Fireworks, lasers, drones, musical scores — dizzying bursts of color, light and sound mesmerized New Year’s Eve revelers across the globe. Spectacular. Since watching the celebrations, I can’t dislodge the word from my head.
You are left in no doubt when you witness something spectacular. It’s impressive, dramatic and grand. A quick look at the word’s etymology reveals that it comes from the Latin “spectaculum,” meaning a sight or a show.
Perhaps the word spectacular has been lurking in my subconscious since listening to the bespectacled Elton John sing his farewell on his “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” tour. Or maybe the word popped into my mind after watching the Argentina-France World Cup final from the edge of my seat a few weeks back. As the soccer legend Pelé wrote in his last social media post, “Messi winning his first World Cup […] My dear friend, Mbappe, scoring four goals [sic] in a final. What a gift it was to watch this spectacle to the future of our…
