While there was so much to like in the Opening Ceremony, to me four things stood out in particular.
The Drone globe
Synchronized 1,824 Intel Premium drones – weighing less than three-quarters of a pound each – "are specifically designed for entertainment purposes and are equipped with four LEDs that emit light that is true to colour and unmatched in brightness and vibrancy. Real-time kinematic (RTK) GPS also enables increased positional accuracy for higher resolution animations, sharper imagery and more dynamic 3D animations."
The Cauldron
Designed by Nendo, it is made up five panels representing the Olympic rings, which bloom to welcome the final torchbearer, Naomi Osaka. It is meant to represent the Sun, and the energy and vitality that can be obtained from it, such as plants sprouting, flowers blooming, and hands opening wide toward the sky. The cauldron weighs 2.7t, and the diameter after transformation is about 3.5m. The exterior panel, which weighs approximately 40 kg per sheet, was made by cutting out a 10 mm thick aluminum plate; molding it with a special hot press machine capable of applying a pressure of 3500 tons, which only a few exist in Japan; and then milling it.
Hydrogen energy - an eye towards sustainability - fueled the flames. Hydrogen burns with a colorless and transparent flame, and is invisible. In order to serve as the Olympic flame, it was necessary to be colored by flame reaction, so sodium carbonate was used for the “yellow” flame.
The fireworks
The video above ends with the fireworks around the top of the roof-less stadium in indigo, blue and white in the shape of a fan, an auspicious symbol in Japan. Here is another view of the fireworks
The human Pictograms
One of my favorite parts of the ceremony was performers "dressed in blue and white, wearing round masks and mittened gloves to mimic the featureless figures, posed in rapid succession to replicate all the pictograms graphic designer Masaaki Hiromura created for the 50 disciplines in 41 sports during this year’s event. "
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