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London 2012: Olympics opening ceremony details revealed | London 2012: Olympics opening ceremony details revealed |
(40 minutes later) | |
The Olympic Stadium will be transformed "into the British countryside" for the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Games on 27 July. | |
A cast of 10,000 volunteers will help recreate country scenes, against a backdrop featuring farmyard animals and landmarks like Glastonbury Tor. | A cast of 10,000 volunteers will help recreate country scenes, against a backdrop featuring farmyard animals and landmarks like Glastonbury Tor. |
The opening scene of the £27m ceremony will be called "Green and Pleasant", artistic director Danny Boyle revealed. | |
He added the show would create "a picture of ourselves as a nation." | |
"The best way to tell that story is through working with real people," said Boyle, who has reserved a role for NHS nurses in proceedings. | "The best way to tell that story is through working with real people," said Boyle, who has reserved a role for NHS nurses in proceedings. |
There have already been 157 cast rehearsals and Boyle added: "I've been astounded by the selfless dedication of the volunteers, they are the pure embodiment of the Olympic spirit and represent the best of who we are as a nation." | There have already been 157 cast rehearsals and Boyle added: "I've been astounded by the selfless dedication of the volunteers, they are the pure embodiment of the Olympic spirit and represent the best of who we are as a nation." |
The set will feature meadows, fields and rivers, with families taking picnics, people playing sports on the village green and farmers tilling the soil. | |
Real farmyard animals will be grazing in the "countryside", with a menagerie of 30 sheep, 12 horses, three cows, two goats, 10 chickens, 10 ducks, nine geese and three sheepdogs. | |
One billion people worldwide are expected to watch the opening ceremony. | |
Boyle, best known for directing Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting, said the show was inspired by The Tempest and would be about a land recovering from its industrial legacy. | Boyle, best known for directing Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting, said the show was inspired by The Tempest and would be about a land recovering from its industrial legacy. |
Europe's largest bell will ring inside the stadium to start the Shakespeare-inspired spectacle, featuring 900 children from the six Games host boroughs. | |
The stadium's 27-tonne bell was cast at London's Whitechapel Foundry, where 13.5-tonne Big Ben was cast in 1856, and is inscribed with a quote from The Tempest's Caliban: "Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises." | |
It will hang at one end of the stadium, and Boyle said he wanted people to hear it "for hundreds of years". | It will hang at one end of the stadium, and Boyle said he wanted people to hear it "for hundreds of years". |
A full dress rehearsal will be held for a capacity crowd of 80,000 in the Olympic Stadium, which will be fitted with a million-watt sound system. | A full dress rehearsal will be held for a capacity crowd of 80,000 in the Olympic Stadium, which will be fitted with a million-watt sound system. |
The production team at 3 Mills Studios is completing work on nearly 3,000 props, while staff in the production department are creating 23,000 costumes. | |
Lord Sebastian Coe, who chairs the Organising Committee Locog, said it would be one of the biggest sets ever built for a show. | |
"I'm sure [it] will be a fantastic celebration that will welcome the 10,500 athletes from around the world and make our nation proud," he said. | |
More to follow. | More to follow. |