2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes, Types and cyphers
An integrated wall box, mounted in the Pandora Inn, Restronguet Passage


2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes, Tourist attractions
The boxes were met by a very positive public reaction and have become tourist attractions within their local areas and many people have their photos taken alongside them.


2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes, Vandalism and unofficial boxes
Several of the official gold post boxes were subsequently vandalised. These included the ones for triathlete Alistair Brownlee, rower Kat Copeland, swimmer Josef Craig, heptathlete Jessica Ennis, and tennis player Andy Murray. Fans picked flecks of paint off Murray's box as souvenirs, while Ennis' box was defaced with the words "Go Jess".


2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes, Vandalism and unofficial boxes
A number of additional post boxes were painted by members of the public to commemorate silver and bronze medallists:


2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes, Vandalism and unofficial boxes
The awarding of an additional box for Ben Ainslie in Lymington was precipitated by an episode of vandalism which saw the perpetrator arrested.


2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes, Vandalism and unofficial boxes
After Lizzy Yarnold's win in the Women's Skeleton during the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, vandals crudely painted a post box gold in her hometown of Sevenoaks, Kent. Despite an online petition attracting 43,000 signatures, Royal Mail rejected demands for an official gold post box to be decorated, declaring that the 2012 Summer Olympics were a 'unique occasion'.


2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes, Vandalism and unofficial boxes
Two unofficial postboxes were positioned outside Home Park, Plymouth; one gold for Lithuanian swimmer Rūta Meilutytė, who is based in the city, and one bronze for diver Tom Daley.


2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes, Vandalism and unofficial boxes
Two unofficial boxes appeared in Posso and Kirkton Manor, both near Peebles in the Scottish borders, which also had its own official box in honour of Scott Brash.


2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes, List of gold postboxes, Olympian boxes
Carshalton Road/Cambridge Road(Box repainted red on request byfamily for gold box in Cheam)


2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics gold post boxes, Stamps
In addition to the post boxes a first class stamp depicting each medal winning individual or team was produced.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
The closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, also known as A Symphony of British Music, was held on 12 August 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London. The chief guest was Prince Harry of Wales representing Queen Elizabeth II. The closing ceremony was created by Kim Gavin, Es Devlin, Stephen Daldry, David Arnold and Mark Fisher. The worldwide broadcast began at 21:00 BST (UTC+1) and finished on 13 August 2012 at 00:11, lasting three hours and eleven minutes.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
The stadium had been turned into a giant representation of the Union Flag, designed by Damien Hirst. Around 4,100 people partook in the ceremony; which reportedly cost £20 million. The 2012 Summer Olympics were officially closed by Jacques Rogge, who called London's games "happy and glorious." The ceremony included a handover to the next host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro and saw the Olympic flame extinguished and the Olympic flag lowered. The main part of the evening featured a one-hour symphony of British Music as a number of British Pop acts appeared. Tributes to John Lennon and Freddie Mercury and the fashion industry were included in the section. Rio marked the handover with an eight-minute section known as "Embrace" created by Cao Hamburger and Daniela Thomas, featuring Pelé. Sebastian Coe gave a speech, and the volunteers of London 2012 were thanked.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
An average of 23.2 million viewers in the United Kingdom watched the event, with an estimated 750 million worldwide. Critics were generally positive, but noted that it was not as good as the opening ceremony. Some of the foreign reviews questioned whether everyone would have understood the nods to British film and television. George Michael was roundly criticised for his song choice while Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Russell Brand were criticised for not demonstrating the Olympic ethos in their past behaviour.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
Some performers were initially reluctant to appear, and other high-profile acts turned down invitations to perform at the ceremony. NBC in the United States, TV5 in the Philippines and Prime TV in New Zealand were criticised by viewers for their broadcasts of the ceremony. There was also a concert in Hyde Park to close the Olympics, featuring Blur, New Order, and The Specials.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Production
The creative director and choreographer was Kim Gavin, with Es Devlin responsible for design and David Arnold as musical director. When Arnold was announced in his role he said that doing the closing ceremony was an honour and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, while Gavin stated that he was really excited and honoured to be involved. Devlin said that she was delighted to be part of the "greatest show on earth".


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Production
Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, stated that he was delighted to have a high-quality team working on the ceremony, while Boris Johnson stated that "we have the best of British creating the spectacular bookends of our Games". Stephen Daldry was the executive producer and Mark Fisher was in charge of production design. The ceremony cost £20 million, with the artists paid just £1 for contractual purposes. Around 4,100 performers took part, comprising 3,500 adult volunteers, 380 schoolchildren from the six original host boroughs, and 250 professionals. There had been around 15 rehearsals for the volunteers at the Three Mills Studio and at a full-scale site in Dagenham, East London.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Production
Gavin said that "the show we are putting on is very shiny, it's very colourful. We don't want to bang on about our culture. We just want to have fun". Es Devlin added that it "has to make sense in Bognor and Bogotá." She said that the creators had happily indulged in the chance to "visually draw on everything" that British imagination can offer.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Production
David Arnold said "It's going to be beautiful, cheeky, cheesy, camp, silly and thrilling", and added that "we could have done this 15 times over, and not had the same show, and it would still have been full of amazing British music". He thought that it should be the "greatest after party" and was "really a celebration of Britishness in terms of [all] the arts". Arnold himself had devoted two years working on the ceremony and had turned down all other work including Skyfall, but said that it was the "most fun" he had "ever had in music". In the handover section Rio aimed to express "multicultural embrace." Daniela Thomas stated that Rio "want to show you how sophisticated we mix things, what we do with the things you believe we are, how we mix with pop culture."


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Production
The representation of the Union Flag used as an arena centrepiece was designed by Damien Hirst to celebrate the "anarchy and diversity of British pop art, and by extension the energy and multiplicity of contemporary British culture". Hirst had been approached in November 2011 and agreed to do the design; he called his artwork Beautiful Union Jack Celebratory Patriotic Olympic Explosion in an Electric Storm Painting. 176 photographs made up one centimetre of the stadium artwork with graphic designers having spent three months creating super-high-resolution images before printing.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Production
Some performers had declined to perform, including The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Sex Pistols, Kate Bush and The Libertines. According to industry insiders The Who apparently refused twice, and only agreed once they had announced a US tour. The Spice Girls were said to be reluctant to appear, feeling that the event was being staged at minimal cost, before their manager Simon Fuller persuaded them to perform. Noel Gallagher turned down the chance to perform after first being asked to play acoustically and then to mime to "Wonderwall".


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Production
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were not scheduled to attend as there is no formal role for the Head of State during the ceremony. The royal family was represented by Prince Harry, the Princess Royal and the Duchess of Cambridge.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Rush Hour (21:00–21:09 BST)
The ceremony began after a filmed countdown showing numbers from around London on such locations as road signs, 10 Downing Street and the Palace of Westminster clock tower, with a camera panning up the River Thames over Tower Bridge before turning left towards the stadium. The audience then completed a 10-second countdown to the start of the ceremony, to the chimes of Big Ben. The arena had been transformed into a huge representation of the Union Flag in black and white, with ramps and famous London landmarks such as the London Eye, Big Ben, Battersea Power Station and the Gherkin. Newspaper cutouts on both the set and road vehicles sought to show a "day in the life of London", with words from British literary figures such as William Shakespeare, J. R. R. Tolkien and Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Rush Hour (21:00–21:09 BST)
Emeli Sandé appeared on a truck and sang a verse and the chorus of "Read All About It, Pt. III". The Urban Voices Collective (the choir for the ceremony) sang The Beatles' "Because", which merged into cellist Julian Lloyd Webber (sitting upon the Royal Albert Hall) playing Elgar's Salut d'amour, accompanied by Stomp performing on household items such as pots, pans and dustbins while suspended on the sculptures of the landmarks.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, God Save the Queen
At the same time, former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill (Timothy Spall) appeared at the top of Big Ben and reprised Caliban's "Be not afeard" speech from The Tempest, first read by Victorian icon Isambard Kingdom Brunel (Kenneth Branagh) in the opening ceremony. More paper-covered motor vehicles entered. After Churchill finished his speech, people dressed in newspaper print began to fill the arena, ranging from office workers to school children. The beat of the music got faster and noisier, symbolising the London rush hour. As the noise reached a crescendo, Churchill cried out for all to stop, bringing this section to an end.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, God Save the Queen
Prince Henry of Wales (Prince Harry), representing the Queen, arrived with the President of the International Olympic Committee Jacques Rogge. The London Symphony Orchestra and the Urban Voice Choir performed the national anthem of the United Kingdom whilst the Union flag was raised by the armed forces and the performers waved mini Union flags in the stadium. Once the flag was raised Hirst's artwork was revealed as the grey clouds were removed.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Street Party (21:09–21:20)
This section started off with footage of Michael Caine in The Italian Job counting down from five, whereupon the Reliant Regal from Only Fools and Horses exploded with Del Boy and Rodney jumping out dressed as Batman and Robin. Caine's words, "You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off! ", echoed around the stadium. All the lorries had the newspaper removed and a colourful street party erupted, while Madness performed "Our House". This was followed by the Massed Bands of the Household Division marching whilst playing Blur's "Parklife". Entering on rickshaws, the Pet Shop Boys performed their hit "West End Girls", and then One Direction performed "What Makes You Beautiful" from the back of a lorry. Next there was another performance by Stomp.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Waterloo Sunset (21:20–21:30)
The centre of the arena was then cleared to reveal Britain's Got Talent 2010 winners Spelbound, who performed gymnastics to The Beatles "A Day in the Life", were inspired by the idea of a commuter on the way to work, by forming a bed and a London Bus. Ray Davies of The Kinks arrived in a black cab and played "Waterloo Sunset", as Spelbound continued and local school children formed the Thames. The section closed with Sandé reprising "Read All About It (Pt. III)" as a montage of athletes crying in victory or defeat was shown on the screens.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Parade of Athletes (21:30–21:53)
Greece led the Entrance of the Flags, as all 204 flags filed in to the strains of "Parade of the Athletes" (composed by Arnold) and marched up the central cross of the union flag, with Great Britain bringing up the rear. Meanwhile, volunteer marshals wearing blue suits and blue bowler hats with light bulbs on top marched into the stadium. The athletes then walked in from the several entrances, with some filtering down through the lower stands. At the same time Elbow performed "Open Arms" and "One Day Like This". The volunteer marshals helped to usher the athletes into pens between the ramps of the arena. As the last athletes streamed into the stadium and the flags were moved by volunteers closer to the Olympic flame, a reprise of some of the songs from the opening section was played.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Here Comes the Sun (21:53–22:07)
16 dhol drummers opened this segment as the performers entered carrying 303 white boxes to symbolise every event in the Olympic Games. The drumming merged into the newly recorded version of Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God)", as performers arranged the boxes to form a pyramid while video highlights from the previous 16 days of competition were shown on the screens.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Here Comes the Sun (21:53–22:07)
This was followed by the victory ceremony for the Men's Marathon, by tradition the final medal ceremony of the Games. Rogge and Lamine Diack, president of the International Association of Athletics Federations, awarded the medals before the Ugandan national anthem was played.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Here Comes the Sun (21:53–22:07)
Six athletes including Katherine Grainger and Katie Taylor presented flowers to six volunteers in a symbolic recognition of the 70,000 volunteers' contribution to the Games. This part of the ceremony was accompanied by The Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun".


