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  1. #1
    Thailand Expat

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    Olympics Opening Ceremonies

    Hubby and a few of his colleagues and managers were invited to the opening ceremonies and were shown on TV for about half a second. Anyway, two of our friends are living on the top floor of a building which is right beside the building that BBC is using for their filming. We wives were invited to watch the opening ceremonies from this prime top floor view. The majority of people in the building were from TV stations from around the world.

    We live just behind Greenwich Station. Greenwich Park is hosting all the equestrian events, so the park is closed and so are some of the roads. They've put porta potties here for the hoardes of people doming through.



    The stadium from the DLR train.



    Crowds at Stratford Station.



    Lots of police around






  2. #2
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    Our friends' building. The rent went up to £8,000 per month and once The Olympics started, £8,000 per week! Sorry about it being sideways. I had edited it in my photos, but when I uploaded it to PB, it went back sideways.



    A Japanese TV station was right below us



    Japanese guy waiting for stuff to start



    Looking left



    Straight ahead



    And right



    McPuke



    A weird BMW display



    The crowds starting to come in



    Westfield Shopping Centre and a couple of the hotels (to my right)


  3. #3
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    The military arriving





    More crowds coming



    Cops on horseback startingto arrive



    The next two shots are to show one of the buildings that has a missile on the roof. Look at the red building on the right, at the tower and zoom in. You'll be able to see the people and the missile. The building is a closed down match factory.





    The mounted police lining up



    Buses with VIPs came in regularly



    The sunset and the no name blimp



    Dinner time!


  4. #4
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    Some delegates arriving



    Trotting along



    The BBC helicopter kept circling and filming



    Zooming in to see the screen





    A nice shot of the sunset with The Gherkin and The London Eye




  5. #5
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    ^More delegates arriving. All the people in the motorcades and buses waved at us.

  6. #6
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    The Red Arrows. We could hear them about 40 seconds before we saw them







    That's it for now. I'll post more tomorrow.

  7. #7
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    Brilliant Natalie, looks like you have a 'Ring-Side Seat'

    I'll try and Green you, it certainly warrants it.

    It won't let me Green you, but take it as a great credit.

  8. #8
    euston has flown

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    I've been a bit too preoccupied to notice the games, I did watch the opening cerimonly yesterday. It left me wondering how the brits managed to select an entire team of hair dressers..... saying that haven't done well!.

  9. #9
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    Looks like you have a prime spot there Natalie.

  10. #10
    Excommunicated baldrick's Avatar
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    why did they decide to use the french flag ?


  11. #11
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    Super stuff thanks for sharing

  12. #12
    Molecular Mixup
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    Red Arrows super as always
    but the rest of it looks very dreary
    £14,000,000,0000 spent ?
    where did it all go ............

  13. #13
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    Cracking pics Nat. Thanks for posting them up.

  14. #14
    Pronce. PH said so AGAIN!
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    Quote Originally Posted by blue
    but the rest of it looks very dreary
    Well, may I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom London apartment window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? The Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeast sweeping majestically...



    Quote Originally Posted by baldrick
    why did they decide to use the french flag ?
    They keep crashing into each other when they try to do the Union flag.
    bibo ergo sum
    If you hear the thunder be happy - the lightening missed.
    This time.

  15. #15
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    I live in Loughton Essex when I am back in the UK. I took the Missus and twins back to London just before Christmas 2011. We went and had a look round the Olympic Park and done some shopping at the Westfield Centre.My twins had a ball in the Lego play area in the Shopping Centre.
    Its a nice area and it looks nice, although if you walk a bit further out of Stratford its the same old same old. I thought the opening ceremony was top drawer and a credit to the organizers. Britain has done well in the medal count up to now surpassing their Beijing total. Well Done to all.
    "Don,t f*ck with the baldies*

  16. #16
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mathos
    Brilliant Natalie, looks like you have a 'Ring-Side Seat' I'll try and Green you, it certainly warrants it. It won't let me Green you, but take it as a great credit.
    Thanks, Mathos! It's the thought that counts. It seems like any time you try to green me, the system doesn't let you. No worries.

  17. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by hazz
    It left me wondering how the brits managed to select an entire team of hair dressers..... saying that haven't done well!.
    555555, but Team GB is catching up now. Not too bad.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by astasinim
    Looks like you have a prime spot there Natalie.
    That it is and it was amazing to have the opportunity to be there.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by baldrick
    why did they decide to use the french flag ?
    They keep crashing into each other when they try to do the Union flag.[/quote]

    My thoughts too.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by blue
    £14,000,000,0000 spent ? where did it all go ............
    Good question.

  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by thehighlander959
    live in Loughton Essex when I am back in the UK. I took the Missus and twins back to London just before Christmas 2011. We went and had a look round the Olympic Park and done some shopping at the Westfield Centre.My twins had a ball in the Lego play area in the Shopping Centre. Its a nice area and it looks nice, although if you walk a bit further out of Stratford its the same old same old.
    It is! We used to live just up the High Street from Stratford, near The Holiday Inn Express and we would hear sirens all hours of the night, every night. Ugh! One day when I was bored, I decided to go and explore further down along there. Previously the furthest I had gone was the Morrisons.

    I made it as far as The Gate And Horse, aka the birthplace of Iron Maiden. I took a picture of that, then turned around and went back home. In that short walk, just past Stratford Centre, I saw couple shouting at each other, people yelling at their kids, and a guy on his phone, banging on a door trying to get in, and yelling and swearing at his GF on the phone, threatening her if she didn't let him in.

  22. #22
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    Thanks to everyone for the comments and the greens. Now it's time for more pics.

    Kate Middleton arriving. She waved at us too.



    James Bond and QEII arriving by helicopter





    They went to the queen in the seats right after 'she landed'



    I have video of the helicopters arriving. I still need to upload it.
    Last edited by natalie8; 09-08-2012 at 10:18 PM.

  23. #23
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    These tanks are so well camouflaged you can barely see them





    David Beckham getting ready to go



    And he's off! They filmed this about an hour before they showed it on TV. On TV, they showed DB driving the boat up, setting off the fireworks, then him delivering the trophy to that guy who ran it in. *Sorry I can't remember his name* :embarassed:



    When the queen oficially opened The Olympics, they started the fireworks immediately. There were other fireworks earlier, but my shots of them aren't very good.

    For this show, I made a video of them and took snaps at the same time. So in total, I have three videos: one of the James Bond landing, one of David Beckham delivering the torch and one of the grand finale fireworks. I'll only be able to upload them on the weekend sometime.

    Enjoy my shots of the fireworks and my thread.






  24. #24
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    A nice light show to end things


  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by thehighlander959
    I thought the opening ceremony was top drawer and a credit to the organizers. Britain has done well in the medal count up to now surpassing their Beijing total. Well Done to all.
    It really was. The interesting thing about it is that one of our friends is a manager who is working for The Olympics project. He knew everything that was going to happen and in which order, so he told us to get our cameras ready etc. Even he said it was outstanding. I really didn't know what to expect so I just took it all in and enjoyed it.

    What made it more enjoyable was that we could hear the people in the stadium cheering, and the people in our building and in the buildings beside us. It was a real party atmosphere and everyone had a great time. Once I upload and post my videos, you'll see what I mean. I still get chills at some parts.
    Last edited by natalie8; 10-08-2012 at 02:35 AM.

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