On "London Eight Minutes"

Even before the Beijing Olympics curtain fell completely, fans had already turned their eyes to London. However, London's 8-minute show during Sunday's closing ceremony did not seem to generate much favorable feedback. Not all the criticism deserves serious attention, for example the "fake handicapped" performer in the wheelchair – it merely provided a weak bullet for a few pugnacious Chinese youngsters to return fire. However, a good question raised by some of the British audience is whether pop music represents England's long history and rich culture, or whether the idea of "a big party" is a good one for the London Olympics.

A British cyber friend, Paul Armstrong Taylor, wrote me from Shanghai on this (quoted with permission):

Consider this quote from an article about Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the London Olympic Organizing Committee:

Coe kept mentioning two words -- creativity and fun. Both, he claimed, are representations of Britain's unique culture. Creativity, he insisted, is "Britishness in the very best sense of the word."

As far as the fun part goes, London knows how to throw a good party, and that is what they plan to do, Coe beamed. "We're actually quite good at partying," he said. "Let's turn it into a giant party."

Citing the famous string of British pop music and West End stars that are part of the planning team, Coe seemed quite certain that the organizing committee will be able to put on a great super-fun show.

This fills me with foreboding. After Beijing and China put on a dramatic and immense performance inspired by three thousand years of history and culture, London is going to put on a "giant party" inspired by pop stars and musicals. Apparently, the closing ceremony in which Beijing hands on to London, London will be represented by Leona Lewis, the winner of a TV talent series and now pop star; Jimmy Page, guitarist for out-of-date rock band Led Zeppelin; and David Beckham, the pop star of soccer/football. Honestly, I feel sick about this. I am not a particularly patriotic person, but I do think the UK has some things to be proud about and I do not want to see it embarrassed on a world stage.

If they continue down this route, it will be a complete disaster for at least two fundamental reasons:

a) Pop culture is shallow, temporary and very much subject to fashion. It is a flimsy foundation on which to build a presentation to the world. Every country has pop stars and they all change with the whims of teenagers (which change often). The Olympic opening ceremony is about presenting what is unique and fundamental to the culture of the host (as well as the obligatory spirit of world unity). Pop culture can simply not achieve this.

b) Politicians and Olympic committees can not be creative and fun by their nature. Even the Beijing ceremony was not particularly creative, but it was immense and powerful. I think this is what you have to aim for. A few years ago, the British government tried to create a "Cool Brittania" brand. It became a joke because anything a politician says is "cool" instantly loses any "coolness". I suspect the Olympic ceremony will end that way too if they are determined to follow this route.

The London segment [in Beijing Olympics' closing ceremony] was more or less what I expected. The frightening thing is that this sort of MTV-pop music approach should be relatively well suited to an 8 minute segment, but will be practically unwatchable for most people if stretched to an hour or more. I really hope they change direction before 2012, but it seems they are set on taking the "Cool Brittania" route. Obviously, they should not try to out-Beijing Beijing - they simply can't compete with the numbers of people China can commit. However, I think there are other ways to come up with a display that captures some of the uniqueness of Britain's character, culture and history.

So, what do you think?