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, A Symphony of British Music (22:07–23:21)
The section commenced with Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" being played and a graphic equaliser being shown on the pixel screen. John Lennon then appeared on the big screens and was joined by Liverpool Philharmonic Youth Choir and the Liverpool Signing Choir in singing "Imagine" as a bust of Lennon's face was created. Balloons were released at the end of this and George Michael followed singing "Freedom! ' 90" and "White Light" (one of his last public concert appearances).


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, A Symphony of British Music (22:07–23:21)
A group of mods on scooters followed invading the arena; one of them carried Ricky Wilson to the stage where his band the Kaiser Chiefs proceeded to cover The Who's "Pinball Wizard"; during the song the scooters continued to circle the arena. Several extracts of David Bowie songs followed, accompanied by images of Bowie; this continued until eight billboards, escorted by gold clad dancers and drummers, with artwork of models on arrived in the stadium representing the British fashion industry.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, A Symphony of British Music (22:07–23:21)
The artwork was dropped to reveal the models standing behind: Naomi Campbell (wearing Alexander McQueen), Lily Cole (wearing Erdem), Karen Elson (wearing Burberry), Lily Donaldson (wearing Vivienne Westwood), Jourdan Dunn (wearing Jonathan Saunders), David Gandy (wearing Paul Smith), Georgia May Jagger (wearing Victoria Beckham), Kate Moss (wearing Alexander McQueen) and Stella Tennant (wearing Christopher Kane). The models concluded the section by turning the struts of the Union Flag into a catwalk as they proceeded to the centre, walking to Bowie's 1980 single "Fashion".


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, A Symphony of British Music (22:07–23:21)
A wooden boat was then carried in; on board was Annie Lennox who proceeded to sing "Little Bird". Ed Sheeran followed and was joined by Richard Jones of The Feeling, Nick Mason of Pink Floyd and Mike Rutherford of Genesis and Mike + The Mechanics, to cover Pink Floyd's "Wish You Were Here". Near the end of the song a performer appeared on a tightrope above the stadium, walked along it, and shook hands with a mannequin, which then burst into flames (referencing the cover of Floyd's 1975 album Wish You Were Here).


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, A Symphony of British Music (22:07–23:21)
A psychedelic bus then enters with Russell Brand sitting on top singing "Pure Imagination" from "Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory" then segues into "I Am the Walrus"; before introducing Fatboy Slim, who played "Right Here Right Now" and "The Rockafeller Skank"; as the bus slowly transformed into a large inflatable Octopus. Three convertible Rolls-Royce Phantom Drophead Coupés then arrived; the roof of the first was taken down to reveal Jessie J who sang her hit "Price Tag", as the cars did a lap of the stadium. Jessie J provided guest vocals as the next car had its roof removed, to show Tinie Tempah who sang "Written in the Stars". The third car carried Taio Cruz who sang "Dynamite". All three then left the cars to combine to cover the Bee Gees' "You Should Be Dancing".


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, A Symphony of British Music (22:07–23:21)
A number of black cabs entered the stadium, five of which lit up with LED lights, each decorated with the Spice Girls' individual trademark emblems, (Posh: sparkling black, Sporty: go-faster stripes, Scary: leopard print, Baby: pink and Ginger: The Union Flag). The Spice Girls emerged from the cabs and performed "Wannabe" and "Spice Up Your Life". Halfway through their performance, they ascended onto the roofs of the cabs and proceeded to race around the stadium whilst singing and dancing from the roofs. Beady Eye followed by performing Oasis's "Wonderwall".


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, A Symphony of British Music (22:07–23:21)
"Mr. Blue Sky" by Electric Light Orchestra was played, introduced by Matt Berry, as a tribute to aviation was performed.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, A Symphony of British Music (22:07–23:21)
Near the end of this song a human cannonball "died" and out rolled Eric Idle, who sang "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life", accompanied variously by nuns on roller-skates (likely a reference to Monty Python and the Holy Grail), Morris dancers (Blackheath Morris and Rag Morris), Roman soldiers (a reference to Monty Python's Life of Brian, in which the song was first performed), Punjabi bhangra musicians dancers (VP Bhangra), and bagpipes (Reading Scottish Pipe Band, led by Pipe Major Ron Paterson) before a human cannonball was fired across the arena.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, A Symphony of British Music (22:07–23:21)
Muse then appeared and proceeded to sing the official song of London 2012, "Survival". In the darkness four trucks with screens on them entered and went to the centre of the stadium. Freddie Mercury then appeared on these and other screens around the stadium. Displayed was a vocal improvisation taken from Queen's 1986 Wembley Stadium concert, before his bandmate Brian May performed part of the "Brighton Rock" guitar solo. May was then joined by Roger Taylor to re-form Queen, as Jessie J, who wore a long yellow jacket in homage to Mercury, accompanied the pair for "We Will Rock You." More fireworks ended this section.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Rio 2016 (23:21–23:30)
The section began with the Greek national anthem being played and raising of the flag; followed by the Olympic anthem and the lowering of the flag. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, then handed the Olympic flag to Jacques Rogge, who in turn passed it to Eduardo Paes, the Mayor of Rio de Janeiro. This was followed by the Brazilian national anthem and raising of the flag. The Olympic flag was raised again in Sochi, Russia, on 7 February 2014 at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Embrace (23:30–23:38)
Rio then provided an eight-minute segment to introduce the city and the country to the world, created by the by a team headed by the International Emmy Kids Awards winner Cao Hamburger and the director Daniela Thomas entitled "Abraço" (which translated into English means hug or embrace). The showcase presented the Brazilian culture with main sights, as well the annual Rio Carnival and some local traditions as the city relationship with the sea. and began with the street cleaner Renato Sorriso dancing samba joined by sailor Robert Scheidt.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Embrace (23:30–23:38)
The segment continued with a Carnival-eqsue Samba parade as various artists performed, including hit singer Marisa Monte (dressed as African water goddess Yemanja representing the Brazilian religious syncretism), and the singers BNegão and Seu Jorge who paid tribute to Chico Science and Jorge Mautner, representing the Manguebeat moviment from Pernambuco state. The modernist composer Heitor Villa-Lobos also received a tribute. Another appearance was also that of the top model Alessandra Ambrósio that was representing the tradition and international recognition of fashion from Brazil.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Embrace (23:30–23:38)
It concluded with an appearance by Pelé, who was wearing a Brazilian football shirt with his name and the number 10 on the back and a 3D inflated model of Rio's logo. This segment ended with another special feature of the city, a big firework display in green and yellow colors (the national colours of the country) remember the party that takes place in the city during New Year's Eve.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Closing of the Games (23:38–23:48)
Sebastian Coe and Jacques Rogge then appeared on a stage that was in the form of an arrow pointing towards Rio. Coe thanked all of the people who had helped make the Olympics happen. He said that the volunteers, who received another huge cheer, had the right to say "I made London, 2012". Coe thanked the country for getting behind the Games, and recalled his words from the Opening Ceremony "these will be a games for everyone", concluding "these were a games by everyone." He went on to thank the athletes and say that "the spirit of these Olympics will inspire a generation", before concluding that "when our time came, Britain, we did it right! ".


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Closing of the Games (23:38–23:48)
Rogge thanked Coe and his London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games team, saying that they had done a "superb job". He said "we are indebted to so many tonight", thanking the "wonderful volunteers, the much needed heroes of these Games", as well as the British public and the athletes. Rogge said that the athletes had earned the right to be called 'Olympians' due to the fair play and graciousness that they had shown, and he looked forward to the Paralympic Games. Rogge concluded by calling the Games "happy and glorious", before proceeding to close the competition and calling upon the youth of the world to assemble in Rio in 2016, ending with "Thank you, London! ".


