The London Olympics Closing Ceremonies
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The 2012 Summer Olympics in London has certainly been memorable, for Brits and Americans alike. The opening ceremony was one spectacular moment after the next, Michael Phelps recovered from his embarrassing start and earned himself more Olympic medals than any previous athlete, and we took home the gold for both the all-around gymnastics final and team final, all from the beautiful city of London.
As thrilling as it was, all good things must come to an end; but that doesn’t necessarily mean the party has to stop. According to Deadline, David Arnold, composer and music director for both the opening and closing ceremonies, recently told The Telegraph that the closing ceremonies “will be the greatest after-party in the world.”
The show will act as a musical tribute to British fine art, poetry, design, fashion, play-writing, and pop music and is rightly titled “A Symphony of British Music.” The performance will feature over 4,100 performers who will get the party started promptly at 7 pm this Sunday, obviously on NBC.
As befitting a proper music concert, the show will feature live performances from some of the most celebrated and popular British musicians to date including Elton John, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, The Who, Paul Weller, Annie Lennox, Madness, The Pet Shop Boys, Take That, George Michael, The Spice Girls, Adele, Muse, Liam Gallagher, members of Queen, One Direction, and much, much more.
That’s a lot of people to incorporate, and David Arnold has had his hands full. Arnold has previously worked on the most recent Bond films, Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale, but had to turn down the chance to score the upcoming Skyfall because of the enormous commitment that the Olympics required.
If the opening ceremonies just kicked off the games, imagine what’s to come when it’s time to celebrate. Supposedly, over 10,000 athletes and flag-bearers are going to march during the closing ceremony in conjunction with the men’s marathon medal ceremony, which sounds exceedingly complicated. However, executive producer Stephen Daldry has proven more than capable of delivering this kind of feat smoothly, especially after the coordination featured in the opening ceremonies.
While it’s always a little bittersweet to see events like this end, at least we can be guaranteed it’s going out with a bang.
