Last night, the highly anticipated London 2012 Opening Ceremony, kicking off the 30th modern Olympic Games, took place, and the truly incredible event included not just one Pink Floyd inclusion, but two...
The event began with an imagined trip down the River Thames, prior to the events within the Olympic Stadium, and came to a close with spectacular fireworks. Creative Director Danny Boyle's extravanganza opened on a 'Green and Pleasant Land', and sped through industrial and internet revolutions, whilst also giving sharp focus to the music and film that Great Britain has given the world.
The trip down the Thames included a helicopter flying past various key landmarks. As you'll see from the picture here, as it reached Battersea Power Station, one of its famous visitors was in a familiar position between the chimneys. As it flew on, the helicopter passed the clock tower of Big Ben, Time (from The Dark Side Of The Moon) rang out, fittingly.
After the first part of the ceremony proper, and after the 204 teams had streamed in, with their flags, the final segment of the show took place. This included the lighting of the cauldron with the Olympic flame (and this was a cauldron like never seen before) and events were concluded with a huge firework display. With the London skies lit up at 12:37am, the sound of Pink Floyd's Eclipse rang out loud and clear in the stadium, which seemed to fit the event and the Olympic ideals perfectly. As the notes faded, Paul McCartney took the metaphorical baton from the Floyd, performing The End and Hey Jude live to finish the night with a singalong.
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