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Spirit of the Flame (23:48–00:00)
The arms holding the copper petals that formed the Olympic cauldron were part-lowered, and fireworks set off behind; when the smoke had cleared, a phoenix was seen above the flames. Take That then performed "Rule the World". Darcey Bussell followed flying down from the top of the stadium in a guise of a phoenix and was joined by four male principal dancers from The Royal Ballet, Gary Avis, Jonathan Cope, Nehemiah Kish and Ed Watson and over 200 ballerinas, who proceeded to perform a dance called 'the spirit of the flame', after which the Olympic Flame was extinguished.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Performance synopsis, Finale (00:00–00:07)
The closing act of the ceremony was The Who, who performed a medley of the songs "Baba O'Riley", "See Me, Feel Me" and "My Generation" as a montage of images of Games volunteers and Londoners appeared on the big screen. All star performers also appeared on the stage behind the band, while participants in the ceremony also marched through the centre stage towards The Who. The set concluded to massive fireworks set off in the stadium and around the Olympic Park.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Technical aspects
A total of 634,500 individual LED pixels were used to create 27 images lasting 75 minutes. The pixels were created by Crystal CG and each animation was constructed by a team of six, whilst a team of eight created the Rio segment. Images, including catwalk models in high-end fashions, drifting clouds over London, and flicking paint onto rooftop canvases, had been shot for the effects.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Technical aspects
The broadcast of the Olympic closing ceremony featured 1080p and side-by-side 1080i 3D on various TV channels and online.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Ratings and reviews
An estimated worldwide television audience of 750 million watched the event. Early data suggested that the British TV audience averaged 23.2 million and hit a peak of 26.2 million at 21.35.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Ratings and reviews
The Daily Telegraph commented during the ceremony that, although fun, it lacked "top drawer" performers, and that Annie Lennox was "utterly underwhelming." However One Direction, Jessie J, Tinie Tempah and Taio Cruz "shone", while the Spice Girls "got the exuberant tone exactly right". Tom Sutcliffe writing for The Independent said that it was "slick, impressive, often visually startling" and "eccentric, bewildering – and shameless good fun". He added that "where Danny Boyle's opening show had been a statement of intent and national values, this was an hour-long advert for British stadium rock-show design."


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Ratings and reviews
The Guardian writer Michael Billington wrote that he was not sure how to review "a mix of pageant, pop-concert, street-party and presentation ceremony." He added that it communicated the "energy of British popular culture over the past few decades and the gaiety of our Olympic ceremonies." Billington praised Boyle, Devlin and Daldry, who had done a "tremendous job in lending what might have been orthodox Olympic rituals a blast of theatrical vitality." While Alexis Petridis writing for the same paper said that the lack of a "gasp inducing moment" spoilt the show.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Ratings and reviews
NZ Herald's Troy Rawhiti-Forbes wrote that there were "touches of brilliance, beauty, and bewilderment - often at the same time." However he called Russell Brand "tuneless", and during George Michael's performance he thought that "if there had been remote controls here in the stadium, people might have been reaching for them." His "undisputed champions" of the night were the Spice Girls and The Who. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter noted that the show "had something for every generation" and was an "all-star...crowd-pleaser." However he wonders whether non-British viewers would have understood references to The Italian Job and Only Fools and Horses. Rooney concludes that the "Rio preview and the rousing Britpop marathon that preceded it were a reminder that the Olympics are as much about spectacle as sport."


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, Ratings and reviews
Gary Barlow was called "inspirational, brave and a consummate professional" after performing despite his wife having had a stillborn baby on 4 August. However, George Michael attracted some criticism for singing his new song "White Light" at the ceremony. Critics saw this as shameless promotion. Michael replied that it was his one chance to thank his supporters, which he didn't regret. It was his first appearance since almost dying from pneumonia and "White Light" was about that experience. Appearances by Russell Brand, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss were also seen as controversial, as their previous behaviour had not always reflected Olympic ideals.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, International broadcast issues
United States broadcaster NBC was criticised for its coverage in a Forbes article by John Clarke, who emphasised the omission of performances from Ray Davies and Muse, as well as the delay in The Who's performance by an hour to broadcast the pilot of the sitcom Animal Practice followed by the late local news. New Zealand broadcaster Prime TV was criticised for delayed coverage, running 20 minutes behind Sky Sport. In the Philippines, TV5 was criticised because it only aired the first hour of coverage of the ceremony, incorporating highlights into its next morning news programme, Good Morning Club.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony flag bearers
During the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, the flag bearers of 205 National Olympic Committees (NOCs) arrived into the main Olympic Stadium. The flags of each country were not necessarily carried by the same flag bearer as in the opening ceremony.


2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony flag bearers, Countries and flagbearers
Below is a list of all parading countries with their announced flag bearer, sorted in the order in which they appeared in the parade. This is sortable by country name under which they entered, the flag bearer's name, or the flag bearer's sport. Names are given as were officially designated by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).


2012 Summer Olympics marketing
2012 Summer Olympics marketing was a long running campaign that began when London won its bid to host the games in 2005.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Merchandise
On 21 July 2009, the LOCOG announced that Hornby had won the licence to develop and market a range associated with the Games. In March 2011, the LOCOG commissioned and published a series of training guides. The merchandise was sold online and in five shops known as "The London 2012 Shop". In addition, Adidas sold its London 2012 range in its flagship store on Oxford Street, and selected Next stores sold their 2012 range. Sainsbury's as official sponsors of the Paralympics also sold merchandise within their stores.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Official song
"Survival", a single released by the English band Muse, was the official song of the Olympics. It was broadcast when the athletes entered the stadium and in the period before medal ceremonies; international broadcasters also played it while reporting on the Games.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Stamps
In August 2009, the Royal Mail commissioned artists and illustrators to create 30 stamps which were released in batches of 10 during 2009 to 2011. The choice of 30 stamps for the issue symbolises the fact that the Games take place during the 30th Olympiad. Each stamp featured an Olympic or Paralympic sport and in addition carried the London 2012 logo.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Stamps
The Royal Mail had initially proposed that photographs be included as well but this was abandoned as the photos would have to be of dead people as the only living person allowed to feature on stamps in the United Kingdom is the Queen. Stamps with an Olympic theme go back to the very first games in Athens in 1890 when the organisers commissioned the sale of stamps in order to balance the books and construct the last four venues. When London first held the Games in 1908 no stamps were commissioned. That occasion and 1912 are the only times when stamps were not issued. When London last held the Games in 1948, just four stamps were issued. On 22 July 2011, the last of the 30 stamps were released.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Coins
Two £5 coins were made to mark London 2012 Olympics. As with other Olympics since 1952, the Royal Mint will strike a set of commemorative one-kilogram gold and silver coins. The striking of such large coins necessitated a new Act of Parliament, the Coinage (Measurement) Act 2011.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Chariots of Fire
The 1981 Best Picture Oscar-winning film Chariots of Fire, which depicts Britain's athletics successes in the 1924 Olympics, was also a recurring theme in promotions for the 2012 London Olympics. The film's theme tune was featured at the opening of the 2012 London New Year's fireworks celebrating the Olympics. The tune was also used when five thousand runners first tested the new Olympic Park.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Chariots of Fire
As an official part of the London 2012 Festival celebrations, a new digitally re-mastered version of Chariots of Fire was screened in over 100 cinemas throughout the UK. The re-release began on 13 July 2012, two weeks before the Olympic opening ceremony. A 2012 stage adaptation of the same title also coincides with the Olympics, opening 9 May at London's Hampstead Theatre and transferring to the West End on 23 June.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Fashion
The Olympics are known as the greatest fashion show on Earth with a worldwide audience. The outfits have to fly the flag and represent their nation to the world. Fashion designers from all over the world support their countries by creating uniforms for Olympic athletes by combining hi-tech fabrics and stylish designs. The kits consist of performance suits, podium suits, villagewear, and the uniform worn during the Opening and Closing Ceremony.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Mascots
The official mascots for the 2012 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games were unveiled on 19 May 2010. Wenlock and Mandeville are animations depicting two drops of steel from a steelworks in Bolton. They are named after the Shropshire town of Much Wenlock, which held a forerunner of the current Olympic Games, and Stoke Mandeville, a village in Buckinghamshire where a forerunner to the Paralympic Games were first held. The writer Michael Morpurgo wrote the story concept to the mascots, and an animation was produced; Two stories have been created about the mascots: Out Of A Rainbow and Adventures On A Rainbow.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Ticketing
Organisers estimated that some 8 million tickets would be available for the Olympic Games, and 1.5 million tickets for the Paralympic Games. It was estimated that 82% of available Olympic tickets and 63% of Paralympic tickets would be sold. LOCOG aimed to raise £375–£400 million in ticket sales. There were also free events such as marathon, triathlon and road cycling, although, for the first time in Olympic history, the sailing events were ticketed. To reduce congestion, ticket holders were entitled to free use of London's public transport network on the day of the event.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Ticketing
Following IOC rules, people applied for tickets from the NOC of their country of residence. European Union residents were able to apply for tickets in any EU country.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Ticketing
In Great Britain, ticket prices ranged from £20 for many events to £2,012 for the most expensive seats at the opening ceremony. Free tickets were given to military personnel, over 100.000 free tickets were given to schoolchildren and children were invited to win tickets. Free tickets were also given to the survivors and families of those who died during 7 July 2005 London bombings. Initially, people were able to apply for tickets via a website from 15 March 2011 until 26 April 2011.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Ticketing
There was a huge demand for tickets, with 1.8 million people applying for 20 million tickets – three times the 6.6 million tickets available in the first round lot, with 95% of the applications from Great Britain. More than 50% of the sessions went to a random ballot,  but over half the people who applied got no tickets as the process was widely criticised. On 11 May 2012 a round of nearly one million "second chance" tickets went on sale, with a second round of ticket sales for events that failed to sell out in the initial allocation.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Ticketing
This took place over a 10-day period between 23 June and 3 July 2011, with priority given to those who were unsuccessful in the first allocation process. At this point there were about 1.7 million tickets available for football and 600,000 for other sports (including archery, hockey, football, judo, boxing and volleyball), with 1.5 million tickets priced between £20 and £50. Although technical difficulties were encountered, some events sold out in 15 minutes, and by 8 am, ten sports had sold out.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Ticketing
People who were successful in the first round of tickets were allowed to buy more during the period 8–17 July 2011. By this point 1.5 million tickets were available for football and 8,000 for freestyle wrestling on a first-come-first-served basis. By 10 July all the tickets for volleyball had been sold, as 3.5 million tickets had been sold in total.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Ticketing
In Russia people bought "Olympic vouchers" which one would have to redeem in London during July and August 2012, with people making their own accommodation and travel arrangements. In Brazil, the ticket website and payment system did not work properly for the first three and a half days.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Sponsors
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the IOC (IOC) had agreed sponsorship deals with companies (see table). The sponsors were assigned into one of four categories; worldwide, tier one, tier two and tier three. The companies cumulatively provided £1.4bn of funding, allocated evenly between the IOC and LOCOG.


