2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
Reception
Reception
---------

*[The Times](/wiki/The_Times "The Times")* described the ceremony as "a masterpiece", with *[The Daily Telegraph](/wiki/The_Daily_Telegraph "The Daily Telegraph")* saying it was "brilliant, breathtaking, bonkers and utterly British". The [BBC](/wiki/BBC "BBC")'s chief sports writer [Tom Fordyce](/wiki/Tom_Fordyce "Tom Fordyce") called it "eccentric" and "tongue\-in\-cheek", saying "no\-one expected ... it would be quite so gloriously daft, so cynicism\-squashingly charming and, well, so much pinch\-yourself fun." Two weeks after the ceremony [Jonathan Freedland](/wiki/Jonathan_Freedland "Jonathan Freedland") of *The Guardian* wrote that "Boyle's spectacular, so beautifully executed and ingeniously conceived it lingers in the mind even as the closing draws near, stood apart from its predecessors thanks not only to its humour and eccentricity, but also because it had something to say." Writing in *[The Observer](/wiki/The_Observer "The Observer")*, [Jackie Kay](/wiki/Jackie_Kay "Jackie Kay") commented that "it seemed that Boyle had invented a new kind of opening ceremony, a concept ceremony, one that embraces big ideas as passionately as it does technical flamboyancy". *The Stage* said that "Danny Boyle's spectacular and moving Olympics Opening Ceremony was undoubtedly the theatrical highlight of 2012".

Although praise came from across the political spectrum, a few on the British political right were unhappy. [Aidan Burley](/wiki/Aidan_Burley "Aidan Burley"), a [Conservative](/wiki/Conservative_Party_%28UK%29 "Conservative Party (UK)") [MP](/wiki/Member_of_Parliament "Member of Parliament"), denounced the ceremony on [Twitter](/wiki/Twitter "Twitter") as "[leftie](/wiki/Left_wing "Left wing") multicultural crap". Burley's comments were dismissed by many fellow Conservatives, including [David Cameron](/wiki/David_Cameron "David Cameron") and [Boris Johnson](/wiki/Boris_Johnson "Boris Johnson").

Foreign reaction was overwhelmingly positive. *[The New York Times](/wiki/The_New_York_Times "The New York Times")* said the ceremony was "hilariously quirky ... a wild jumble of the celebratory and the fanciful; the conventional and the eccentric; and the frankly off\-the\-wall." *Forbes* called it Boyle's "love song to Britain", while *[Sports Illustrated](/wiki/Sports_Illustrated "Sports Illustrated")* noted its political aspects, calling it "a celebration of protest and dissent". *[The Sydney Morning Herald](/wiki/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald "The Sydney Morning Herald")* said it was "an unforgettable start ... at once subversive and sublime" and *[The Times of India](/wiki/The_Times_of_India "The Times of India")* said "London presented a vibrant picture of Great Britain's rich heritage and culture." The Chinese news agency *[Xinhua](/wiki/Xinhua "Xinhua")* described the ceremony as "dazzling" and an "eccentric and exuberant celebration of British history, art and culture". Chinese artist [Ai Weiwei](/wiki/Ai_Weiwei "Ai Weiwei") praised the ceremony for its "human touch", saying "In London, they really turned the ceremony into a party ... such a density of information about events and stories and literature and music; about folktales and movies."

Russian President [Putin](/wiki/Vladimir_Putin "Vladimir Putin") said the ceremony was "wonderful and unforgettable". [Dmitry Medvedev](/wiki/Dmitry_Medvedev "Dmitry Medvedev") said "It was an exceptional spectacle, very well prepared and quite rich ... it succeeded in creating a very British atmosphere ... they managed to find the right language ... to communicate." Panos Samaras of Greece's [NET](/wiki/New_Hellenic_Television "New Hellenic Television") said "it was more like a big musical, a rock opera ... than an Olympics ceremony". French sports newspaper *[L'Équipe](/wiki/L%27%C3%89quipe "L'Équipe")* wrote that it "took the classic from such events and had fun with them" whilst *[Le Parisien](/wiki/Le_Parisien "Le Parisien")* said it "was magnificent, inventive and offbeat drawing heavily on the roots of British identity". Germany's  hailed it as "spectacular, glitzy but also provoking and moving".

Chinese news [CCTV\-4](/wiki/CCTV-4 "CCTV-4") said the ceremony was a "stunning feast for the eyes". South Korea's [Yonhap](/wiki/Yonhap "Yonhap") said it was "by turns dramatic, imaginative, humorous and solemn" and "weaved the story of the country's past, present and future". Singapore's *[Straits Times](/wiki/Straits_Times "Straits Times")* said it was a "grand show" noteworthy for both "scale" and "authenticity". *The Australian* praised a "glorious pandemonium devoted to London's thriving, chaotic energy ... deliberately revelling in the chaos of Britain's free society and popular culture". France's *[Le Figaro](/wiki/Le_Figaro "Le Figaro")* said it reflected "the best contributions that Britain has given to the world ... its sense of humour, its music, and of course sport". The [Canadian Broadcasting Corporation](/wiki/Canadian_Broadcasting_Corporation "Canadian Broadcasting Corporation") said it was a "rocking, rollicking, sometimes quiet and brooding ceremony." Qatar's *[The Peninsula](/wiki/The_Peninsula_%28newspaper%29 "The Peninsula (newspaper)")* said London did a "spectacular job" making the ceremony a "memorable event".

