Opening ceremony's wind, fireworks, singing not quite live

BEIJING -- For those of us who thought there was something weird about Beijing’s flawless-but-sterile opening ceremony, well, we were right.

I knew something was strange when the Chinese and Olympic flags blew dramatically in a breeze that did not exist anywhere else in the suffocating National Stadium.

Turns out, they were powered by special devices in the flagpoles.

I also thought it was odd that, while everybody back home was praising the fireworks displays, those of us in the stadium saw nothing more than your average Friday night post-Angels-game display.

Well, turns out, many of the fireworks seen on television were digitally created because, according to officials, the smog was too bad for anyone to see the real ones anyway.

If that wasn’t bad enough, now comes the news that even the only truly human part of the ceremony was fabricated.

That tiny, red-dressed, 9-year-old girl named Lin Miaoke who so touchingly sang "Ode to the Motherland"?

It was an ode to a fakery.

The voice actually belonged to 7-year-old Yang Peiyi, but poor Peiyi was not deemed cute enough for a world audience, so Lin lip-synched to Peiyi’s recorded voice.

The saddest thing being, Chinese officials actually publicly bragged about making the switch.

"After several tests, we decided to put Lin Miaoke on the live picture while using Yang Peiyi’s voice," said musical director Chen Qigang in an interview with Beijing Radio. "The reason for this is that we must put our country’s interests first. The girl appearing on the picture must be flawless in terms of her facial expressions and the great feeling she can give to the people."

So a child with an incredible voice gets shoved aside because she is not "flawless" enough.

So the biggest human hit of the opening ceremony is not a human at all, but a recording.

Remember all this in a couple of weeks when IOC officials will surely commend China for staging what might be the most efficient Olympics in history.

Remember this great machine comes at an ever greater human price.

-- Bill Plaschke

Photo: A photo released by the New China news agency shows Lin Miaoke, the 9-year-old Chinese girl who lip-synched "Ode to the Motherland" during the Beijing Games opening ceremony on Aug. 8. Credit: Xinhua / Zhou Liang / Associated Press

Comments

[TQ]

I'm a Chinese-American born in LA and I would love for my daughter any one of these girls. Understand that every chinese person would sacrifice themselves for the pride of their country. Your article just shows the individualism that America promotes. I love this country but I wish we loved this country more than ourselves. Either way, the show was so great, it made me cry.

[Jay]

This article is CRAP. That show was totally awesome and this guy's low blows will do nothing to take away from that. WHEN IS THE DVD COMING OUT???

[Rubicon Cross]

Reading this blog, I can't help but think that many of these positive comments about the Chinese games have also been faked. Several are obviously written by Chinese people (exposed by their grammar and syntax) but with western names as signatories? I know it sounds crazy, but it is not so far fetched to imagine an effort to also try and manipulate world opinion online as well as on-air. In fact, based on their own statements they will do anything to "present flawless image of motherland nation".

[OlympicsFan]

So what? So the Chinese were doing everything, including some questionable tactics, to make the opening ceremony a flawless show? Ooohhh... it's such an inhuman communist thing that someone's faking something!! Jeez, wake up! It's a show! I didn't hear you say your movie shows were fake? I didn't hear you complaining your TV shows are fake? Heck, even the reality shows are fake!

Talk about fakes in real life - How many fake boobs do you see everyday on American streets?

In fact, Chinese officials, thru its openness about the situation, already made two child stars out of this one event (I wish you could read Chinese on Chinese forums to learn of this now-accepted fact).

You jealous people just try everything to mar others' achievements. It's both disgusting and pathetic.

[brad]

who cares, did you enjoy the ceremony or not? it was a performance.

do some real work and uncover the lies told by our own government.

propaganda.

[Ameno]

You're pissed about lip syncing? Are you also upset that the guy wasn't REALLY flying around the stadium to light the torch. They used ropes instead of PIXIE DUST!!! What a farce!!!

Let's not mention Billy Joel singing the national anthem at the last Super Bowl and being filtered through Auto-Tune (noticeably). Every nation wants to be sure that the image they broadcast to the world is as perfect as possible, in terms of looks, AND pitch.

The opening ceremony was amazing. No amount of hateration can squelch the amazingness of the ceremony.

[Steve]

Gees, sounds like sour grapes to me.....is it any different than what we would have done in this country? Isn't it always about the image? Stop the belly aching - the real importance of the Olympics are the games themselves and the representation of dedication, focus and endurance. So, why don't you just sit back and enjoy the spirit of the competition!!

[jkl;]

I've heard reports that the guy that lit the flame wasn't really flying around the stadium but used wires. Outrageous!

[R. Earls]

Why the negativity? The opening ceremony was one of the most fantastic public events I've ever seen, even if portions of it were staged and pre-recorded. I can forgive that, just like I did in previous Super bowl events. As for the fireworks, too bad if you couldn't see them from within the arena. On TV, where 99% of the viewers were, it was amazing.

All I could think of while watching the opening ceremonies was how pathetic and cheesy all of our Super bowl halftimes have been over the past decade - regardless of the lip-syncing. We could learn something from the amazing show that China put on. I doubt it will be matched by any other event for decades to come.

[Greg a Canada Man]

I t was obvious the girl was lip sincing because the mike was under her chin. A live singer would have been singing with a mike touching her lips.