2012 Summer Olympics marketing, Sponsors
Other sources estimated that sponsors provided about $957 million, rest estimated at ~ $3.9 billion would be provided by selling TV transmission rights(for the 4 years provided period). The total data for each company is not official presented, however with the sponsorship of companies not associated with the "health food" made the questions about it, and probably raised the part for contract renew.


2012 Summer Olympics medal table
The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXX Olympiad, were a summer multi-sport event held in London, the capital of the United Kingdom, from 27 July to 12 August. A total of 10,768 athletes from 204 nations participated in 302 events in 26 sports across 39 different disciplines.


2012 Summer Olympics medal table
Overall, 86 nations received at least one medal, and 55 of them won at least one gold medal. Athletes from the United States won the most medals overall with 104 and the most gold medals with 46. The latter record was the largest gold medal haul for that NOC at a non-US hosted Olympics at the time. Host nation Great Britain won 29 gold medals and 65 overall medals making it the most successful Olympics performance for that nation since the 1908 edition.


2012 Summer Olympics medal table
Michael Phelps and Missy Franklin won the most gold medals at the games with four each. Phelps also won the greatest number of medals overall winning six in total. Bahrain, Botswana, Cyprus, Gabon, Grenada, Guatemala, and Montenegro all won their first Olympic medals with Bahrain and Grenada winning their nation's first Olympic gold medal. Previously, Montenegrin athletes had competed as nationals of Serbia and Montenegro and of Yugoslavia. Taekwondo athlete Milica Mandić from Serbia won the first Olympic gold medal for that nation as an independent nation. However, Serbian athletes had previously won gold medals as nationals of Yugoslavia.


2012 Summer Olympics medal table
During and after the games, many athletes who were caught doping or tested positive for banned substances were disqualified from competition and had their medals revoked. To date, 28 medals have been retroactively allocated, with Russia accounting for the majority of those medals stripped at 14.


2012 Summer Olympics medal table, Medal table
The medal table is based on information provided by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and is consistent with IOC convention in its published medal tables. By default, the table is ordered by the number of gold medals the athletes from a nation have won, where nation is an entity represented by a National Olympic Committee (NOC). The number of silver medals is taken into consideration next and then the number of bronze medals.


2012 Summer Olympics medal table, Medal table
In boxing, judo, taekwondo, and wrestling, two bronze medals are awarded in each weight class. Two silver medals (and no bronze) were awarded for second place ties in both the men's 200 metre freestyle swimming and the men's 100 metre butterfly swimming events. Two bronze medals were awarded for a third-place tie in the men's keirin cycling race; three bronze medals were awarded for a three-way third-place tie in the men's high jump.


2012 Summer Olympics medal table, Changes in medal standings, List of official changes
On 29 August 2016, a report indicated that a retested sample for Besik Kudukhov of Russia, the silver medalist in the men's 60 kg freestyle wrestling event, had returned a positive result (later disclosed as dehydrochlormethyltestosterone). Kudukhov died in a car crash in December 2013. On 27 October 2016, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) dropped all disciplinary proceedings against Kudukhov, stating that such proceedings cannot be conducted against a deceased person.


2012 Summer Olympics medal table, Changes in medal standings, List of official changes
Negative signs indicate either that medals were stripped or that medals were exchanged when upgraded to silver or gold in a reallocation.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics took place on the evening of Friday 27 July 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London, during which the Games were formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the ceremonial opening of this international sporting event (including welcoming speeches, hoisting of the flags and the parade of athletes) with an artistic spectacle to showcase the host nation's culture. The spectacle was entitled Isles of Wonder and directed by Academy Award-winning British film director Danny Boyle.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
Prior to London 2012 there had been considerable apprehension about Britain's ability to stage an opening ceremony that could reach the standard set at the Beijing Summer Games of 2008. The 2008 ceremony had been noted for its scale, extravagance and expense, hailed as the "greatest ever", and had cost £65m. In contrast, London spent an estimated £27m (out of £80m budgeted for its four ceremonies), which was nevertheless about twice the original budget. Nonetheless, the London opening ceremony was immediately seen as a tremendous success, widely praised as a "masterpiece" and "a love letter to Britain".


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
The ceremony began at 21:00 BST and lasted almost four hours. It was watched by an estimated worldwide television audience of 900 million, becoming the most-viewed Olympic opening ceremony in both the UK and US. The content had largely been kept secret before the performance, despite involving thousands of volunteers and two public rehearsals. The principal sections of the artistic display represented Britain's Industrial Revolution, National Health Service, literary heritage, popular music and culture, and were noted for their vibrant storytelling and use of music.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
Two shorter sections drew particular comment, involving a filmed cameo appearance of the Queen with James Bond as her escort, and a live performance by the London Symphony Orchestra joined by comedian Rowan Atkinson. These were widely ascribed to Britain's sense of humour. The ceremony featured children and young people in most of its segments, reflecting the 'inspire a generation' aspiration of London's original bid for the Games.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
The BBC released footage of the entire opening ceremony on 29 October 2012, edited by Danny Boyle and with background extras, along with more than seven hours of sporting highlights and the complete closing ceremony.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
The London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) approached Danny Boyle to be the director of the ceremony in June 2010, and he immediately accepted. Boyle explained that there had been four things that made him take the job: he was a big Olympics fan, he lived a mile from the Stadium and so felt invested in the area, his late father's birthday was on the ceremony's date, and he felt his 'Oscar clout' would enable him to push through what he wanted to do. He said it "felt weirdly more like a ... civic or national responsibility" to take the job.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
Boyle acknowledged that the extravagance of the 2008 opening ceremony was an impossible act to follow — "you can't get bigger than Beijing" — and that this realisation had in fact liberated his team creatively. He said "..obviously I'm not going to try and build on Beijing, because how could you? We can't, and you wouldn't want to, so we're going back to the beginning. We're going to try and give the impression that we're rethinking and restarting, because they've (opening ceremonies) escalated since Los Angeles in 1984.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
They've tried to top themselves each time and you can't do that after Beijing." Beijing's budget had been £65m, whereas London's final budget was £27m, which was twice the original provision. The London stadium had the same number of seats as Beijing's, but was half the size; this intimacy of scale meant that Boyle felt he could achieve something personal and connecting.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
The different sections of the ceremony were designed to reflect aspects of British history and culture, with the title Isles of Wonder partly inspired by Shakespeare's play The Tempest (particularly Caliban's 'Be not afeard' speech), and partly by the G. K. Chesterton aphorism: "The world shall perish not for lack of wonders, but for lack of wonder."


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
In July 2010, Boyle started brainstorming ideas with designer Mark Tildesley, writer Frank Cottrell-Boyce and costume designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb. They considered "what was essentially British", with the non-British Larlarb able to offer a view of what the world thought Britain meant. Cottrell-Boyce had given Boyle a copy of Pandaemonium, (named after the capital of Hell in Paradise Lost) by Humphrey Jennings, which collated contemporary reports from the industrial revolution. It had become traditional during the opening ceremony to 'produce' the Olympic rings in a spectacular manner.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
Cottrell-Boyce commented "Danny had a very clear idea that in the first 15 minutes you had to have a great, startling image that could go around the world; it had to climax with something that made people go 'Oh my God!'". Boyle decided that "the journey from the pastoral to the industrial, ending with the forging of the Olympic rings" would be that image.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
The ten distinct chapters on which the team started work were gradually compressed into three principal movements: the violent transition from 'Green and Pleasant Land' to the 'Pandemonium' of industrial revolution, a salute to the NHS and children's literature, and a celebration of pop culture, technology and the digital revolution.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
"At some point in their histories, most nations experience a revolution that changes everything about them. The United Kingdom had a revolution that changed the whole of human existence.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
In 1709 Abraham Darby smelted iron in a blast furnace, using coke. And so began the Industrial Revolution. Out of Abraham's Shropshire furnace flowed molten metal. Out of his genius flowed the mills, looms, engines, weapons, railways, ships, cities, conflicts and prosperity that built the world we live in.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
In November 1990 another Briton sparked another revolution – equally far-reaching – a revolution we're still experiencing. The digital revolution was sparked by Tim Berners-Lee's amazing gift to the world – the World Wide Web. This, he said, is for everyone.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
We welcome you to an Olympic Opening Ceremony for everyone. A ceremony that celebrates the creativity, eccentricity, daring and openness of the British genius by harnessing the genius, creativity, eccentricity, daring and openness of modern London.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
You'll hear the words of our great poets – Shakespeare, Blake and Milton. You'll hear the glorious noise of our unrivalled pop culture. You'll see characters from our great children's literature – Peter Pan and Captain Hook, Mary Poppins, Voldemort, Cruella de Vil. You'll see ordinary families and extraordinary athletes. Dancing nurses, singing children and amazing special effects.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
But we hope, too, that through all the noise and excitement that you will glimpse a single golden thread of purpose – the idea of Jerusalem – of a better world, the world of real freedom and true equality, a world that can be built through the prosperity of industry, through the caring nation that built the welfare state, through the joyous energy of popular culture, through the dream of universal communication. A belief that we can build Jerusalem. And that it will be for everyone."


