The 2018 Winter Olympics: Closing Ceremony.

Yesterday (25/2/18) the 2018 Winter Olympics drew to a close in PyeongChang in the Republic of Korea (RoK/South). It ended with the traditional Closing Ceremony.

There are a few rules of protocols about what Olympic ceremonies must contain. Generally though, like so much in life, they are defined by the people who turn up.

That said Opening Ceremonies tend to be used to welcome visitors to the host nation and try to set the agenda for the games. Closing Ceremonies tend to be a much more relaxed celebration of the games that have just taken place. 

The Countdown:

Olympic Opening Ceremonies are broadcast live across many different broadcasters in many different nations. Therefore it is a longstanding tradition that they have to begin with a video countdown from 10 to 1. This allows everyone to calibrate and synchronise their coverage.

As broadcast technology has advanced over the years this countdown video has become less important. This has meant that the countdown has become part of the show itself. Some nations now use it as an opportunity to have some fun.

It can also be a sign of how much respect a broadcaster is giving to the games. Do they show the video countdown or simply show the bit after the countdown. The official start of the ceremony.

Due to the time difference I actually recorded this Closing Ceremony. The recording I watched did not include a video sequence. It began with the countdown taking place within the arena.

This might mean that there wasn't a video sequence. It might mean that the recording started late cutting out the video sequence. It might even mean that the broadcaster I was watching on - the BBC - cut out the video sequence to promote discussion about the level of respect they've been showing to the games.

This has been something of a talking point at these games. Particularly with the much hyped British Women's Curling team being dumped out of the competition without a medal.

The Olympics is a huge event of the global community. It provides a stage for a vast array of topics from all corners of the World.

Since the 2012 Summer Olympics which Britain hosted though British Olympic coverage has focused entirely on British athletes for British viewers. It's resembled a sort of extreme nationalism at the expense of everything else.

The BBC's coverage of the 2016 Summer Olympics was particularly bad.

One of the stars of those games was the Chinese swimmer Fu Yuanhui. She won Bronze in the 100m backstroke but then immediately gave an interview thinking she's finished outside of the medals.

I appreciate you may not speak Chinese. But watching this video see if you can identify the exact moment she realises she's won a medal; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dcMkhVujZ7w

Later Fu Yuanhui gave another interview in which she was worried about her ability to perform because she was having her period. Within Chinese society, as in many societies, menstruation remains a taboo topic. The fact that Fu Yuanhui was able to talk about it openly became a big sociological discussion within the games.

British viewers though didn't get to hear about any of that. Instead they were being forced fed a relentless diet of what Britain's Johnny No-Mark, his parents and some people his parents went to school with were doing to prepare for him finishing last in some god awful event no-one had ever heard of.

I must say that the BBC's coverage of these games has been much better.

Obviously they've gone heavy on their Curling coverage. As an established sport in particularly Scotland this is what attracts viewers. However they have also done a daily review show which occasional featured events and storylines that don't feature British athletes.

In the UK the Para-Olympics will be covered by the government owned Channel 4 network. They are already showing signs of being extraordinarily difficult.

When covering big events such as the Olympics it is common for broadcasters to add extra channels. At the 2012 Summer Olympics the BBC as host broadcaster had something in the region of 25 extra satellite channels.

For the 2018 Winter Para-Olympics Channel 4 are going in the opposite direction. They've removed their HD channels. From my rather unique satellite package at least.

The objective of this is to force people to watch the games being held in the very technologically advanced RoK on their online, Internet streaming platform - 4 On Demand (4OD).

The problem is that Channel 4's streaming platform has got to be the most obnoxious of all the UK's streaming platforms.

Obviously if you want to use a pay service such as for football matches you have to register and pay for the services you use. Non-pay services like the BBC and ITV really don't care. They just let you watch what you like, no questions asked.

BBC's iPlayer in particular seems to be Britain's Soft Power gift to the world.

Despite being a Non-pay service Channel 4 forces you to register with them before you can use their streaming platform. This involves you giving away more personal information then when using a pay service.

The idea is to allow Channel 4 to track you and your viewing habits in real time. They can then sell that information to advertisers or use it for some sinister government purpose.

There was a small scandal about this type of behaviour in December 2017.

The streaming platform Netflix contacted a user to check if he was alright after noticing he'd been watching the US TV show; "The Office" days in a row. As they'd concluded he was deeply depressed.

In doing this Netflix revealed they were able to track their users to such an extent they were able conduct a detailed assessment of their mental state.

The problem is that I can't record from a streaming platform. So Channel 4's behaviour is going to make it very difficult for me to cover the Para-Olympic ceremonies in the way I've covered the Olympic ones.

