2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony The opening ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games took place on the evening of Friday 27 July 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London. As mandated by the Olympic Charter, the proceedings combined the formal 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 2012 Games were formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II. The spectacle was entitled Isles of Wonder and directed by Academy Award-winning British film director Danny Boyle. Prior to London 2012
1982 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony the Queen's Baton Relay was Raelene Boyle, who handed the baton to the Duke of Edinburgh. The Duke read out the message which Elizabeth II had sent in the Queen's Baton, officially opening the Games (the Duke opened the Games because the Queen was unable to arrive in Australia in time to attend the Opening Ceremony). Because the Opening Ceremony was held during daylight hours, there were no fireworks to accompany the ceremony. However, both doves and colourful balloons of red, white and blue, were released. There were also supposed to be parachute jumpers, with parachutes of red, white and