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
When Boyle returned to work on the ceremony in the spring of 2011 he asked Rick Smith of Underworld, with whom he had worked on several film projects as well as his theatrical production of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, to be the musical director. At the same time the team moved to the Three Mills studio complex in east London, where a 4x4 metre scale model of the stadium was built. For security reasons, a single CGI-assisted version of the ceremony was kept on editor Sascha Dhillon's laptop; anyone needing it had to come to the studio.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
The cast included professional performers and 7,500 volunteers. Boyle considered the volunteers to be "the most valuable commodity of all". In November 2011 they auditioned at Three Mills, and rehearsals began in earnest in spring 2012 at an open-air site at Dagenham (the abandoned Ford plant), often in foul weather. Although key contributors had to sign non-disclosure agreements and some elements were codenamed, Boyle placed immense trust in the volunteers by asking them simply to "save the surprise" and not leak any information. Further volunteers were recruited to help with security and marshalling, and to support the technical crew. Three weeks before the ceremony, Mark Rylance, who was to have taken a leading part, pulled out after a family bereavement and was replaced by Kenneth Branagh.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
The Olympic Bell, the largest harmonically tuned bell in the world, weighing 23 tonnes, had been cast in brass under the direction of the Whitechapel Bell Foundry by Royal Eijsbouts of the Netherlands, and hung in the Stadium. It was inscribed with a line from Caliban's speech in The Tempest: "Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises".


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
Boyle gave significant emphasis to the London 2012 theme 'inspire a generation' and devised a programme relying heavily on children and young people, and built around themes that would relate to the young. 25 schools in the six original East London host boroughs were used to recruit child volunteers for the performance, and 170 sixth formers (16–18-year-olds), between them speaking more than 50 languages, were recruited from their colleges.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
On 12 June 2012 at a press conference, Boyle had promised a huge set of rural Britain, which was to include a village cricket team, farm animals, a model of Glastonbury Tor, as well as a maypole and a rain-producing cloud. His intention was to represent the rural and urban landscape of Britain. The design was to include a mosh pit at each end of the set, one with people celebrating a rock festival and the other the Last Night of the Proms.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
Boyle promised a ceremony with which everyone would feel involved; he said, "I hope it will reveal how peculiar and contrary we are – and how there's also, I hope, a warmth about us." Some of the set was designed with real grass turf and soil. The use of animals (40 sheep, 12 horses, 3 cows, 2 goats, 10 chickens, 10 ducks, 9 geese and 3 sheep dogs, looked after by 34 animal handlers) drew some criticism from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Boyle, who was being advised by the RSPCA, assured PETA that the animals would be well cared for. After the press conference, much commentary in the UK Press was negative and attracted "hundreds of comments online completely supporting...the view that the opening ceremony would be a disaster."


