The Games of the XXX Olympiad are being documented in great detail across the web. From social media hubs to online broadcasts, every key moment has been captured and shared – and all the really good ones have been made into memes.
The opening ceremony hadn’t even wrapped up before a meme was born: an image of Queen Elizabeth II looking less than delighted during the spectacle, even though she arrived in style with James Bond himself.
Before the night was over, images of the disgruntled queen were circulating the internet, some attempting to read what her face was saying, others just poking fun at her dour expression.
For viewers in the US, footage of the opening ceremony wouldn’t reach them until hours after the event had already concluded, which was just the beginning of NBC’s heavily criticised Olympics coverage, spawning the hashtag #NBCfail and some meme-based responses.
For some, though, the ceremony celebrating the best of British through the years prompted fond memories.
And Queenie isn’t the only public figure to get the Olympics meme treatment. London mayor Boris Johnson’s hapless attempt at ziplining into a public appearance during the Games has inspired a meme of its own: #dangleboris.
But enough about royals and political figures, the athletes are the real stars of the Olympics – and its memes.
Broadcasters for this year’s Olympic Games are keen to use all the latest in technology, capturing high-speed images of all the events. While this means we can see the rapid-fire movements of competing athletes slowed down to great detail, it also means plenty of embarrassing shots of Olympic game-faces.
Olympic divers exhibited some of the most comical expressions, made even funnier when Reddior Smokey95 put them on the toilet. The post was followed up with comments like, “They’re just wiping away the competition!” and, “I think I see a bronze medal coming out of this effort.”
Shot put is another less-than-photogenic sport, as demonstrated by athlete Kurt Roberts.
When not defying gravity, the Olympic drivers look pretty good, but ‘unnecessary censorship’ caused by the scores on-screen made some scenes look a little too sexy.
As it turns out, you can stick a score-bar across anyone’s lower half and make things look a bit risqué. (And, yes, that is Thom Yorke of Radiohead fame.)
As well as creating some of its own memes, the Olympics is prime content for memes already doing the rounds, as Ryan Lochte becomes the new Ryan Gosling, Allie Brosh’s exuberant illustration goes for gold, and sad Keanu empathises with a fencer.
Sometimes, though, real life is funny without the need for Photoshop.
So, as we reach the final week of London 2012, we’ve already seen enough LOLsome memes to keep us giggling until Rio 2016. And if you’ve any doubts to the longevity of their hilarity, just try not to laugh at this gif of the world’s greatest Olympian, Team USA’s Michael Phelps, created druring the Beijing Games in 2008.
