LONDON – There were only nine slots allocated for officials in the Philippine delegation that joined the parade during the Olympic opening ceremony last Friday. That meant an official from one sport wouldn’t be in the lineup. To be fair and democratic about it, chef de mission Manny Lopez conducted a raffle to decide the unlucky one who turned out to be BMX bet Danny Caluag’s wife and coach Stephanie Barragan.
“She cried,” said a Philippine delegation insider. “You can imagine how she felt. It was a chance of a lifetime to experience the parade in an Olympic opening ceremony. We sympathized with her. Manny pulled out one stub in the raffle and it was BMX.”
Leading the Philippine delegation in the parade was flagbearer Hidilyn Diaz of weightlifting. A two-time Olympian, Diaz stands only 4-11 but as a 58 kilogram lifter, she easily handled the flag in the march around the oval. Behind Diaz in the parade was Lopez. Then came Philippine Olympic Committee chairman and weightlifting association president Monico Puentevella, archery secretary-general Terry Lim and shooting president Mikee Romero. The other officials were swimming coach Pinky Brosas, boxing team manager Ed Picson, track coach Joseph Sy, judo coach Yasuhiro Sato and administrative officer Arsenic Lacson. Sato brought up the rear.
The athletes and officials converged at the Athletes Village at 9:30 p.m. and began their trek to the Olympic Stadium an hour later. They reached the gates at 11:20 p.m. and were assembled to march within 15 minutes.
“It was an overwhelming experience,” said the insider. “After the parade, we lost track of each other. Some of us were able to take pictures with stars. Mark (Anthony Barriga) had a photo with Carmelo Anthony because Kobe Bryant was surrounded and couldn’t be reached.”
The Filipinos were resplendent in their Rajo Laurel outfits complete with “salakot.” They marched proudly even as the feed from BBC TV showed only a split second glimpse of the delegation because there was a cut-away of the English athletes getting ready for their parade. Diaz was prominently shown as flagbearer.
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It was estimated that 80,000 people packed the Olympic Stadium – built at a cost of the equivalent of about P30 billion – to witness Danny Boyle’s show which started at 9 p.m. and ended past midnight. The program was called “Isles of Wonder” and depicted major parts of England’s history, including its involvement in the arts, technology and the National Health Service. The budget for the show was about P2 Billion. Over 7.500 volunteers from 7 to 70 were mobilized to perform and sacrificed 150 hours of 284 rehearsals. Boyle conducted two dress rehearsals – Monday and Wednesday before Friday’s extravaganza. Glitches were reported in the first dress rehearsal on the technical side as some of the smokestack balloons in the industrial revolution segment failed to rise but the second dress rehearsal went without a hitch. The sound system was backed up by 50 tons of equipment over 500 speakers. Live animals were brought in for the rural sequence with 70 sheep, 12 horses, 10 chickens, nine geese, three cows, 10 ducks and three sheep dogs employed to recreate the British countryside scene. A team of 34 animal handlers took care of the livestock. About 161,000 square feet of staging was used, equivalent to 12 Olympic-sized swimming pools and 79,000 square feet of turf were laid out. A total of 40,000 recycled plastic bottles and 10,000 old plastic bags were incorporated into the 26,000 costumes designed by Tahra Zafar. The performers were allowed to keep their costumes as souvenirs.
The program was nothing short of spectacular. Critics rued that viewers unfamiliar with English history couldn’t relate but they missed the point completely. This was a showcase of national pride staged by a country that earned the right to host the world’s greatest sporting event. It wasn’t just a lesson in English history, it was more a message of hope, deliverance and unity.
Even the traditional lighting of the cauldron defied tradition in Boyle’s ironic imagery. Seven young British athletes lit the 204 petals, representing the countries in the London Games, which were raised to form the cauldron. Queen Elizabeth became a Bond girl for the night as she was shown on a 4 1/2 minute video in a spoof with actor Daniel Craig. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world-wide web, was honored with a role in a one-minute tribute. A highlight was the lowering of four orange circles from the sky using a flying rig capable of holding 25 tons to converge with one from the ground to form the five Olympic rings which erupted in a blaze of glory. Comedian Rowan Atkinson was a show stealer as he joined in the “Chariots of Fire” sequence. Paul McCartney closed with The Beatles’ “Hey Jude” in a moving anthem that brought the audience to singing in an emotional display of global unity.
Simon Barnes of The Times said it was “a magical night of history, spectacle and above, all, humor.” Boyle of “Slumdog Millionaire” fame said the show was “an attempt to explore Britain’s new place in the world with modesty and pride,” transporting the viewers from the “green and pleasant land to the digital age of social media via the industrial revolution.” The program was three years in the making and the realization of the dream concept will forever be etched as a milestone in Olympic history.