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
The overwhelming majority of the music used was British. The team worked next door to the office of the musical director for the closing ceremony, David Arnold, and so hearing each other's music there was a scramble to claim a particular song first. A.R. Rahman, who worked with Boyle on Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours, composed a Punjabi song 'Nimma Nimma' to showcase Indian influence in the UK, according to Boyle's wishes. More Indian music was also scheduled for inclusion in the medley. Paul McCartney was to be the ceremony's closing act.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
Sebastian Coe was instrumental in asking the Queen to take part, responding positively when Boyle first pitched the Happy and Glorious film sequence featuring the Queen. Boyle suggested that the Queen be played either a lookalike, or by a world-class actress such as Helen Mirren, in a location to double as Buckingham Palace. Coe asked Princess Anne, a British member of the IOC and LOCOG, what she thought, and she told him to ask the Queen. Coe presented the idea to the Queen's Deputy Private Secretary. Boyle was surprised to hear that the Queen would be happy to play herself, and wanted a speaking part. Filming took place in late March 2012, and Happy and Glorious was produced by the BBC, as was the opening film sequence Journey along the Thames.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
Changes were still being made to the programme in the final days before the ceremony:  a BMX bike section was dropped due to time constraints, and the 'Pandemonium' and 'Thanks.. Tim' sections were edited down. In 2016 Boyle recounted how he had come under pressure from Jeremy Hunt, then the Olympics and Culture Secretary, to cut back the NHS section, which he had saved only by threatening to resign and take the volunteers with him.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Preparations
Two full dress and technical rehearsals took place in the Olympic stadium, on 23 and 25 July, in front of an audience of 60,000 comprising volunteers, cast members' families, competition winners, and others connected to the Games. Boyle asked them not to 'spoil the surprise' by using the hashtag #savethesurprise on social media, keeping the performance a secret for the hundreds of millions who would watch on the Friday night.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Officials and guests, Royal Box
Seated in the Royal Box were the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, the Prince of Wales, and other members of the British Royal Family. They were accompanied by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, Prime Minister David Cameron, Spouse of the Prime Minister Samantha Cameron, former Prime Ministers John Major, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown and Mayor of London Boris Johnson. Officials of the Olympic movement included President of the IOC Jacques Rogge, LOCOG Chairman Sebastian Coe and members of the IOC.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Officials and guests, International dignitaries
The ceremony was the largest gathering of world leaders for an Olympic and sporting event in history, surpassing that of 2008. Three multilateral leaders, more than ninety five heads of state and government and representatives from five organisations and one hundred and twenty countries attended.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Prologue
At exactly 20:12 (8:12 pm) the Red Arrows performed a flypast over the Olympic Stadium and then over the concert in Hyde Park. This concert featured artists selected to represent the four nations of the United Kingdom: Duran Duran, Stereophonics, Snow Patrol and Paolo Nutini.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Prologue
At the beginning the stadium contained a rural scene including the model of Glastonbury Tor, a model village and a water wheel, replete with live animals (removed shortly before the ceremony began), and actors portraying working villagers, football and cricket players.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Prologue
Frank Turner performed three songs ("Sailor's Boots", "Wessex Boy" and "I Still Believe") on the model of Glastonbury Tor, joined by Emily Barker, Ben Marwood and Jim Lockey, as well as his regular backing band the Sleeping Souls. LSO On Track (an orchestra of 80 young musicians from ten East London boroughs together with 20 LSO members) then performed Edward Elgar's "Nimrod" from the Enigma Variations, accompanied by extracts from the BBC Radio Shipping Forecast, and maritime images on the big screens, while the audience held up blue sheeting to simulate the sight of the ocean. This performance celebrated Britain's maritime heritage and geographical insularity.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Countdown (21:00–21:04 BST)
The ceremony began at 9pm after a one-minute '60 to 1' countdown film made up of shots of numbers, such as those on house doors, street nameplates, London buses, station platforms and market labels.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Countdown (21:00–21:04 BST)
A two-minute film Journey along the Thames, directed by Boyle and produced by the BBC, opened the ceremony. To the sound of "Surf Solar" by Fuck Buttons, it followed the River Thames from its source to the heart of London, juxtaposing images of contemporary British life with pastoral shots and flashes of scenes from the stadium. The characters Ratty, Mole and Toad from The Wind in the Willows were briefly seen, as was a 'Monty Python hand' pointing towards London on umbrellas, and an InterCity 125 train passing the Olympic rings as crop circles in a field.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Countdown (21:00–21:04 BST)
At Battersea Power Station a Pink Floyd pig was flying between the towers; the clock sound from another Pink Floyd song "Time" was heard passing Big Ben. The soundtrack included clips from the theme tune of The South Bank Show, "London Calling" by The Clash, and the Sex Pistols' "God Save the Queen" as the film followed the route of the band's infamous cruise down the River Thames during the Silver Jubilee.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Countdown (21:00–21:04 BST)
After lifting to an aerial view of East London mirroring the title sequence of the BBC soap opera EastEnders, to the sound of the drum beats from the closing theme, the film flashed down through the Thames Barrier, into Bow Creek, and then below surface through a London Underground train and station, historic footage of Isambard Kingdom Brunel's Thames Tunnel, and through the Rotherhithe Tunnel.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Countdown (21:00–21:04 BST)
It then switched to a sequence filmed outside the stadium shortly before the ceremony, superimposed with posters from previous Summer Olympics (all of them except 1900 Paris, 1936 Berlin, 1984 Los Angeles, and 1996 Atlanta), to a recording of "Map of the Problematique" by Muse. This ended with a live shot of three cast members holding the posters for the 2012 competition.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Countdown (21:00–21:04 BST)
There was then a ten-second countdown in the stadium, with children holding clusters of balloons that burst simultaneously (although one set failed to burst), with the audience shouting out the numbers. Bradley Wiggins, who had won the Tour de France five days earlier, opened the ceremony by ringing the Olympic Bell that hung at one end of the stadium. Four upper-atmosphere balloons were released, each expected to carry a set of Olympic rings and a camera up to the mid-stratosphere.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Green and Pleasant Land (21:04–21:09)
Be not afeard: the isle is full of noises, Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight, and hurt not. Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments Will hum about mine ears; and sometimes voices, That, if I then had wak'd after long sleep, Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming, The clouds methought would open and show riches Ready to drop upon me; that, when I wak'd, I cried to dream again.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Green and Pleasant Land (21:04–21:09)
The depiction of rural life already in the arena was billed as "a reminder and a promise of a once and future better life". Youth choirs began a cappella performances of the informal anthems of the four nations of the UK: "Jerusalem" (for England, sung by a live choir in the stadium), "Danny Boy" (from the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland), "Flower of Scotland" (from Edinburgh Castle in Scotland), and "Bread of Heaven" (from Rhossili Beach in Wales – sung in English). These were inter-cut with footage of notable Rugby Union Home Nations' tries, England's winning drop goal from the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final, and live shots from the stadium.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Green and Pleasant Land (21:04–21:09)
As the last choir performance concluded, vintage London General Omnibus Company stagecoaches entered, carrying businessmen and early industrialists in Victorian dress and top hats, led by Kenneth Branagh as Isambard Kingdom Brunel. The 50 men stepped down from the carriages and surveyed the land approvingly. After walking onto the Glastonbury Tor, Brunel delivered Caliban's "Be not afeard" speech, reflecting Boyle's introduction to the ceremony in the programme and signifying an aspiration of new industry or a new era in Britain. This anticipated the next section of the ceremony.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Pandemonium (21:09–21:25)
This section encapsulated British economic and social development from rural economy through the Industrial Revolution to the 1960s.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Pandemonium (21:09–21:25)
Proceedings were suddenly interrupted by a loud shout, recorded by volunteers during the rehearsals, followed by drumming (the pre-recorded drumming amplified by 965 cast members drumming on inverted household buckets and bins), led by Evelyn Glennie. The three-tonne oak tree on top of the Glastonbury Tor lifted, and industrial workers emerged from both the Tor's brightly lit interior and the entrances to the stadium, to swell the cast to a total of 2,500 volunteers. So began what Boyle had called the "biggest scene change in theatre history" and something he had been advised against attempting. Underworld's "And I Will Kiss" began to play, as the cast rolled away the grass and other rural props.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Pandemonium (21:09–21:25)
Seven smoking chimney stacks with accompanying steeplejacks rose from the ground, along with other industrial machinery: five beam engines, six looms, a crucible and a water wheel (one of the few items left from the rural scene). Boyle said that this section celebrated the "tremendous potential" afforded by the advancements of the Victorian era. It also included a minute's silence in remembrance of the loss of life of both World Wars, featuring British 'Tommies' and shots of poppies, during which the names of the Accrington Pals were shown on the stadium screens. Unprompted, members of the audience stood in respect during this segment.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Pandemonium (21:09–21:25)
Volunteers paraded around the stadium representing some of the groups that had changed the face of Britain: the woman's suffrage movement, the Jarrow Crusade, the first Caribbean immigrants arriving in 1948 on board the Empire Windrush, a 1970s DJ float, the Nostalgia Steel Band, and The Beatles as they appeared on the cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. Also included were real-life Chelsea Pensioners, the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, and a group of Pearly Kings and Queens.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Pandemonium (21:09–21:25)
Workers began casting an iron ring. As the noise level and tension built, driven by the relentless rhythm of the music and the drumming, participants mimed repetitive mechanical movements associated with industrial processes such as weaving. Four glowing orange rings gradually began to be carried high above the stadium toward its centre on overhead wires, and then the ring seemingly being cast and forged in the arena began to lift. The five rings converged, still glowing and accompanied by steam and firework effects to give the impression that they were of hot metal. When the five rings formed the Olympic symbol above the stadium, they ignited and rained fire in silver and gold. The image of the Olympic rings in flame became the iconic image of the ceremony, reproduced in newspapers and web stories around the world.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Happy and Glorious (21:25–21:35)
A short film directed by Boyle and produced by the BBC, called Happy and Glorious (after a line in the national anthem), featured the character James Bond, played by current Bond actor Daniel Craig, entering the front gate of Buckingham Palace in a London black cab. His entrance (accompanied by an arrangement of Handel's 'The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba') is noticed by Brazilian children (a nod to Rio de Janeiro, which was to be the next summer Games host city) in the throne room.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Happy and Glorious (21:25–21:35)
Bond escorted Queen Elizabeth II (who played herself, acknowledging Bond with the words, "Good evening, Mr Bond") out of the building and into a waiting AgustaWestland AW139 helicopter. The film followed the helicopter across London, with shots of a cheering crowd on The Mall, Nelson's Column, the Palace of Westminster with an animated Winston Churchill statue in Parliament Square, and of the Thames past the London Eye, St Paul's Cathedral, the financial district City of London.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Happy and Glorious (21:25–21:35)
The helicopter then passed through Tower Bridge, accompanied by the Dambusters March. The film finished with Bond and the Queen apparently jumping from a real helicopter live above the stadium, accompanied by the "James Bond Theme". The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh, along with Rogge, were then introduced to the audience. The Queen was wearing the same dress as in the film, as if she had just arrived with Bond.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Happy and Glorious (21:25–21:35)
The idea of the royal helicopter jump was first pitched by director Danny Boyle to Sebastian Coe, who loved it so much he took it to Edward Young, Private Secretary to the Queen, at Buckingham Palace in the summer of 2011. Young 'listened sagely, laughed, and promised to ask the boss'. Word came back to Coe that the Queen would love to take part. Young, Boyle and Coe agreed to keep the plan secret so as not to spoil the surprise.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Happy and Glorious (21:25–21:35)
For the scenes with the helicopter, the Queen was doubled by actress Julia McKenzie, and for the parachute jump by BASE jumper and stuntman Gary Connery wearing a dress, hat, jewellery and with a handbag. Bond was played by Mark Sutton. The helicopter had flown to the stadium from Stapleford Aerodrome in Essex, piloted by Marc Wolff.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Happy and Glorious (21:25–21:35)
The Union Flag was then raised by members of the British Armed Forces, while the first and third verses of the national anthem were performed a cappella by the Kaos Signing Choir for Deaf and Hearing Children.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Second to the right, and straight on till morning (21:35–21:47)
The first part of this sequence celebrated the National Health Service ("the institution which more than any other unites our nation", according to the programme), which had been founded in the year of the previous London Games in 1948. Music was by Mike Oldfield. 600 dancers, all of whom were NHS staff, along with 1,200 volunteers recruited from British hospitals, entered along with children on 320 hospital beds, some of which functioned as trampolines. They started a short jive routine. Watching from the tor were specially invited hospital staff and nine child patients from Great Ormond Street Hospital.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Second to the right, and straight on till morning (21:35–21:47)
The blankets on the beds illuminated and the beds were arranged to depict a child's face with a smile and a tear (the Hospital Children's Charity's logo). The acronym 'GOSH' then changed into the initials 'NHS', turning into the shape of a crescent moon as the children were hushed to sleep and read books by the nurses.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Second to the right, and straight on till morning (21:35–21:47)
The sequence then moved on to celebrate British children's literature. J. K. Rowling began by reading from J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan (whose copyright was given to Great Ormond Street Hospital). The Child Catcher appeared amongst the children, followed by giant puppet representations of villains from British children's literature: the Queen of Hearts, Captain Hook, Cruella de Vil and Lord Voldemort. Minutes later, 32 women playing Mary Poppins descended with their umbrellas, as the villains deflated and the actors resumed dancing.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Second to the right, and straight on till morning (21:35–21:47)
The music for this sequence included partially rearranged sections from Tubular Bells (with a giant set of tubular bells at the rear of the stage), Tubular Bells III and, after the villains had been driven away by the Mary Poppins characters, In Dulci Jubilo. During this performance the children in pyjamas jumped up and down on their brightly lit beds, creating a memorable image amid the darkness of the stadium.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Second to the right, and straight on till morning (21:35–21:47)
The sequence concluded with a pale, gigantic baby's head, with a rippling sheet for its body, in the centre of the arena. This celebrated the Scottish pioneers of obstetric ultrasound imaging.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Interlude (21:47–21:52)
Simon Rattle was then introduced to conduct the London Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Vangelis's "Chariots of Fire", as a tribute to the British film industry with Rowan Atkinson reprising his role as Mr. Bean, comically playing a repeated note on a synthesiser. He then lapsed into a filmed dream sequence in which he joined the runners from the film Chariots of Fire, beating them in their iconic run along West Sands at St Andrews by riding in a car, rejoining the race and tripping the front runner. Danny Boyle later explained: "It wasn't actually Mr. Bean. Strictly speaking, the name of his character was Derek".


