[no image in epub file]
Secrets of
the Olympic
Ceremonies
[no image in epub file]
Myles A. Garcia
© 2010, 2012 MAG Publishing
For my mother, Lily,
and all mothers who make us dream…
Copyright © 2010, 2012 by Myles A. Garcia
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic of mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the Publisher. Permission, inquiries (i.e., other language editions, etc.) should be addressed to [email protected].
Published in eBook format by eBookIt.com
ISBN-13: 978-1-4566-0808-8
Foreword
I was never an Olympic athlete nor ever had any such aspirations but for some inexplicable, otherworldly reason, I was always drawn to the Opening Ceremony. Perhaps one preternatural claim I can make is that my two brothers and I were born in 1948, 1952 and 1956, respectively. My parents were by no means sports fans nor, even then, Olympic aficionados by any stretch. However, my brothers and I just got spaced out at four years apart and those coincidentally just happened to be Olympic years.
It must have been the flags, the speeches and songs, the invocation of spirits and ideals long passed, or the coming together of all the nations in one location that got to me. Ever since I viewed, understood and appreciated the first Games I ever saw, those of Mexico 1968, I was hooked! Four years later, I moved from Manila, the Philippines, where I grew up, to the U.S. However, just as I was adjusting and attempting to settle in, the hostage drama in Munich was unfolding…so it was difficult to enjoy those Games (and its minimal pageantry). But moving to the U.S. also allowed me to view the Winter Games (which I had no access to previously).
What sort of a book is this? At first, I set to write out an exposé-type book documenting, as the title goes, many secrets of the trade. However, in my research, I uncovered so much more than that—that it seemed such a waste not to incorporate many facts not hitherto uncovered or collated in some relational way which gave the pageantry aspects some historical context. In the end, it became a critico-historical essay as well as a compendium of many new Olympic trivia facts which would thrill the most hard-core Olympic fan. Yes, the whole focus here may seem peripheral but then again, there’s only been one other book written exclusively on the subject while there are a hundred others written about the sports achievements. This is not another one of those.
What makes me qualified to write about Olympic Ceremonies? In addition to the abiding passion that I have (which is not unique; I am sure it is shared by thousands of other people) for the subject, I have worked
-in the Protocol Section of the United Nations, which then allowed me
-to work with the Los Angeles Olympic Organizing Committee Ceremonies Department, even very briefly; and later, with the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games;
-I conceived and worked out a trivia board game called “The Olympic Game” (1988 -1993); and even went to Colorado Springs to pitch it to the United States Olympic Committee in person, but their then-Marketing Department’s demands were so unreasonable that it made the project not at all viable;
-with the Pageantry section of the ISU World Figure Skating Championships when those came to Oakland/San Francisco in the winter of 1992.
-I was lucky enough to attend the Barcelona, Atlanta and Beijing 2008 Opening Ceremonies;
-I was consulted for the budget of a Beijing Ceremonies submission bid; and
-I have acted and still sing—so I know a little bit about performing.
On the sports and “guestimating” end of things, I am no slouch either:
•Shortly before the Los Angeles Games opened in 1984, local radio station KFAC sponsored a contest with substantial cash prizes wherein one had to guess the winning countries for ten selected Olympic events as they would play out in the Games. One also had to guess their gold, silver and bronze-medal placements. While the contest was somewhat limited to the advertising community of Los Angeles, I nevertheless came in first, guessing 27 of the 30 slots; and besting some 77 other entrants.
•In conjunction with the Sydney 2000 Games, an online sports website ran a similar contest for all the 300+ summer events. The grand prize for this global competition was an all-expenses paid trip with Games tickets to Athens 2004. I placed 3rd overall, worldwide.
What I’m saying is I have this fairly accurate, intuitive sense of how much intangibles (like Ceremonies) cost, etc. Thus, I feel uniquely qualified to write about the subject, even though it may be from a layman’s point of view—besides which I am not bound by any unwritten industry ‘codes’ or Organizing Committee confidentiality clauses--to keep certain stories “secret.”
That was part of the problem of writing this book. What I really wanted to see and share with like aficionados was a lavish coffee table book, generous with all the wonderful images of Olympic and other ceremonies past. However, there are all sorts of copyright, territorial b/s one has to jump through to enable an author to put out such a volume that at times I wondered if it was worth the bother. Here’s the paradox in writing about the Olympics: preparations for Olympic ceremonies are “cloaked in secrecy,” i.e., you are not allowed to photograph any rehearsals, even for personal keepsakes--on pain of, if you are a participant, expulsion from the event. And even if you did it (as I did with a few shots in 1996), it was on the sly.
And even because of the internet, there was such ease in finding wonderful behind-the-scene images and a proliferation of both official and non-official (i.e., pre-show) photographs, that it would have been so selfish of me not to include many of those scenes. However, due to language difficulties–often the ‘English language’ page was not working–it was not possible to ascertain certain facts or include various ‘spot-on’ images even with the employment of translators.
Difference between the eBook and Print editions. Please note that due to the more stringent technical limitations in formatting an eBook version, I was severely limited in being able to use the same liberal number of photographs which appear in the softcover version, as well as numerous, complicated tables which would really only make sense in a tabular format. Of course, you may find the more lavish look in the full paperback version.
Similarly, as with any research endeavor, there were primary sources that were uncooperative, noncommittal or just plain flaky. That is their privilege but it is a pity because posterity is the poorer for it. Despite being hampered by such limitations, I believe the reader will find the contents of the book stronger and more comprehensive than had I simply allowed myself to be stymied by these earlier roadblocks. I interviewed key people in a number of these ceremonies. Some were very forthcoming and generous with their knowledge and involvement with the subject: Margaret Farnum of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; John Ian Wing; Monica Pang of WET; and independent special events producer Joedy Lister. Special thanks are due assistant music researcher Jeffrey Ernstoff; very generous George Ortloff (Lake Placid 1980 Ceremonies producer) and Rene Lagler (Art Director of the 1984 LA Games). Other thanks also go to Lisa Pelto; Shirley Ito and Wayne Wilson of the LA84 Foundation Library, to new-found friends Nelson and Alona Bohol for help in putting together the sales/promo video, and finally, to my dear brother, Mario, for his unstinting support and encouragement in this endeavor.
To my friends at a website dealing with bidding on the Olympic Games that actually propelled me to write this book—David, Jose M. (“Ikarus”), Lee, Martin, MattyG, Rashiq,