From James Bond to Mr. Bean, Olympics opens London-style

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Published on Saturday, 28 July 2012 08:03

Written by Toni Frederick

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Basseterre, St. Kitts (WINN):  Wearing dark sunglasses and a big smile, sprint icon Kim Collins carried the St. Kitts and Nevis flag Friday night, as he led the Federation's delegation in the flag parade at the opening ceremony of the 2012 Olympics in London, England.  The team: Collins, Delwayne Delaney, Jason Roberts, Antoine Adams, Brijesh Lawrence, Lestrod Roland and Tameka Williams.

Quickly followed by St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, television viewers only caught a brief glimpse of the St. Kitts and Nevis athletes in the fire-paced parade.

Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II celebrating her 60th year on the throne, opened the games following a visually dazzling opening ceremony tracing British history from its pastoral past, through the industrial revolution into the technological age.  The presentation ended with an appearance by the inventor of the world wide web Sir Tim Berners-Lee.  

The ceremony was filled with numerous British cultural references that perhaps were best appreciated by Brits themselves.  Highlights included the use of technology to make the patrons appear pixelated, a cameo by the inimitable Rown Atkinson (Mr. Bean) playing keyboards with the orchestra, and a video featuring her Majesty and 007.

James Bond actor Daniel Craig, was first shown walking into Buckingham Palace to pick-up the Queen, who was sitting at her writing desk.

She greeted him with the words "Good evening, Mr Bond."

They are then shown in a helicopter flying across London to the stadium, where they appeared to parachute to the ground.  In real time a helicopter appeared above the stadium and a few minutes later the Queen entered the arena in the same coral-coloured dress she was wearing in the video, to take her seat to cheers and applause from the thousands gathered.

The flame was transported by British football star David Beckham via speedboat up the River Thames to the stadium where it was handed off to former British Olympic athlete multi-gold medallist Sir Steve Redgrave.  It was then shared between seven young athletes, who simultaneously lit inter-connected copper bells - one representing each of the participating countries.  The fiery bells created a dramatic visual effect as they rose into the air meeting several dozen feet off the ground in a united flame.

Friday night's opening ceremony also included roles for boxing legend Muhammad Ali, actor Sir Kenneth Branagh, Harry Potter author JK Rowling, and singer-songwriter Sir Paul McCartney who closed the ceremony with a well-received rendition of his Beatles classic "Hey Jude."

Though St. Kitts and Nevis' delegation seemed to have been lost among the thousands of other athletes, they actually did not go unnoticed.  Kim Collins caught the attention of Andrew Alderson of the New Zealand Hearld, who in his article, "Olympics: Top 10 moments of the Opening Ceremony" mentioned the track star in the Fashion Stakes section.

"Sprinter Kim Collins' shades were sharp leading out St Kitts and Nevis, too," Alderson wrote. 

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