UK Olympics opening ceremony: animals, cricket, maypoles (Guardian.com)
Please God, no Morris dancers.
Owen Gibson, Olympics editor
Tuesday 12 June 2012 06.33 EDT
A village cricket team, 12 horses, 10 chickens, 70 sheep, a model of Glastonbury Tor, two mosh pits, and the largest harmonically tuned bell in the world are among the sights that will greet the world when the curtain comes up on the London Olympics, it has been revealed. The surreal vista of a “green and pleasant land”, with giant maypoles representing the symbols of the four nations of the UK around which children will dance, is the scene for the opening sequence of Danny Boyle’s £27m opening ceremony extravaganza. The director has ignored the age-old maxim about never working with children or animals. The opening scene features real grass, real ploughs, real soil and – said Boyle – real clouds that would supply “rain” if there was none in order to ensure an authentically British atmosphere. With no Glastonbury festival this year, the event will be evoked with a replica of Glastonbury Tor and mosh pits at either end of the arena….
