the full set, though this I think was my favorite:

Here's a few more. One of the fun parts of the Ceremonies was following along on Twitter, even if East Coast folk were seeing stuff before I did (plus a bit of TiVo time-shift).

Having retired our lighted polar bear holiday yard display this past year, I told Todd that maybe we can try this one next year...

My friend Chris on Twitter said of this segment:  Do the Opening Ceremonies for every Olympics have to devolve into this Cirque du Soleil crap with some dude flying around like Mary Poppins?

This morning, screenwriter/comic writer Brian Lynch tweeted this: The Olympic Opening Ceremonies have the greatest floor ever. Previous champion: Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" video.

They didn't hhave a TBP shot of the stage, but I tweeted of that and ultimately of the cauldrons that they were:  "very Fortress of Solitude"   Of the lighting malfunction, RealityBlurred tweeted: Boston Rob made fire more rapidly than the Olympics did.

These ceremonies tend to be a bit too long (must they always start in the ice age?!), but it was spectacular... and not sure that it was "intimate" compared to Beijing, seemed like pretty big-scale production to me even if they didn't have tens of thousands cast members.  Let the games begin!