Translated material
Opening of the XXX Olympic Games in London
How I became a participant in the opening ceremony of the London Olympics
The XXX Olympics started on June 27. As you already know, I had the honor of being a participant in the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.
I dedicated my participation in the opening to the release of political prisoners in Russia; today there are a huge number of them. This includes Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Platon Lebedev, Alexei Kozlov, girls from Pussy Riot, as well as many, many others.
In the morning I went to pick up the "Free Pussy Riot" T-shirts, specially ordered for the musicians opening the Russian park in London on July 28, and after that I headed to the Olympic stadium.
Freedom for Political Prisoners!
I quickly changed into a costume for the performance (I play one of the English workers during the industrial revolution) and began to wait for the moment when the historical event would occur in my life.
Freedom for Khodorkovsky!
Participants of the opening ceremony
Last instructions before the performance.
Participants of the opening ceremony
The opening ceremony began as planned. At exactly 8.12 pm, 9 British Royal Air Force fighter jets flew over the stadium, spraying the colors of the British flag behind them, and three-time Olympic champion Bradley Wiggins struck the 27-ton bell.
The world's largest bell, weighing 27 tons.
For our team, this was the signal to begin moving towards the stadium. The dressing rooms were located in the distance, and I had to walk about 30 minutes. On the way, I decided to take another photo, but this time with the Olympic stadium in the background.
Near the stadium where the film crews were located, I saw people wearing Bosco clothes and decided to talk to them. It turned out that these were the guys from Channel One, and they literally attacked me with questions, since, apparently, for them I was the first Russian participant in the ceremony. What, how, how did I end up here... after the question of what I do in London, and my answer (I told it like it is, I am a political activist and political emigrant), the enthusiasm immediately subsided :) And with that we said goodbye.
Along the way there was a stand with all the flags of the participating countries, which were then given to each country at the entrance to the stadium.
I won't describe the entire show, everyone has probably seen it on TV, so it's better to look at the photos. The only thing I want to note is the appearance of the English Queen Elizabeth II. Of course, I was aware of a lot of things, but I did not expect such a turn of events. The screens at the stadium showed a mini-film featuring James Bond played by Daniel Craig and Elizabeth II, who end up in a helicopter and the queen jumps with a parachute (naturally, there was a stunt double). At this time, a real helicopter hovers over the stadium and a parachutist is visible, then, a moment later, the queen, accompanied by the head of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, appears at the stadium itself. This delighted the audience!
Queen's jump
The tree from under which our team of workers came out.
The photo is from my original place, the quality is very poor, but it was taken right during the ceremony.
I think this actor needs no introduction.
David Beckham carried the Olympic torch across Tower Bridge on a boat along the Thames.
Another photo from the stage.
After finishing my act I saw Russians in very decent places :)
Before the athletes started passing, I decided to go meet them on the street. It took a long time to find ours, since the teams were in alphabetical order, and only the Greek team was first, and the hosts were last. At the head of the column of Russian athletes were the Chairman of the ROC Zhukov and our standard-bearer Maria Sharapova. In total, 205 delegations took part in the procession, and ours were number 153.
Russian national team
Russian national team
Russian national team
The largest team is Team USA.
The last team passing through the stadium is Team Great Britain.
Serbian athletes turned out to be much friendlier than their own.
I took away their sign from the Belarusians and said that I would return it only after Lukashenko left.
Laser show and fireworks
At the end of my volunteering, I received this certificate, signed by the show's director, Danny Boyle.
In my opinion, the Olympic show was a great success. I don’t know how it was there, maybe it was better in Beijing, as they say, “I don’t know, I wasn’t there and didn’t participate,” but the fact that this discovery will be remembered by me forever is a fact!