The iconic yet somehow also anonymous red double-decker London bus that then entered the stadium seemed incongruous in comparison to what went on before, even when the top folded down to create a green stage where Leona Lewis performed Whole Lotta Love with Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.
The finale of the London 2012 section wasn’t much better as footballer David Beckham merely appeared to kick a football before the bus slowly drove off centre stage.
The British have a reputation for understatement but, in this instance, it seemed as if they had taken it a step too far.
Fortunately, this was still China’s show and Zhang’s finale involved a visually stunning spectacle with a human tower of performers in metallic silver and red outfits as the centrepiece, as the Olympic flame slowly burnt out.
There was even still time for a performance from opera stars Placido Domingo and Song Zuying, some highwire acrobatics and a brief appearance from actor Jackie Chan.
‘‘Through these Games, the world learned more about China, and China learned more about the world,’’ Rogge said in his speech. dpa
desisted – stopped from doing something, i.e., did not do something หยุดทำ
exceptional – extremely good or impressive in a way that is unusual ดีเยี่ยม
iconic – very famous and well known, and believed to represent a particular idea, in this case, London เป็นผู้ที่มีชื่อเสียง
anonymous – having no interesting or unusual features ไม่มีลักษณะเด่น
double-decker – having two levels สองชั้น
finale – the last part of a performance โปรแกรมอำลา
merely – only เพียงว่า
reputation – the opinion people have of a person, place or thing ชื่อเสียง
understatement – making something seem less than it really is ประเมิณค่าต่ำไป
instance – occasion; a particular example of something โอกาส
visually stunning – very impressive to see น่าตื่นตาตื่นใจ
spectacle – an unusual, exciting, or impressive public event or performance ภาพที่น่าตื่นเต้น
acrobatics – the sport or activity of very skillful balancing, jumping, and turning your body กายกรรม