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Frankie and June say...thanks Tim (21:52–22:09)
This sequence celebrated British popular music and culture, paying homage to each decade since the 1960s. To the accompaniment of the BBC newsreel theme 'Girls in Grey' and the theme tune from The Archers, a young mother and son arrive in a Mini Cooper at a full-size replica of a modern British house. The 1987 "don't worry about a hurricane" weather forecast by Michael Fish was shown on the big screens as rain suddenly poured on the house, followed by "Push the Button", by Sugababes.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Frankie and June say...thanks Tim (21:52–22:09)
In the centre of the arena the sides of another house, three times larger, were used as screens to show clips from various TV programmes, music videos and films, including A Matter of Life and Death (June is named for its protagonist), as well as Gregory's Girl, Kes, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Snowman, The Wicker Man, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Spanish TV show Cuéntame cómo pasó, and Boyle's own Trainspotting on the top and the inside of the house on the bottom.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Frankie and June say...thanks Tim (21:52–22:09)
A large group of dancers, centred around Frankie and June (19-year-old Henrique Costa and 18-year-old Jasmine Breinburg) on a night out, performed to an assortment of British popular songs arranged broadly chronologically, beginning with "Going Underground" by The Jam, suggesting a ride on the London Underground. During this track images of the Underground were projected onto the house and former London Mayor Ken Livingstone was briefly seen in the driver’s seat. Throughout the sequence cast members were texting each other or placing social networking status updates on the Internet. Frankie and June first notice each other as a snippet from "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton plays, but when Frankie saw that June had dropped her phone on the Tube, he set off to return it (communicating using last number redial to her sister's phone).


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Frankie and June say...thanks Tim (21:52–22:09)
An extended dance sequence followed, with songs including "My Generation" by The Who, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones, "My Boy Lollipop" sung by Millie Small, "All Day and All of the Night" by the Kinks, "She Loves You" by the Beatles (with footage of the band performing the song), "Trampled Under Foot" by Led Zeppelin, "Starman" by David Bowie, "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen (during which the sound of the TARDIS from Doctor Who could be heard), "Pretty Vacant" by the Sex Pistols (during which dancers on power jumpers wearing large heads with Mohawk hairstyles performed a pogo dance, and the lyrics to the song were spelled out in LED lights around the stadium), "Blue Monday" by New Order, "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood (during which Frankie, asked by June for his name, replied by revealing one of the band's "Frankie say..." T-shirts), "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" by Soul II Soul, "Step On" by Happy Mondays, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by Eurythmics, "Firestarter" by The Prodigy, and "Born Slippy .NUXX" by Underworld, ending with the cast singing "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" as Frankie and June walked towards each other.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Frankie and June say...thanks Tim (21:52–22:09)
A sequence from the film Four Weddings and a Funeral was projected behind them; when they kissed, a montage of memorable kisses from film, TV and real life was shown (including one of the first interracial kisses on British television in Emergency Ward 10 and the first lesbian kiss from Brookside, which in some countries, including Saudi Arabia, then became the first lesbian kiss ever shown on pre-watershed television), while "Song 2" by Blur was played.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Frankie and June say...thanks Tim (21:52–22:09)
A live performance of "Bonkers" by Dizzee Rascal (who grew up in the host borough of Tower Hamlets) followed, along with a further sequence in which all the cast (and Britain's Got Talent dancing duo Signature) attend a party at June's house whilst Amy Winehouse's "Valerie", Muse's "Uprising", and Tinie Tempah's "Pass Out" played.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Frankie and June say...thanks Tim (21:52–22:09)
At the close the larger house was raised to reveal Tim Berners-Lee working at a NeXT Computer, like the one on which he invented the World Wide Web. He tweeted 'This is for everyone', instantly spelled out in LED lights around the stadium. The programme explained "Music connects us with each other and with the most important moments in our lives. One of the things that makes those connections possible is the World Wide Web". Boyle wanted to honour Berners-Lee for having made the World Wide Web free and available to everyone (hence the tweet), rather than seeking a commercial profit from it.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Abide with Me (22:09–22:20)
A filmed sequence showed extracts from the torch relay around the UK, to the music "I Heard Wonders" by David Holmes. This then cut live to show David Beckham driving a dramatically illuminated motor boat down the River Thames and under Tower Bridge, to fireworks, while footballer Jade Bailey held on to the torch in the boat. This section had been rehearsed on 24 July 2012 when the close-up shots were pre-recorded, and was directed by Stephen Daldry.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Abide with Me (22:09–22:20)
There was then a tribute to "..friends and family of those in the stadium who cannot be here tonight", including the victims of the '7/7' 2005 London bombings (on the day after London had been awarded the Games). Photos of people who had died were displayed on screens as a memorial, accompanied by an excerpt from Brian Eno's ambient work "An Ending (Ascent)". The hymn "Abide with Me" was then sung by Emeli Sandé while a group of dancers choreographed by and including Akram Khan performed a contemporary dance on the theme of mortality.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Welcome (22:20–00:00)
The Parade of Nations of athletes (drawn from the 10,490 competing) and officials from 204 nations (and also the "Independent Olympic Athletes") was led, according to custom, by the Greek team, followed by other competing countries in alphabetical order, and finally the host nation Great Britain.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Welcome (22:20–00:00)
Each of the 205 teams entered the stadium led by their flagbearer, accompanied by a child volunteer carrying a copper petal (later revealed to be part of the cauldron) and a young woman carrying a sign with the country's name in English (and wearing a dress made from fabric printed with photos of people who had applied to be Olympic volunteers).


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Welcome (22:20–00:00)
The parade was accompanied by mainly British dance tracks and popular songs, including "Galvanize" by Chemical Brothers, "West End Girls" by Pet Shop Boys, "Rolling in the Deep" by Adele, "Stayin' Alive" by the Bee Gees and both "Where the Streets Have No Name" and "Beautiful Day" by Irish band U2, with Great Britain entering to David Bowie's song "Heroes". Welsh drum and bass DJ High Contrast mixed and sequenced the music for the athletes' parade.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Welcome (22:20–00:00)
Music with a fast rhythm of 120 bpm was used in an attempt to keep the teams walking quickly around the stadium, and this was reinforced by the drummers in the stadium; nevertheless the parade part of the programme took 1 hour 40 minutes to complete, compared to the 1 hour 29 minutes estimated in the official media guide. Once all of the athletes were inside the stadium, seven billion small pieces of paper were dropped from a Westland helicopter, each piece representing one person on Earth. Each nation's flag was planted on the Glastonbury Tor.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Bike a.m. (00:00–00:07 BST 28 July)
Once the athletes had gathered in the centre of the stadium, Arctic Monkeys performed "I Bet You Look Good on the Dancefloor" and The Beatles' "Come Together", the latter whilst 75 cyclists circled the stadium with wings lit by LEDs representing Doves of Peace. Doves were traditionally released at Olympic opening ceremonies, although real birds have not been used since 1992. A single dove cyclist, his beak painted yellow in honour of Bradley Wiggins, appeared to fly out of the stadium.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Let the Games Begin (00:07–00:24)
The formal part of the ceremony was introduced by Sebastian Coe, speaking from the Tor and surrounded by flags of the participating nations. He welcomed the watching world to London. He expressed pride in being British and part of the Olympic movement, and said that the Olympics "brings together the people of the world...to celebrate what is best about mankind". He continued to speak of the "truth and drama" of sport, and then thanked Britain for "making all this possible".


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Let the Games Begin (00:07–00:24)
Rogge responded by thanking London, stating that it was the third time that London had held the Games, following 1908, held at short notice when Rome was unable to do so (after a volcanic eruption), and 1948 three years after the end of World War II. Rogge thanked the thousands of volunteers, to huge cheers. He announced that for the first time in Olympic history, every team had female participants. Rogge acknowledged the important role the UK had played as "the birthplace of modern sport", codifying its "fair play" ethos and building sport into the school curriculum. He appealed to athletes to play fairly and be drug-free, according to the values of Baron de Courbertin, reminding them that they were role models who would "inspire a generation". After expressing these sentiments again briefly in French, he invited the Queen to open the Games.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Let the Games Begin (00:07–00:24)
The Queen declared the competition officially open, immediately followed by a trumpet fanfare based on a theme from Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield and then a fireworks display. The 2012 ceremony was the second time the Queen had opened an Olympic Games, the first being the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal in her capacity as Queen of Canada. It was also the first time any individual had opened a Summer Olympics twice (two more Olympiads had been opened on her behalf, with a further two Winter Games opened on her behalf).


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Let the Games Begin (00:07–00:24)
The Olympic Flag was carried by eight people chosen from around the world to embody the Olympic values: Doreen Lawrence (chosen for her "tireless thirst for justice"), Haile Gebrselassie (for his "fight against poverty"), Sally Becker (for her "courage"), Ban Ki-moon (as UN general secretary), Leymah Gbowee (as "a great peacemaker"), Shami Chakrabarti (for "her integrity"), Daniel Barenboim (for bringing "harmony in place of discord"), and Marina Silva (as UN Champion of the Earth). The flag paused in front of Muhammad Ali (invited to represent 'respect, confidence, conviction, dedication, generosity and spiritual strength'), who held it for a few moments.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, Let the Games Begin (00:07–00:24)
The flag was received by a colour guard of Her Majesty's Armed Forces and hoisted to the Olympic Hymn, performed by the LSO and the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. A brief reprise of "And I will Kiss" commenced the Olympic Oaths, taken by taekwondo athlete Sarah Stevenson on behalf of the athletes, by British AIBA Referee Mik Basi on behalf of the officials, and by Eric Farrell on behalf of the coaches.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (00:24–00:38)
This section was named after the song of the same name by The Smiths. The motorboat driven by David Beckham arrived with the Olympic Flame via the Limehouse Cut and the Lee Navigation. Steve Redgrave lit his torch from that on the boat, and carried it into the stadium through an honour guard of 500 of the construction workers who had built the Olympic Park. He passed the flame on to a team of seven young people, each nominated by a famous British Olympian to convey the Games' aim to 'inspire a generation'. Six of the team were athletes, and the seventh was a volunteer young ambassador.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (00:24–00:38)
The teenagers made a lap of the stadium, each carrying the torch in turn, while Alex Trimble, lead singer of Two Door Cinema Club, performed "Caliban's Dream" with the Dockhead Choir, Only Men Aloud, Elizabeth Roberts, and Esme Smith. This had been written especially for the ceremony by Rick Smith of Underworld.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (00:24–00:38)
Each young athlete was greeted by their nominating Olympian (watched by 260 British medallists from previous summer and winter Games since London 1948) and presented with their own torch, which was then lit from the flame. They jogged through a corridor between assembled athletes to the centre of the stadium, where the 204 copper petals (each inscribed with the name of the team it accompanied during the parade) were now seen in a circular formation attached to long pipes (the petals were to accompany each team home after the competition, as a souvenir). The young athletes lit some of the petals, and when the flame had spread to all of them, the pipes rose slowly from the floor of the stadium and converged to form the cauldron. The cauldron lighters were (nominator in brackets):


