The sound was bad here too - like we were hearing it from the stadium PA. But the participants were well introduced by our BBC commentators. I'm surprised that the US weren't clued in more.

As for the choreography - all they needed was Dick Van Dyke! :-)

BTW, going to the old Wembley Stadium, to see Liverpool v Man U, way back, I was very disappointed at the Guards band. It was drowned out, and in mono, by the horrible tinny tannoy speakers dotted around the spectators arena.

BTW2 I guess, judging by your pic, that you are even less recognisable from back in the day than Page :-)

>It took me quite a while to recognize Jimmy Page. The sound was so muddy on our TV network -- with probably an assist from my poor hearing -- I couldn't make out the song, which of course would have been a giveaway. I knew from the way they were showcasing him on his platform he wasn't just a backing guitarist, but darned if I could figure out who he was. His features seem a lot more unusual looking now than they did when he was a young man.
>
>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xoFGtmzzl58
>
>>The singer was Leona lewis, the winner of "the X Factor", our Simon Cowell successor to Pop Idol (American Idol). She recently reached No 1 in the US charts, the first female Brit to do so in decades.
>>
>>
>>>Well I'm not so sure that London and Jimmy got to "rock you" the way they would have liked to. Apparently the lyrics to Whole Lotta Love was changed to "...every bit of my love". I don't think that I've ever heard that song sung so badly either. What was that, opera?
>>>
>>>>Don't forget that it was all for the best interest of the nation of China ;)
>>>>
>>>>I really liked the London presentation at the closing ceremonies. After all the maniacal control of China over their image and to insure that everything goes all without a single glitch, here goes London with a rock performance that say "we will rock you" :)
>>>>
>>>>Being a huge Led Zeppelin fan, I was conquered just by having Jimmy Page on stage. He formed a wonderful duo with the female singer (sorry, forgot her name. I was too focused on Page :) )
>>>>
>>>>>http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/08/24/asia/close.php
>>>>>
>>>>>There lots of wonderful events, medals, and comradeship. However, let's not forget:
>>>>>
>>>>>"The reality is that the Chinese government's hosting of the games has been a catalyst for abuses, leading to massive forced evictions, a surge in the arrest, detention and harassment of critics, repeated violations of media freedom, and increased political repression," said Sophie Richardson of Human Rights Watch. "Not a single world leader who attended the games or members of the IOC seized the opportunity to challenge the Chinese government's behavior in any meaningful way."
>>>>>
>>>>>Rogge and the committee were criticized by human rights groups for their reluctance to challenge the Chinese publicly as controversies arose over media freedom and detention of dissidents.
>>>>>
>>>>>Rogge acknowledged that China, despite promises of press freedom during the games, continued to block access to numerous politically oriented Web sites, including those related to Tibet and the outlawed spiritual movement Falun Gong.
>>>>>
>>>>>Athletes shied away from making political statements, and "protest zones" established in Beijing went unused as the authorities refused to issue permits for them.
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>No mention of the stabbing.
>>>>>
>>>>>More here:
>>>>>
>>>>>http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/opinion/editorial/general/chinas-thin-veil-of-compliance/1252780.aspx
>>>>>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121946293833966137.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

xoFGtmzzl58