London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony details revealed
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The opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympic Games will be called ‘Green and Pleasant Land’ and will see the Olympic Stadium transformed into a replica of the rolling British countryside.
Model for the opening ceremony
Art directed by Danny Boyle, the set design will feature meadows, fields and rivers, as well as families taking picnics, sport being played on the village green and farmers tilling the soil while real animals graze – including 12 horses, three cows, two goats, 10 ducks, nine geese, 70 sheep and three sheepdogs.
The set will also feature the national flowers of all four home nations – the rose of England, the thistle of Scotland, the daffodil of Wales and the flax of Northern Ireland.
Model for the opening ceremony
Boyle says, ‘The ceremony is an attempt to capture a picture of ourselves as a nation, where we have come from and where we want to be.’
Seb Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games, says, ‘With only 45 days to go, one of the biggest sets ever built for a show is beginning to develop in the Olympic Stadium.
Detail from opening ceremony model
‘I’m sure that Danny’s ceremony will be a fantastic celebration that will welcome the 10 500 athletes from around the world and make our nation proud.’
The opening ceremony will be held on 27 July.
Detail from opening ceremony model
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Readers' comments (28)
Jonny Muirhead | Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:53 am
Wow! This set looks great. It really reminds me of my old Hornby 00 train set. It's just missing a life size Hogwarts Express or perhaps Wallace and Gromit careering at speed in their Austin A7 van through the faux country lanes for a truly authentic re-presenting of our great nations. Speaking of which it appear that Scotland is represented twice and Northern Ireland not at all, or is that a typo?
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Editor's comments | Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:53 am
It was a typo, which we've now corrected.
Rob | Tue, 12 Jun 2012 1:18 pm
I cannot wait for the first fireworks to go off and cause a stampede!
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Anonymous | Tue, 12 Jun 2012 1:20 pm
Has he never heard of the expression "Never work with animals of children"? It's going to be mayhem.
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Anonymous | Tue, 12 Jun 2012 1:22 pm
Wake up and smell the coffee. Pastoral scenes of village life, farmers tilling soil? Please! It's the 21st century.The world's a slightly edgier place than that. Have people been paid to put together this bit of blue sky thinking that a primary school teacher could have dreamed up with a class of seven year olds? Shocking
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Anonymous | Tue, 12 Jun 2012 1:26 pm
I love it. It would be amazing to see huge giant puppets roaming about....
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Tallpaul | Tue, 12 Jun 2012 1:33 pm
Will the chickens be sporting their own McDonalds branding whilst the morris dancers sup pints of Coke?
I can't wait!
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Richard Gregory | Tue, 12 Jun 2012 1:39 pm
Where’s Michael Bentine when you need him?
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Jeff Wode | Tue, 12 Jun 2012 1:55 pm
This is AMAZING - what a great idea using the earth they dug up for the stadium, to build some allotments inside. Let's build a great olympic village and show how great the landscape is... what do you mean there's none left?
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David | Tue, 12 Jun 2012 2:02 pm
Danny Boyle has not ventured into the countryside recently. From what I have seen it is covered in those big wind turbines.
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Anna Cotton | Tue, 12 Jun 2012 2:12 pm
Looks lovely and twee but a bit 19th century. I don't think it is particularly representative of Britain today. Of course the countryside and our rural heritage is important, but where are the cities, urban culture, technology, etc, the things which make Britain current and relevant in the world?
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