Friday night's highly anticipated Olympics opening ceremony, kicked off the games spectacularly. In a nearly four hour epic show, Danny Boyle, director of films like Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionare put on an amazing fete. Rumors such as iconic British pop-culture and historic icons being part of the show such as flying Mary Poppins and a giant Lord Voldemort from Harry Potter were confirmed.
One of the first scenes was Queen Elizabeth II entering the arena with James Bond actor, Daniel Craig in the role as a secret agent. Kenneth Branagh, dressed in a top hat and period clothing, walked in and recided a part from William Shakespear's play, The Tempest, "Be not afear'd. "The isle is full of noises," he said.
The show, called "Isle of Wonder" which Boyle has said was somewhat inspired by The Tempest, was a rural wonderland filled with sweeping green hills turning into the Industrial Revolution in one of the opening scenes. A tree was uprooted and floated in the air, people dressed as factory workers came out, and nearly 1000 drummers drummed as large chimneys filled with smoke grew from the ground.
Other comic highlights included Rowan Atkinson as his famous English character, Mr. Bean inserted into the scene from Chariots of Fire and accompanying the London Symphony Orchestra.
The dizzying and quirky show was quintessentially British with, a "slightly insane portrait of a country that has changed almost beyond measure since the last time it hosted the Games, in a grim postwar summer of 1948," said the New York Times.
One of the most anticipated scene stealers of the night was when who would light the Olympic cauldron was revealed when seven teenage athletes took over from Steve Redgrave, a British rower who had carried the torch to the stadium.
The political aspect of the show is also one to note, with a tribute to Britain's National Health Service during a dizzying show of dancing nurses and sick children in bed. Trade union members, woman suffrage protesters and afro-Carribean immigrants who fought for minority rights were all part of the show. The New York Times highlighted how Boyle's "left-leaning sensibilities" were reflected in the nearly four hour show.
Michelle Obama and Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney were both present at the games showing their support as well as British royalty, Prince William, Kate Middleton and bachelor Prince Harry. The show ended with an epic performance by former Beatle and British icon, Paul McCartney.
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