The ceremony on the IOC YouTube channel on YouTube
Part of a series on
2012 Summer Olympics
Bid process (bid details, legacy)
Development (venues, torch relay, security)
Marketing (mascots)
Broadcasters
Opening ceremony (flag bearers)
Event calendar
Chronological summary
Medal table (medallists)
World and Olympic records
Concerns and controversies (minute of silence)
Closing ceremony (flag bearers)
Paralympics (medal table)
IOC
BOA
LOCOG
v
t
e
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[1] and directed by Academy Award-winning British film director Danny Boyle.
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.[2][3][4] The 2008 ceremony had been noted for its scale, extravagance and expense, hailed as the "greatest ever",[5] 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.[6] Nonetheless, the London opening ceremony was immediately seen as a tremendous success, widely praised as a "masterpiece" and "a love letter to Britain".[7][8][9]
The ceremony began at 21:00 BST and lasted almost four hours.[10] It was watched by an estimated worldwide television audience of 900 million,[11] becoming the most-viewed Olympic opening ceremony in both the UK and US.[12][13] 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. 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.[14] 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.[15]
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.[16]
^"Isles of Wonder". 27 July 2012. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
^Harris, Stephen (23 August 2012). "Engineering the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony". The Negineer. Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
^Spencer, Richard (25 August 2012). "London 2012 cannot match Beijing Olympics opening ceremony 'because of trade unions'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
^Hepple, Philip (16 February 2012). "Five Ways for London to Top the Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony". Huffington Post. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
^"Press hails 'greatest ever' Olympic opening show". Agence France-Presse. 9 August 2008. Archived from the original on 11 May 2013. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
^Kortekaas, Vanessa (5 December 2011). "Cameron doubles budget for Olympic ceremonies". FT.com. Retrieved 29 June 2012.
^Cite error: The named reference Dawson was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Goldsmith, Harvey; Phillips, Arlene; Quantick, David; Brown, Mick; Beard, Mary (29 July 2012). "London 2012: the experts' view of the Olympic opening ceremony". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 12 January 2022. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
^"Media reaction to London 2012 Olympic opening ceremony". BBC. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
^Fowler, Scott (27 July 2012). "Brits show their knack for theater, humor". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
^Ormsby, Avril (7 August 2012). "London 2012 opening ceremony draws 900 million viewers". Retuers. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
^Douglas, Torin (28 July 2012). "Olympics ceremony: 27m UK viewers watched opening". BBC. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
^Pomerantz, Dorothy (28 July 2012). "Olympics Opening Most Watched Non-U.S. Ceremony Ever (And Pretty Good)". Forbes. Retrieved 29 July 2012.
^"A "noisy, busy, witty, dizzying production": What the world thought of London 2012's opening ceremony". Daily Mirror. 28 July 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2012.
^"Case Study – LONDON 2012: How We Won The Bid" (PDF). Higher Education Academy Oxford Brookes University. February 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 August 2012. Retrieved 24 August 2012.
^London 2012 Olympic Games, BBC Shop, London, October 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2012.
and 25 Related for: 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony information
The openingceremony of the 2012SummerOlympics took place on the evening of Friday 27 July 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London, during which the Games...
The 2008 SummerOlympicsopeningceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It began at 20:00 China Standard Time...
71500°E / 35.67806; 139.71500 The openingceremony of the delayed 2020 SummerOlympics took place on 23 July 2021 at Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, and was formally...
The 2012Summer Paralympics openingceremony was held on 29 August 2012, starting at 20:30 BST and marking the official opening of the 2012Summer Paralympics...
The openingceremony of the 1984 SummerOlympic Games took place on the afternoon of Saturday, July 28, in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles...
The openingceremony of the 2000 SummerOlympics took place on the evening of Friday, 15 September 2000 in Stadium Australia, Sydney, during which the...
The openingceremony of the 1996 SummerOlympics took place in the evening on Friday, July 19 at the Centennial Olympic Stadium, Atlanta, United States...
The openingceremony of the 1992 SummerOlympics took place on the evening of Saturday 25 July 1992 at Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc, Barcelona, Spain, during...
The openingceremony of the 2016 SummerOlympics took place on the evening of Friday 5 August 2016 in the Maracanã Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, starting at...
The openingceremony of the 2004 SummerOlympics was held on August 13, 2004 starting at 20:45 EEST (UTC+3) at the Olympic Stadium in Marousi, Greece,...
The closing ceremony of the London 2012SummerOlympics, also known as A Symphony of British Music, was held on 12 August 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London...
Olympic Stadiums. Since the 1996 SummerOlympics, the openingceremonies have to be held on a Friday evening. The first time that openingceremonies were...
The 2012SummerOlympics and Paralympics cauldron was used for the Olympic flame during the SummerOlympics and Paralympics of London 2012. The cauldron...
and The Child Catcher, Captain Hook made an appearance during the openingceremony of the XXX Olympiad in London, representing one of the villains of...
The 2000 SummerOlympics Closing Ceremony was held on 1 October 2000 in Stadium Australia. As with the openingceremony, the closing ceremony was directed...
Herbert, and contributed towards the score for the London 2012SummerOlympicsopeningceremony alongside Rick Smith. He is a founding member of the multi-discipline...
fifth SummerOlympics (after Atlanta 1996), and ninth Olympics overall, to be hosted by the United States. Having previously hosted the SummerOlympics in...
The openingceremony of the 2010 Winter Olympics was held on February 12, 2010, beginning at 6:00 pm PST (02:00 UTC, February 13) at BC Place Stadium in...
in 1908, 1948 and 2012) to host the SummerOlympics three times. Paris 2024 will mark the centenary of Paris 1924, and these Olympic Games will be the...
August 2013) was a British stuntman who took part in the 2012SummerOlympicsopeningceremony by parachuting from a helicopter above the stadium as James...
the Olympic closing ceremony. The first time that a symbolic flame made its appearance in the SummerOlympic Games was for the 1928 SummerOlympics in...
closing ceremony of the 2012SummerOlympics) served as director for the ceremony, while Stephen Daldry served as its executive producer. The ceremony was...
The OpeningCeremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics (Torino 2006) was held on 10 February 2006 beginning at 20:00 CET (UTC+1) at the Stadio Olimpico in Turin...
last runners in the Olympic torch relay and consequently have the honor of lighting the Olympic cauldron at the openingceremony. The first well-known...
Global Information