I may even have to boycott them. At least until bootleg versions become available on YouTube.

Broadcasters aside the 2018 games have been the Britain's most successful Winter Olympics. So particularly on the political side of things the British team must have been doing something right.

Video sequence or not the recording I watched featured a 10 to 1 countdown being projected onto the arena floor.

Like the countdown in the Opening Ceremony this featured English numerals and phonetic way to pronounce those numbers in Korean written in the Latin alphabet. Korea's alphabet the Hangul is actually phonetic in nature with vowel and consonant sounds being grouped together.

This sequence was big, bright and colourful. In stark contrast with the minimalist and serious blacks, whites and greys of the countdown sequence in the Opening Ceremony. That was centred around the Sacred Bell of King Seongdeok the Great.

The sequence ended with a big projected image of the Olympic Cauldron. The South Koreans seem extremely proud of the design of the Cauldron.

The Cauldron of course resembles one of the "Martian War Machines" from the 1897 novel; "The War of the Worlds" by H.G Wells.

In 1938 Orson Welles produced and directed a radio dramatisation of The War of the Worlds. This is widely recognised as the greatest Fake News hoax in US broadcasting history.

Or at least it was going into the games. The US' place on the medal table seems to represent where Orson Welles' broadcast now stands in the all time list of Fake News hoaxes in US broadcasting history. 

All the Rings of the Circus:

In English speaking nations such as Britain or the US when something is a big, chaotic spectacle it is often referred to as; "A Three Ring Circus."

The traditional circus features a giant tent known as a; "Big Top." Inside the tent you have a circular arena where all the entertainment happens. If the circus has three of these rings you know it's a really big event.

If you're not familiar with the concept there is a 2017 US movie called; "The Greatest Showman." This tells the story of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus.

Particularly Hollywood movies are on everyone's mind a bit at the moment. Next Sunday (4/3/18) the Oscars take place. The peak of America's cultural year the Oscars really give the US a right-to-reply following the Olympics and just before the start of the Para-Olympics.

The 2018 Winter Olympics featured 102 events across 15 sporting disciplines. That means that it is much more then a mere three ring circus. It is the greatest spectacle of the year.

This sequence really paid tribute to the Olympics status as one giant chaotic circus. It featured very circus style music and multiple rings being projected onto the arena floor in various formations. It also featured little cartoons of the Olympic venues - the rings or arenas of the Olympic circus.

The Opening Ceremony dealt heavily with Korea's traditional Animist religions such as Taoism and Buddhism.

Those religions believe in the balance an unity of all elements of the physical environment. As a result circles and rings play a big part in the imagery of those religions. As a symbol of an unbroken and unified line.

Although I didn't recognise anything specific many of the circles used in this sequence resembled imagery from Animist religions.

The sequence also used the five colours of the Wu Xing that featured heavily in the Opening Ceremony Particularly Korean Taoists believe the Wu Xing contains the five essential elements of life existing in balance and harmony.

Within the war in Syria  the area in the north-east of the country under the control of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF/QSD) has been designated; "Shangri-La." The mythical concept of Shangri-La actually shows how there can be wide variations in the interpretation of concepts between even the same branches of Animist religions.

In north-west Chinese Taoism the concept of Shangri-La is laid out in the poem; "The Tale of the Peach Blossom Spring."

It tells of a fisherman who discovers a peach grove populated by happy and contented people cut off from the outside world. He decides to stay in this sanctuary away the tumult of what is referred to in Chinese history as The Warring States period. In roughly the 5th Century B.C.

Within Kalachra or; "Wheel of Time" Buddhism and Hinduism Shangri-La or; "Shambhala" is said to have been a place established by the extremely wise Rishis who were banished by King Manjusrikirti for refusing to abandon Sun Chart Buddhism to convert to Wheel of Time Buddhism.

Eventually the King realised the Rishis were the wisest of all and asked them to return. They refused. It is said though that when the world has descended in war and greed the Rishis will emerge from Shangri-La to vanquish dark forces and usher in a new Golden Age.

It's almost as if it's that sort of ambiguity which makes the codename so effective.

This sequence featured lots of performers on inline roller skates. This is not uncommon for Olympic ceremonies because it allows the performers to float and glide around the arena. It's also particularly common at Winter Olympics where ice skates feature heavily in many of the events.

What was unusual about this sequence though was that it featured performers on roller skis. Essentially snow skis with wheels on the bottom. This seemed like a cheeky little reference to 2022 Winter Olympic hosts China.

China will be hosting the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing where they hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics. They'll even be using the same venues with the aquatic centre becoming the Curling arena.

Beijing's lack of winter has left quite a few people concerned that it won't be properly able to host a Winter Olympics.

