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NIDO
King’s Cross (our housing) was having a party in the café that night to
celebrate the start of the Olympics—the night we had all been waiting for. For
weeks prior, we had witnessed news crews come to London, sitting on the Tube
with us (as well as Olympic athletes!), standing in line to get food, etc. and
all the changes that were taking place within the city, as a whole. The new
Olympic lanes were painted right outside our flat building, and banners lined
the streets from Islington all the way to Mayfair and Greenwich. Each day, we
knew that the ceremonies were getting closer. Finally, the Olympic Rings were
added to Tower Bridge, and the torch was run through the various sections of
London to signify that the 2012 games were beginning. Luckily for us in
Islington, the torch was brought right past our flat building—at 6AM, however.
I think that was the earliest that any of us had gotten
up during the whole semester, but it was worth it!
My
flatmate Kathryn and I had finally finished packing our bags for our flight
home the next day, and managed to get a seat on one of the couches in front of
the television that was in the café’s lounge. Free snacks and drinks were set
out for everyone prior to the ceremonies, and it wasn’t long before the little
lounge had filled with the residents of NIDO.
As most
of you probably recall, the ceremonies were full of acts that told the history
of London, followed by the Queen making her debut with Daniel Craig as James
Bond as they jumped from a helicopter, and even Rowan Atkinson as Mr Bean. While
these were both astounding (and hilarious), the most amazing part for me was
when the literature began to weave itself in.
JK
Rowling began this section by reading from Peter
Pan while young children on large beds were tucked in by their nurses in
the centre of the stadium. From there, various literary villains began to
emerge and take over the entire stage in front of the audience. Captain Hook (Peter Pan), Cruella De Vil (101 Dalmatians), and the Queen of Hearts
(Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland)
were a few of them, but the most noticeable were probably Lord Voldemort (Harry Potter) and the Child Catcher (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang). The
introduction of the literary characters had us on the edge of our seats and we
were all watching in awe as the children attempted to escape their dream world
nightmares. Of course, when a downpour of umbrellas floated into the stadium,
accompanied by many Mary Poppins figures, the café roared in
applause—especially when she took down Lord Voldemort. (You can imagine the
number of comments that people were making about how Mary Poppins had really
graduated from Hogwarts). It was, indeed, a beautiful production.
As I had mentioned before in my previous Literary London
write-up, the people of England truly are very proud of their authors and
literature. Having an entire act based on children’s literature at the Olympic
Ceremonies certainly shows that better than anything. They aren’t just telling
themselves and their tourists that they respect and admire the literature their
country has produced over time, they’re telling the world.
After the bands went and played a few numbers, the countries
were then led into the stadium. As each passed, students from their home nation
cheered loudly, which of course turned into a competition in the cafe. Italy
was quite loud from the start, but were beaten when Spain (on the upper level
of the café) began cheering and stomping around. Still, I hate to break it to
them, but I think the United States of America won in the end—we even got some
of Italy cheering “USA! USA!” In the end, the torch lighting I think was the
most beautiful part of the ceremony, however. Each country carried in a piece
so that, essentially, every country lit the torch to open the ceremonies. It
was very symbolic and certainly entertaining to watch.
When all of that was finally over, Kathryn and I retreated
to our flat for our last night there before we would be leaving London for a
while. As we got into our beds, we spotted a large blue ring in the sky
directly outside our window in the distance: Wembley Stadium where the
ceremonies were being held. It was the perfect way to say farewell to London and
bid it good night for the last time.
I have to say that overall, I think I learned a lot about
literature while studying abroad, both through my classes and through my own
experiences of exploring the city. I learned many of the differences between America
and England when it came to literature and authors, and more importantly saw
the amount of respect that literature gained across the pond. From statues and
museums to the 2012 London Olympic Games, the literature of England surely gets
its recognition.
Now, it’s off to find some upcoming contests and places
seeking submissions for the fall for everyone! With classes starting up
shortly, it’s something to keep in mind between all of that school work. Take a
break and look into a place to submit your work to. Who knows? Your work may
very well be chosen! …and perhaps get a feature in an upcoming Olympics
Ceremony! Well, we can all dream, I suppose.
Written by Erin Sinnott