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, There Is a Light That Never Goes Out (00:24–00:38)
The cauldron designed by Thomas Heatherwick was described as "one of the best-kept secrets of the opening ceremony": until this point, its design, location, and who would light it had not been revealed.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Proceedings, And in the end (00:38–00:46)
A flurry of spectacular fireworks accompanied by Pink Floyd's song "Eclipse" was supported by images of memorable Olympic victories shown on the big screens, with the stadium pixels showing Jesse Owens running. The climax of this section was a live view of the Olympic rings 34 kilometres (21 miles) above the Earth, transmitted from one of the balloons launched three and a half hours earlier. The sky was then lit by searchlights piercing the smoke (another iconic London image) from the fireworks, the Orbit tower was illuminated. Paul McCartney and his band performed the closing section of "The End", and then "Hey Jude", with its chorus sung by the audience to close the ceremony at 00:46 BST.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Music
The eclectic programme of music was chosen to showcase almost exclusively British music with pieces representing the UK's four nations. It included classical works by British composers such as Hubert Parry, and performances by UK choirs and orchestras. The focus was mainly on music of the 1960s onwards, causing one Chinese journalist to ask: "Will this be the most rock and roll opening ceremony ever? ".


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Music
Rick Smith and Underworld composed pieces for the ceremony, including "And I Will Kiss" used during the 'Pandemonium' section, and "Caliban's Dream" heard during the lighting of the cauldron. These were favourably reviewed; in The Guardian, Michael Hann wrote "Underworld ... had a bit of a triumph: the builds and fades they learned in the world of dance music lent the sometimes overwhelming visual spectacle a sense of structure".


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Music
Musical motifs were used to bind the ceremony programme together: for example, the 'whistling' theme first heard during the minute's silence embedded within "And I Will Kiss" returned frequently – behind the fury as the ring was being forged, emerging triumphant as the five rings came together, and again later as the main theme of 'Caliban's Dream' whilst the flame was paraded around the stadium.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Music
Bells were a theme of the opening day of the Olympics, starting at 8:12 am with artist Martin Creed's Work No. 1197: All the Bells, when bells were rung across the UK including forty strikes of Big Ben. "The sound of bells is the sound of England", Boyle had told volunteers during rehearsal. Much of the music for the ceremony contained 'bell' references, linking to the large bell forged for the ceremony and evoking bells as "the sound of freedom and peace".


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Music
Modified sequences based on the traditional British eight-bell peal underlaid "And I Will Kiss" and carried through into the "Tubular Bells"/NHS section, with handbells and a tolling large bell featured on 'Caliban's Dream' and at key points in the ceremony. A handbell chime also played after the close, as the stadium emptied.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Music
Boyle approached many of the artists personally, to see if they would be interested in performing, and he also flew to Barbados for an hour-long meeting with Mike Oldfield. A few turned him down, including Elvis Costello and David Bowie. The performing artists were paid a nominal £1 fee to make their contracts legally binding.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Music
The pre-recorded soundtrack Isles of Wonder was released on iTunes at midnight of 28 July 2012, with a two-disc CD set released on 2 August. Within two days the download album had topped the iTunes album charts in Britain, France, Belgium and Spain, and reached No. 5 in the United States, as well as being No. 5 in the British album charts. Rick Smith's concluding comment in the CD cover notes was: "The isle is full of noises. The soundtrack writes itself."


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Technical aspects
The main loading of the stadium started on 10 May and took ten weeks of what was the wettest summer for a hundred years, posing considerable challenges. Dismantling the staging took just sixty hours. The infield staging area was 2.5 metres high, and had to accommodate the elements revealed during the ceremony, such as the chimneys and beam engines from 'Pandemonium', and the cauldron. To ensure that it remained secret, the cauldron was code-named 'Betty', and installed and tested at night.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Technical aspects
The stadium was rigged with a one million watt sound system and more than 500 speakers. Some 15,000 square metres (3.7 acres) of staging and 12,956 props were used, as well as 7,346 square metres (1.815 acres) of turf including crops. 70,799 25 centimetre (10 inch) pixel panels were placed around the stadium, including between every seat. Each panel connected to a central computer and was fitted with nine full-colour LED pixels by Tait Technology.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Technical aspects
These enabled images to be broadcast during the performance, such as of a 1960s go-go dancer, a London Underground train, and a representation of the birth of the internet. The audience was also able to participate by waving the paddles to create a twinkling effect. These animations were designed by 59 Productions and the video animations were produced by Chinese company Crystal CG. The 2D to 3D transformation and mapping of video content onto the panels were done by Avolites Media media server consoles.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Technical aspects
Technical director Piers Shepperd masterminded the complex change from rural to industrial during 'Pandemonium'. The seven inflatable chimneys were made by Airworks, and varied in height (three were 22-metre (72 ft), two were 23-metre (75 ft) and two were 30-metre (98 ft) high). They were made of soft fabric, with an outer layer of printed brick pattern. Each contained four industrial fans at the base to inflate them, and a smoke machine near the top, and were hoisted into the air from the overhead rigs.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Technical aspects
Life-size beam engines were constructed onstage by teams of stage hands and members of the Volunteer Staging Team. At the climax of 'Pandemonium', in the Olympic ring forging scene, amber lights lit in sequence created the illusion of a 30-metre (98 ft) molten steel river, with pyrotechnic smoke and dry ice as steam. The original grass floor surface had been removed to reveal a giant stylised map of London.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Technical aspects
Working alongside the professional crew were over 800 volunteers; some were production arts students from British drama schools. Many had been working on the Olympic and Paralympic ceremonies since early 2012 at the Three Mills Studios and Dagenham rehearsal sites, before moving to the Stadium on 16 June. The thousands of cast were cued and co-ordinated by directions received through earphones ('in-ear monitors'), and adjustments were made during the performance: for example during Pandemonium extra volunteers were sent to make sure all the turf was cleared on time. The earphones also carried a continuous electronic metronomic four-beat to keep everyone walking and moving in time with the music.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, Technical aspects
In July 2013 it was revealed that on the morning of the ceremony, Britain's surveillance headquarters GCHQ had detected a credible cyber attack threat that could have killed the lighting system in the stadium. Counter-measures were taken, and in the afternoon contingency plans were discussed with government ministers at a meeting in the Cabinet Office briefing room. However, this attack never materialised.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, TV coverage
The BBC's coverage started at 19:00 and continued uninterrupted until 00:50. The BBC audience averaged about 24.46 million viewers and peaked at approximately 26.9 million. This was the largest average audience for any broadcast since 1996 and one of the top 20 most-watched UK television broadcasts of all time. David Stringer of Associated Press described the coverage as "a success...so far, the BBC's ambitious – and technically tricky – Olympic plan has worked almost without a flaw." Euan Ferguson of The Observer commented that "Coverage of the Olympics so far ... has been near perfect."


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, TV coverage
However, Clive James was critical of the build-up programme, presented by Gary Lineker and Sue Barker. Commentators for the BBC were Huw Edwards, Hazel Irvine and Trevor Nelson, the latter criticised by Andy Dawson of the Daily Mirror as floundering "like a ventriloquist's dummy pumped full of low-grade ketamine". Private talks were held between Boyle and BBC commentators in the run-up to the ceremony. Boyle was unhappy with a voiceover being imposed on the ceremony, which he wanted viewers to be able to enjoy without commentary. The BBC offered several options including 'no commentary' coverage for both its TV and online transmissions. Audio description was also provided.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, TV coverage
Nearly 41 million US viewers watched NBC's coverage of the event. Criticism was levelled at its decision to tape-delay this broadcast, and not make a live version available even to cable and web users. There were frequent interruptions by commercial breaks. Many US viewers looked for other ways to watch (such as the live BBC feed), despite both NBC and the IOC vowing to crack down on unauthorised streams.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, TV coverage
More significant criticism was levelled at NBC for cutting to a Ryan Seacrest interview with Michael Phelps during the 'memorial wall' tribute including commemoration of the victims of the 7/7 London bombings, which was seen as disrespectful and insensitive. An NBC spokesman said the network had left out that segment because its programming was "tailored for the US audience". There was also criticism of commentators Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira for suggesting that the Queen had actually jumped out of a helicopter.


2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, TV coverage
Vieira and Lauer admitted to not knowing that Tim Berners-Lee was the inventor of the World Wide Web, as she commented "If you haven't heard of him, we haven't either", before Lauer told the audience to Google him. These failings were picked up on Twitter during the broadcast with the hashtag #nbcfail. Commentary by Bob Costas and Lauer during the Parade of Nations was also criticised for their negative opinions about some countries' political environments and for leaving out information about the athletes, which was seen as "smug American elitism". It was noted that they spoke about some countries with "outright condescension".