Inspiring a Generation...London 2012

If you have been following me on Twitter you will know that I have been totally obsessed with the Olympic Games over the past two weeks! I've never been hugely interested in sport apart from following Wimbledon or when World Cup fever sweeps the nation but this Olympic Games has completely captured my heart!

The build up to the games in the UK have been simmering with some speculation and skepticism for the past couple of years particularly. As the Olympic Torch was carried through cities, towns and villages all over the UK, I think we began to feel more enthusiastic about the games bringing with it a sense of community as thousands came together watch the parades locally. 

Even I was unsure about the Olympics considering the state of the economy and the amount of money spent of it but as soon as I saw the opening ceremony I was hooked! It was absolutely fantastic! Ok, it definitely wasn't the grand spectacular of Beijing but for me London's had soooo much heart! I loved all the greenery and the park vibe at the start. Showing the world the UK's history and huge advancements made in the Victorian era, Emillene Pankhurst and womens suffragette's movement, the ode to the NHS and Great Ormond Street Hospital was brilliant. We complain a lot about the NHS but I do think we are extremely lucky to have free healthcare in the UK. 

The James Bond/Queen sketch was pure genius!! Never in my wildest dreams could I have imagined the 'Queen' jumping out of a helicopter into the Olympic stadium! It was so funny, loved that it showed some British humour and Mr Bean!! OMG! Playing that one note to Chariots of Fire over and over again and his going into his little daydream ...it was hilarious!! Comical timing was awesome!!

Then my fav part of the whole ceremony! DIZZIE RASCAL!!! Man...he absolutely killed it and everyone did go freaking bonkers!!! lol Mixed it up at the end with some Dhol beats, showing the world the different elements of British culture. Oh and Tim Berners-Lee at the end annoucing the world...We invented the internet goddamnit! lol So cool!!

It was a brilliant opening! Danny Boyle did a great job in conveying Britain's past, present and future by introducing the theme of the games....Inspiring a generation. Everyone was wondering which famous athlete would be given the honour of lighting the flame and in the end it was given to seven young athletes symbolising the future of Britain which I thought was so beautiful! oh and by the way how hot did David Beckham look riding the speedboat on the Thames!! lol If you didn't managed to catch it you see the highlights here.

Some people think that Britain is boring and yes, I agree that traditional British food may not be the most exciting if you compare it to flavours of asia but the thing I love about being British is our embrace of different cultures (Indian, African, Chinese, Caribbean etc) which have all become engrained into our own to form a truely multi-cultured society! I mean Britain's national dish is Chicken Tikka Masala! lol

So after that amazing opening I was totally hooked! There was just so much passion and drama, tears, hard work and heart! It was all just so fun to watch and so emotional too...I couldn't help but shed some tears!

Source

These are the moments that really stood out for me:

The Brownlee Brothers - Triathlon - These two brothers have such a great bond, they train together and compete together. Always supporting each other, helping each other through competition races, they have even been known to step across the finish line together showing their love and unity...they are so inspiring! There was abit of drama during the race when the younger brother got a 15sec penalty but despite this he still won a bronze medal with his brother winning gold.

Rute Meilutyte - 100m Breast Stroke - This 15 year Lithuanian girl won gold! It was a complete shock to everyone including herself! She just couldn't believe she had won, was literately in shock and so full of emotion, it even made me shed a little tear for her...so beautiful to watch!

Chad le Clos - 200m Butterfly - This was SUCH  a touching moment! This South African guy Chad le Clos could not believe that he beat his all time hero Michael Phelps in the 200m fly. He was so elated and ecstatic he was just bouncing!! The commentators managed to grab his father Bert for an 'interview' and it was just pure joy!! He was sooo excited and incredibly proud of his son, he kept saying 'Look at my beautiful boy'...you have to watch this vid to understand what I mean...

Mark Hunter and Zac Purchase - Lightweight Double Sculls (Rowing) - These British guys won gold in this event last time round and were so committed to winning gold again. There was some drama when within 100m of the start line Mark's seat broke so there was a short break and the race was restarted. Still they drove hard and fast only to be beaten in the final few moments by Denmark winning the gold. Even though they still got silver, these guys were completely heart broken! They so desperately wanted gold and Zac particular was absolutely gutted, he completely broke down was crying uncontrollable and even as they were being interviewed the BBC's John Inverdale also couldn't help but cry and was struggling to get his words out as he handed over the the main studio. Zac said to John he's so sorry for letting everyone down...but I was thinking to myself..'you haven't let anyone down! You've been working your ass off these past four years and all I'm doing is watching the telly!' Damn that was emotional!!

Mo Farah - 10,000 and 5,000m run - Honestly I can't reall put into words the joy of these two moments when Mo won Gold in these events. Its like the whole of Britain was watching on these two Super Saturday nights, uniting together and willing Mo to win. It was like winning the World Cup but better! Everyone was crazy excited for him! I'll never forget it!

Tom Daley - 10m Platform Diving - Tom has been the poster boy for the London Olympics for the past four years, there was so much pressure on him to perform well not only from the public but from himself. Nine years ago when he was just 9 years old he drew a picture of himself doing a handstand on a diving board at London 2012...this was his dream! He had a shaky start in the prelims and the semi's too but he managed to pull it outta the bag in the Final winning a Bronze medal. He did it! He made his dreams come true! To see the joy on his face and his teams when he won was pure happiness! I love how his team threw him into the diving pool to celebrate!!

And finally the BBC commentators Clare Balding and Mark Foster! My favourite events out of them all were the swimming and diving ones and Clare and Mark really did bring an extra sparkle to the games. In particular Clare, not just for swimming but for so many other sports it was just to lovely to see her genuine passion and love for sports, the atheetes and they way in which she would talk to us like we were friends, she totally made the Olympics for me!

These games were filled with such drama, passion, tears and heart! I think that Lord Sebastian Coe did Britain proud and feel like he really has succeeding in his aim of inspiring a generation. Yes the Games were expensive but sometimes you just have to splurge to make yourself feel better...I mean we all like to indulge in a nice designer handbag or pair of shoes even though we dont really need it...the way I see it is this was the governments way of splurging only difference is this has had a hugely positive impact on the whole country. I can't wait for Rio 2016 now, I'm definitely going to be saving my pennies to try and be there! Who's with me??

Ok so I think I've rambled on about how much I loved it all enough...I hope this didn't bore you too much! Did you watch the games? What were your favourite bits? I would love to hear your highlights!

Cherry Lane xoxo