[carly w]

I hope Peiyi grows up to be Miss Universe someday...sad that society doesn't recognize that talent doesn't always come in what they define as pretty packaging. Truth is Peiyi is beautiful she just hasn't been groomed for the public domain. It seems odd to me that the same stigma isn't attached to musicians, just singers. We all know plenty of drummers, guitar players, pianists, etc. who are not considered 'attractive' but no one cares, we love their music anyway.

[Avez in TX]

For pity's sake, it was supposed to be ENTERTAINMENT, not a veracity check!!!! As for the flags...I suppose no-one noticed that there was nary a flutter while they were being raised, and they didn't start to blow until they reached the tops of the flagpoles? I noticed that right off the bat and just assumed they had some device to create a breeze to expand the flags. Yeah, that would have been something to see, wouldn't it; those flags hanging limply from the tops of the poles? Give me a break! You know, we're not required to hate the Chinese, really, we're not. I'm getting so tired of, "If it's not red, white, blue, and American, it's not worth anything!" attitude I keep seeing and hearing. Get your heads out of the sand, people!!

[labarukine]

This article is only attempting to expose what happened behind the scenes except for maybe the flag. It is merely raising the possibility of what else could actually be fake. People need not get very defensive about the red commies.

[Raving Dave]

Breaking News: the Muse Fairies flying through the air during the opening ceremonies weren't real fairies and they weren't actually flying. THEY WERE PERFORMERS SUSPENDED FROM WIRES!

News Flash: the Bird's Nest stadium WAS NOT A REAL BIRD"S NEST!

This Just In: reports are surfacing that every single person involved in the opening ceremonies WERE COMMUNISTS!

[corkie Murphy]

Oh my God! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Some people just can't stand it unless they are destroying the wondrous beauty that is presented to the world. Fake wind or not.....Who cares.......Those participating in the ceremony have to feel priviledged to have been able to have been a part of something so huge.......And.......I never saw so many beautiful chinese girls........singing the country's anthem and otherwise.....Exacting & so professional was everything........Tremendous choreography...........

[Chris]

For those of you that are slamming the lip syncing comment, keep in mind that while lip syncing is common, it's usually the same person recording the voice and doing the "live" performance. In this case, it's one girl's voice and another singing.

You should compare it to the incident with Milli Vanilli back in 1990, although the Milli Vanilli situation was truly scandalous.

[TONY]

Hey Bill, You need to find something more exciting to write about.
Chinese and Olympic flags, recorded voice, fireworks were fake....so what...
Everything is high tech now. It was a spectacular event and it was the "best" opening ceremony in the history of the Olympics.

[Joe Black]

Yes it's true. The fireworks was fake. Even the George Bush you saw on TV was a double. Even the olympics you see on TV now is fake... it's not live... it's all recorded many months ago.. it's all fake people... the clear blue skies you see on your TV is actually filtered and photoshopped... the pollution is so bad that visibility is only 0.5 inches... yes that bad..

[Pete]

Bill; try opening your mind and come up with something a little more useful to write about. It's sad to think someone that is so involved in helping helping develop young minds through the Big Brother/Sister program could write such crap.

[LRL]

Bill Plaschke, you are a complaining piece of a sad sack. The opening was one of the most creative, innovative, spectacular events ever done. Kudos to China! What the heck are you talking about 'the only truly human part'? Did you see all the drummers? Did you see all the dancers? Did you notice the acrobatic dancers running around the world?! Did you happen to notice the fellow running sideways, very gracefully, with fluidity, around the stadium to light the torch? Oh wait! I see. That was all 'fakery' as well. What's wrong with you?

[Jeff in Buffalo]

Well DUH!!! Of course the flag poles had some kind of device to make the flags unfurl. I knew that right away. It looked cool!

[Eric]

Hey Bill, did you also know something was strange when you saw the flag blew in that famous picture of Apollo 11 first man landing on the Moon?

[Karen]

China desparately wants to show the world another look at their country. They've made great strides to be where they are now over the years and while there's always more improvement to be made, they've been given little credit in this area. Digitally enhanced fireworks, a wind blowing machine for the flags only show the thought and preparation they really put into the opening ceremonies. I already knew while watching the ceremonies that they had a wind machine for the flags just by watching it. I thought it was incredible attention to detail. They hired the most renowned Chinese movie director in their history to create the opening ceremonies and the years of practice and preparation that went into it is unprecedented. Hands down the best opening ceremonies ever. Lip syncing? While they probably would have had the same result with the original singer, I think they really did want to put on the "perfect" show and many famous singers lip sync too. It doesn't take a way from the thousands of people who poured their hearts and efforts into making a 15,000 cast production. I think it's fine to call attention to the facts in the article but the writer is very obviously biased and out to really put China down despite the tremendous effort that has been put into every detail for these Olympics.

[c4logic]

Everything about China is a Potemkin village. Never judge a book by its cover. Of course, it worked for the Wizard of Oz.

[Mike]

Shock! Horror! Next, you're going to tell us that the national anthem and halftime show at the SuperBowl are lip synched... say it ain't so!

(sarcasm)

Seriously, is this news? Is any adult still naive enough to believe these types of "performances" are not lip synched? Is anyone actually upset at this? Wow.