LONDON OLYMPIC 2012: Executive Producers of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies

The Olympic and Paralympic Opening Ceremonies are being developed by world-class directors Danny Boyle, Bradley Hemmings and Jenny Sealey and their teams.

Executive producers

The Executive Producers overseeing the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games are:

Stephen Daldry CBEExecutive Producer, Creative (Chairman)

Stephen began his career at the Sheffield Crucible where he directed various award winning productions. He has won innumerable awards on Broadway as well as the West End. Daldry made his feature film directorial debut with Billy Elliot. His next film was The Hours followed by The Reader. Stephen has received an Academy Award nomination for all three of his films. His stage musical adaptation of Billy Elliot, with music by Elton John, opened in London in 2005.  The production opened on Broadway in 2007, winning 10 Tony Awards and is the most honoured British production in the history of the American theatre.

Mark FisherExecutive Producer, Production Design

Mark is an architect with an international reputation for creating spectacular live entertainment. He has designed some of the most memorable rock concerts ever staged, including ‘The Wall’ for Pink Floyd, every Rolling Stones show since 1989, and every U2 concert since 1992. He also designed the theatre, scenery and acrobatic effects for Cirque du Soleil’s ‘KÀ’ at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and the opening and closing ceremonies for both the 2006 Turin Winter Games and 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. 

Hamish HamiltonExecutive Producer, Broadcast

Hamish is a Grammy and BAFTA Award nominated British television director, arguable the best live television director in the world.  He is most known for directing concert videos and award shows. He has directed several concert DVDs for U2, Madonna, and Jennifer Lopez, as well as the MTV Video Music Awards, MTV Europe Music Awards, the Super bowl half time show and this year’s Academy awards. Hamish joins the team to ensure that, from the outset, our creative ideas evolve with television in mind.

Catherine UgwuExecutives Producer, Production

Catherine has been involved in some of the world’s largest and most prestigious public events, she was the Senior Producer for the Strategic Phase of the Opening, Closing and Victory Ceremonies of the Vancouver Winter Olympics, she produced the Opening Ceremony for the 15th Asian Games in Doha, Qatar in 2006, the Closing Ceremony for the XVII Commonwealth Games in Manchester in 2002 and a large-scale performance spectacle to mark the opening of the Millennium Dome London in 2000. She has been a consultant and programmed numerous international arts festivals in Mexico City, Adelaide, Antwerp, Accra, Los Angeles and New York.  

London 2012 ceremonies board

The London 2012 Ceremonies Board is responsible for building and managing the huge team of people who will be developing and producing the ceremonies.

The members of the Board are Bill Morris, London 2012 Director of Ceremonies, Education and Live Sites; Martin Green, Head of Ceremonies; Catherine Ugwu, Executive Producer, Production; Scott Givens, Managing Director; Sara Donaldson, Chief Operating Officer; Dion Carter, Finance and Commercial Director; and Non-Executive Directors Frank McCormack and Alan Robertson. 

LONDON OLYMPIC 2012: Young people audition to take part in the Opening Ceremony

The Opening Ceremony is a celebration showcasing the best of the Host Nation. It also features a parade of all competing nations and the highly anticipated entrance of the Olympic Flame, which ignites the Cauldron and signals the start of the Games.

The eyes of the world will be on London for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The Ceremony will provide an opportunity for the world to view the artistic expression of the Artistic Director (Danny Boyle) and his team, and the culture of our Host City and the UK. There are certain elements that must feature in every Ceremony, as outlined in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) charter. The artistic performance of the Ceremony then gets underway and welcomes the world to the London 2012 Games.

The name of the Olympic Opening Ceremony show will be ‘Isles of Wonder’ and the worldwide broadcast will commence at 9pm. The Ceremony will kick off with the sound of the largest harmonically tuned bell in Europe, produced by the Whitechapel Foundry, and the Stadium will be transformed into the British countryside for opening scene ‘Green and Pleasant’, which includes real farmyard animals. The Ceremony will also include a special sequence celebrating the best of British, featuring volunteer performers from the NHS.

Danny Boyle, Artistic Director of the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony, said: ‘Our Isles of Wonder salutes and celebrates the exuberant creativity of the British genius in an Opening Ceremony that we hope will be as unpredictable and inventive as the British people.’

Creative team

A host of world-class British directors and producers are leading the artistic team to stage the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Performers

A total cast of 15,000 will take part in the London 2012 Opening and Closing Ceremonies, which will be watched by an estimated audience of four billion.