In my Jubilympics post last week I wrote about how important the London 2012 Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies were going to be in shaping both Britain’s and the world’s view of what it is to be British, and how well the Olympics plays the suspense card by never revealing which acts will be playing at said shindigs.

Opening Ceremony Artistic Director Danny Boyle didn’t disappoint in either regard at his press conference this morning. Here’s Owen Gibson of the Guardian’s take:

‘While the show will open with a rural pastoral vision that evokes William Blake and Jerusalem, it is expected to evolve to take on a more urban hue. Boyle said he would not reveal how the “puzzle fits together” as the show evolved. He also refused to confirm any of the acts that will take part, although Sir Paul McCartney has already confirmed his involvement and the likes of Take That and The Who are also expected to feature. But the director underlined that it was not a musical show but a narrative set to music. Underworld have already recorded two lengthy tracks at Abbey Road to score the action. The closing ceremony will be a more traditional celebration of British music. Boyle had already revealed that the three-hour opening ceremony would be titled Isles of Wonder, a title based on a speech by Caliban in Shakespeare’s The Tempest that will be referenced throughout the four ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.’

In the same vein, the latest in a series of breadcrumb stories about a James Bond Opening Ceremony spectacular ‘broke’ this weekend.

What a tease…although to be fair Danny did definitively resolve another point I made in last week’s post: it will rain at the Opening Ceremony, because he’s going to make it. Here he is again, later in the same Guardian piece above:

‘Boyle also teased that there would “real clouds” hanging over the stadium but refused to elaborate. “They will be real clouds that will be hanging over the stadium. Work that out if you can. We know we’re an island culture and an island climate. One of these clouds will provide rain on the evening, just in case it doesn’t rain.”‘

By Tim Crow on June 12th, 2012

Tags: Brand marketing, Content, Default, Diamond Jubilee, Experiential marketing, Film, London 2012, Olympic sponsorship, Olympics, Public relations

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