In an end of the year review, British magazine *[Q](/wiki/Q_%28magazine%29 "Q (magazine)")* said "It could all have been so different. As the London 2012 Summer Olympics approached, the tide of scepticism seemed almost irreversible. There was the heavy\-handed sponsorship, the draconian security, the ticketing problems, the ballooning budget, and the lurking fear that the Opening Ceremony might be, in director Danny Boyle's pungent description, 'shite'. It took less than four hours on the night of Friday 27 July to turn the whole country around. Not only was the ceremony demonstrably *not* shite, it was the most surprising, moving, spectacular cultural event this country had ever seen...modern Britain, in all its berserk, multi\-faceted glory."

The writer of the ceremony, [Frank Cottrell\-Boyce](/wiki/Frank_Cottrell-Boyce "Frank Cottrell-Boyce"), said: "People around us thought it might need defending, so I was told to do press the next morning. I was completely surprised *\[by the positive response]*. A lot of people were surprised. But I don't think Danny was surprised. Danny never blinked. At no point did he show any feeling that it was going to be anything but amazing. And he was right."

In December 2012 the culture critic of *The Guardian* picked the ceremony as "best art event of the year". A British public survey by Samsung voted it the second most inspiring television moment of all time, second only to the [1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing](/wiki/Apollo_11 "Apollo 11"). A Digital Spy survey of more than 25,000 overwhelmingly voted the ceremony as the entertainment highlight of 2012\. The ceremony was the second most\-mentioned entertainment event on the internet in 2012, with just over six million mentions, coming second to the [Grammy Awards](/wiki/Grammy_Awards "Grammy Awards"). The BBC reported that it was the most requested item from 2012 on its iPlayer on\-demand service, with 3\.3 million requests.

Boyle was offered a knighthood in late 2012, but turned it down, saying "I'm very proud to be an equal citizen and I think that's what the Opening Ceremony was actually about."

### Awards and accolades

| Award | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref. |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Evening Standard](/wiki/London_Evening_Standard "London Evening Standard") Theatre Awards | Beyond Theatre Award | *2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony* |  |  |
| [Whatsonstage.com Theatre Awards](/wiki/Whatsonstage.com_Awards "Whatsonstage.com Awards") | Theatre Event of the Year |  |  |
| [NME Awards](/wiki/NME_Awards "NME Awards") | Music Moment of the Year |  |  |
| [Royal Television Society Awards](/wiki/Royal_Television_Society "Royal Television Society") | Judges' Award | [Danny Boyle](/wiki/Danny_Boyle "Danny Boyle") |  |  |
| [Royal Television Society Craft \& Design Awards](/wiki/Royal_Television_Society "Royal Television Society") | Design Craft and Innovation | Production Team |  |  |
| [British Academy Television Awards](/wiki/2013_British_Academy_Television_Awards "2013 British Academy Television Awards") | [Best Sport](/wiki/British_Academy_Television_Award_for_Best_Sport_and_Live_Event "British Academy Television Award for Best Sport and Live Event") | *The London 2012 Summer Olympics Opening Ceremony* |  |  |
| Radio Times Audience Award |  |  |
| [British Academy Television Craft Awards](/wiki/2013_British_Academy_Television_Craft_Awards "2013 British Academy Television Craft Awards") | [Best Director: Multi\-Camera](/wiki/British_Academy_Television_Craft_Award_for_Best_Director:Multi-Camera "Multi-Camera") | [Hamish Hamilton](/wiki/Hamish_Hamilton_%28director%29 "Hamish Hamilton (director)") and Tapani Parm |  |  |
| [Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards](/wiki/65th_Primetime_Creative_Arts_Emmy_Awards "65th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards") | [Outstanding Special Class Program](/wiki/Primetime_Emmy_Award_for_Outstanding_Variety_Special_%28Live%29 "Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Special (Live)") | Jim Bell, Molly Solomon, [Bucky Gunts](/wiki/Bucky_Gunts "Bucky Gunts"), Joe Gesue and Carol Larson |  |  |
| [Outstanding Art Direction for Variety or Nonfiction Programming](/wiki/Primetime_Emmy_Award_for_Outstanding_Production_Design_for_a_Variety%2C_Reality_or_Competition_Series "Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Production Design for a Variety, Reality or Competition Series") | Mark Tildesley, Suttirat Anne Larlarb, [Danny Boyle](/wiki/Danny_Boyle "Danny Boyle") |  |
| [Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special](/wiki/Primetime_Emmy_Award_for_Outstanding_Directing_for_a_Variety_Special "Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special") | [Bucky Gunts](/wiki/Bucky_Gunts "Bucky Gunts") and [Hamish Hamilton](/wiki/Hamish_Hamilton_%28director%29 "Hamish Hamilton (director)") |  |
| [Outstanding Lighting Design / Lighting Direction for a Variety Special](/wiki/Primetime_Emmy_Award_for_Outstanding_Lighting_Design_/_Lighting_Direction_for_a_Variety_Special "Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lighting Design / Lighting Direction for a Variety Special") | Patrick Woodroffe, Adam Bassett, Al Gurdon, Tim Routledge |  |
| [Outstanding Picture Editing for Short\-Form Segments and Variety Specials](/wiki/Primetime_Emmy_Award_for_Outstanding_Picture_Editing_for_Variety_Programming "Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming") | Sascha Dhillon (for Segment: "Happy and Glorious") |  |
|


In what ways do large networks of cooperation function?