London Olympics 2012 reveals “Isles of Wonder” opening ceremony theme

London 2012’s Olympic organisers today announced the theme of their opening ceremony, entitled: “Isles of Wonder”.

The theme’s unveiling by Oscar winning artistic director and Danny Boyle and creative director Stephen Daldry took place today at a briefing six months ahead of the Games.

Boyle said the ceremony, which is expected to attract a billion TV viewers, would be about a land that has been poisoned by industrial legacy and the recovery of that land.

“We’ll be celebrating the whole of the country… there are so many ‘Isles of Wonder'” said the Slumdog Millionaire and Trainspotting director.

The organisers have also commissioned the biggest ringing bell in Europe which will hang at one end of the stadium and bear an inscription from Shakespeare’s The Tempest: “Be not afeard, the isle is full of noises”.

Boyle told the BBC that he wanted people to hear it “for hundreds of years”.

Last month Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt defended a doubling of the budget for the Olympic ceremonies to £81m as “an extraordinary business opportunity” likely to attract foreign investment. A third of this will be used for the opening ceremony.

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