2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
Countdown <small>(21:00–21:04 BST)</small>
### Countdown (21:00–21:04 BST)

The ceremony began at 21:00 after a one\-minute '60 to 1' countdown film made up of shots of numbers, such as those on house doors, street nameplates, [London buses](/wiki/London_buses "London buses"), station platforms and market labels. The number 39 is seen at the foot of a flight of steps, a reference to [John Buchan](/wiki/John_Buchan "John Buchan")'s novel *[The Thirty\-Nine Steps](/wiki/The_Thirty-Nine_Steps "The Thirty-Nine Steps")*, while the 10 is the door number from [10 Downing Street](/wiki/10_Downing_Street "10 Downing Street").

[thumb\|left\|The [2012 Tour de France](/wiki/2012_Tour_de_France "2012 Tour de France") winner [Bradley Wiggins](/wiki/Bradley_Wiggins "Bradley Wiggins") opening the ceremony](/wiki/File:Bradley_Wiggins_2012_Summer_Olympics_opening_ceremony.jpg "Bradley Wiggins 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony.jpg")

A two\-minute film, *Journey along the Thames*, directed by Boyle and produced by the [BBC](/wiki/BBC "BBC"), opened the ceremony. To the sound of "Surf Solar" by [Fuck Buttons](/wiki/Fuck_Buttons "Fuck Buttons"), it followed the [River Thames](/wiki/River_Thames "River Thames") from [its source](/wiki/Thames_Head "Thames Head") to the heart of London, juxtaposing images of contemporary British life with pastoral shots and flashes of scenes from the stadium. The characters Ratty, Mole and Toad from *[The Wind in the Willows](/wiki/The_Wind_in_the_Willows "The Wind in the Willows")* were briefly seen, as was a '[Monty Python](/wiki/Monty_Python "Monty Python") hand' pointing towards London on umbrellas, and an [InterCity 125](/wiki/InterCity_125 "InterCity 125") train passing the Olympic rings as [crop circles](/wiki/Crop_circle "Crop circle") in a field. At [Battersea Power Station](/wiki/Battersea_Power_Station "Battersea Power Station") a [Pink Floyd pig](/wiki/Pink_Floyd_pigs "Pink Floyd pigs") was flying between the towers; the clock sound from another Pink Floyd song "[Time](/wiki/Time_%28Pink_Floyd_song%29 "Time (Pink Floyd song)")" was heard passing [Big Ben](/wiki/Big_Ben%23Tower "Big Ben#Tower"). The soundtrack included clips from the theme tune of *[The South Bank Show](/wiki/The_South_Bank_Show "The South Bank Show")*, "[London Calling](/wiki/London_Calling_%28song%29 "London Calling (song)")" by [The Clash](/wiki/The_Clash "The Clash"), and the [Sex Pistols](/wiki/Sex_Pistols "Sex Pistols")' "[God Save the Queen](/wiki/God_Save_the_Queen_%28Sex_Pistols_song%29 "God Save the Queen (Sex Pistols song)")" as the film followed the route of the band's infamous cruise down the River Thames during the [Silver Jubilee](/wiki/Silver_Jubilee_of_Elizabeth_II "Silver Jubilee of Elizabeth II").

After lifting to an aerial view of [East London](/wiki/East_London "East London") mirroring the title sequence of the BBC soap opera *[EastEnders](/wiki/EastEnders "EastEnders")*, to the sound of the drum beats from [the closing theme](/wiki/EastEnders_theme_tune "EastEnders theme tune"), the film flashed down through the [Thames Barrier](/wiki/Thames_Barrier "Thames Barrier"), into Bow Creek, and then below surface through a [London Underground](/wiki/London_Underground "London Underground") train and station, historic footage of [Isambard Kingdom Brunel](/wiki/Isambard_Kingdom_Brunel "Isambard Kingdom Brunel")'s [Thames Tunnel](/wiki/Thames_Tunnel "Thames Tunnel"), and through the [Rotherhithe Tunnel](/wiki/Rotherhithe_Tunnel "Rotherhithe Tunnel"). It then switched to a sequence filmed outside the stadium shortly before the ceremony, superimposed with posters from previous Summer Olympics (all of them except [1900 Paris](/wiki/1900_Summer_Olympics "1900 Summer Olympics"), [1936 Berlin](/wiki/1936_Summer_Olympics "1936 Summer Olympics"), [1984 Los Angeles](/wiki/1984_Summer_Olympics "1984 Summer Olympics"), and [1996 Atlanta](/wiki/1996_Summer_Olympics "1996 Summer Olympics")), to a recording of "[Map of the Problematique](/wiki/Map_of_the_Problematique "Map of the Problematique")" by [Muse](/wiki/Muse_%28band%29 "Muse (band)"). This ended with a live shot of three cast members holding the posters for the 2012 competition.

There was then a ten\-second countdown in the stadium, with children holding clusters of balloons that burst simultaneously, with the audience shouting out the numbers. [Bradley Wiggins](/wiki/Bradley_Wiggins "Bradley Wiggins"), who had won the [Tour de France](/wiki/2012_Tour_de_France "2012 Tour de France") five days earlier, opened the ceremony by ringing the [Olympic Bell](/wiki/Olympic_Bell "Olympic Bell") that hung at one end of the stadium. Four [upper\-atmosphere balloons](/wiki/Weather_balloon "Weather balloon") were released, each expected to carry a set of Olympic rings and a camera up to the mid\-[stratosphere](/wiki/Stratosphere "Stratosphere").


Who ends the sequence before the ceremony with a live shot?