The alpine events like skiing are already going to be held on fake snow. However they've not decided where yet because there aren't any mountains or alps tall enough close to Beijing.

So it seems reasonable to assume there's going to be lots of discussion and controversy to come ahead of the 2022 games.

This sequence ended with the performers gathering together to form the shape of the five Olympic Rings.

As fireworks were set off TV viewers were treated to another prominent shot of the Cauldron.

Introductions & Handshakes:

It is protocol that each Olympic ceremony features a short segment in which VIP's are welcomed. This is normally the head of the IOC - in this case former Olympic fencer Thomas Bach - and the Head of Government/State (HOG/S) of the Host Nation. In this case RoK President Moon Jae-in.

After they've been welcomed everyone in the VIP box shakes hands, have a bit of a chat and sit down. Normally it's quite dull.

At these games though it has been anything but dull.

The RoK is still technically at war with its neighbour the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK/North). The rapprochement for the Olympics has seen high level delegations from the RoK and the DPRK sitting together during the ceremonies.

It must be said that former Reality TV star and current US President Donald Trump has trolled this like an absolute General.

The thing that everyone hates to admit about Donald Trump is that he's a moderate centrist. He's driven by a pragmatic approach to problem solving rather than any grand ideological vision.

President Trump is certainly the most moderate candidate his Republican Party has selected since George H. Bush in 1988.

Trump is much closer to the centre ground then the Republican's 2012 candidate Mitt Romney. As for 2008 candidate John McCain, well he seems to have never met a Nazi he didn't like.

This has caused huge problems for the Democrat Party. While the Republicans have moved to the centre under Trump the Democrats have become ever more extreme in their views.

The reign of former President Obama in particular resembled an Islamist tinged constant war against the concepts of the rule of law and democracy. Both internationally and domestically.

Having abandoned the centre ground the Democrats are unable to criticise President Trump on matters of policy. So they've been forced to invent ever more vicious and extreme ways to try and attack him.

Primarily this has involved them just shouting; "Russia!" constantly and baselessly accusing President Trump of being mentally ill. However there have been even more sinister things. Such as the September 2017 response to Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico.

The Federal Government response to Hurricane Maria led by President Trump was very good. They'd dispatched the required relief supplies to Puerto Rico even before the hurricane had struck.

However those relief supplies then went into the hands of local Democrats. They refused to distribute those supplies. The objective was to depopulate non-voting Puerto Rico transferring the population to the key swing state of Florida in the hope they would vote Democrat at the 2018 midterms.

At the Opening Ceremony President Trump sent his Vice President Mike Pence to represent the US. Vice President Pence represents the very extreme Evangelical Christian wing of the Republican Party.

Pence made quite mess of his visit. While everyone was talking peace and harmony Pence was constantly talking about war. He also appeared unaware that Japan and the RoK weren't the same country. The theme of the Opening Ceremony comparing Animist religions with Abrahamic religions like Christianity seemed to specifically mock Vice President Pence.

At the Closing Ceremony President Trump sent his daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump to represent the US.

Ivanka Trump certainly knows more then Vice President Pence about Asian culture. Her daughter Arabella is something of a star in China after video of emerged of her speaking an singing in Mandarin.

So the contrast between Vice President Pence and Ivanka Trump seemed to be President Trump going to the Republican Party and the World at large;

"Don't worry. Here comes a Trump to sort out the mess."

The effect of this may have been so great it even ended up setting the theme for the Closing Ceremony. Officially this was the combination of Old and New. Vice President Pence being the old and Ivanka Trump being the new.

The North Korean delegation also employed this theme of old and new.

At the Opening Ceremony the DPRK were represented by Kim Yo-jong. The sister of Kim Jong-un she represented the new generation of the Mount Paektu bloodline.

At the Closing Ceremony the DPRK were represented by Kim Yong-chol. He was a senior figure the DPRK intelligence service under Kim Jong-il. The previous generation of the Mount Paektu bloodline.

During his time in North Korean intelligence Kim Yong-chol has been involved in many atrocities. The most significant here though seems to be the November 23rd 2010 (23/11/10) "Bombardment of Yeonpyeong."

This was seen by many as North Korea's old guard trying to prepare Kim Jong-un for leadership by inducting him into their ways of business. So far Kim Jong-un has shown little interest in following Kim Yong-chol's methods.

As they were in the Opening Ceremony the RoK were represented by President Moon Jae-in

A clear reminder of how the South Korean equivalent of the FBI rigged the RoK's 2012 election to install Park Guen-hye as President over Moon Jae-in. Eventually leading to Park Guen-hye going to prison.

17:55 on 26/2/18 (UK date).