2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony
The closing ceremony of the London 2012 Summer Olympics, also known as A Symphony of British Music,[1] was held on 12 August 2012 in the Olympic Stadium, London. The chief guest was Prince Harry representing Queen Elizabeth II. The closing ceremony was created by Kim Gavin, Es Devlin, Stephen Daldry, David Arnold and Mark Fisher. The worldwide broadcast began at 21:00 BST (UTC+1) and finished on 13 August 2012 at 00:11, lasting three hours and eleven minutes.
"A Symphony of British Music" redirects here. For the soundtrack album, see A Symphony of British Music (album).Date
12 August 2012
A Symphony of British Music
The stadium had been turned into a giant representation of the Union Flag, designed by Damien Hirst. Around 4,100 people partook in the ceremony; which reportedly cost £20 million. The 2012 Summer Olympics were officially closed by Jacques Rogge, who called London's games "happy and glorious." The ceremony included a handover to the next host city for the 2016 Summer Olympics, Rio de Janeiro and saw the Olympic flame extinguished and the Olympic flag lowered. The main part of the evening featured a one-hour symphony of British Music as a number of British Pop acts appeared. Tributes to John Lennon and Freddie Mercury and the fashion industry were included in the section. Rio marked the handover with an eight-minute section known as "Embrace" created by Cao Hamburger and Daniela Thomas, featuring Pelé. Sebastian Coe gave a speech, and the volunteers of London 2012 were thanked.
An average of 23.2 million viewers in the United Kingdom watched the event, with an estimated 750 million worldwide. Critics were generally positive, but noted that it was not as good as the opening ceremony. Some of the foreign reviews questioned whether everyone would have understood the nods to British film and television. George Michael was roundly criticised for his song choice while Kate Moss, Naomi Campbell and Russell Brand were criticised for not demonstrating the Olympic ethos in their past behaviour. Some performers were initially reluctant to appear, and other high-profile acts turned down invitations to perform at the ceremony. NBC in the United States, TV5 in the Philippines and Prime TV in New Zealand were criticised by viewers for their broadcasts of the ceremony. There was also a concert in Hyde Park to close the Olympics, featuring Blur, New Order, and The Specials.[2]
Production[edit]
The creative director and choreographer was Kim Gavin,[3][4] with Es Devlin responsible for design and David Arnold as musical director.[5] When Arnold was announced in his role he said that doing the closing ceremony was an honour and a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,[6] while Gavin stated that he was really excited and honoured to be involved. Devlin said that she was delighted to be part of the "greatest show on earth". Hugh Robertson, Minister for Sport and the Olympics, stated that he was delighted to have a high-quality team working on the ceremony, while Boris Johnson stated that "we have the best of British creating the spectacular bookends of our Games".[7] Stephen Daldry was the executive producer and Mark Fisher was in charge of production design. The ceremony cost £20 million, with the artists paid just £1 for contractual purposes.[8] Around 4,100 performers took part, comprising 3,500 adult volunteers, 380 schoolchildren from the six original host boroughs, and 250 professionals. There had been around 15 rehearsals for the volunteers at the Three Mills Studio and at a full-scale site in Dagenham, East London.[9]
Gavin said that "the show we are putting on is very shiny, it's very colourful. We don't want to bang on about our culture. We just want to have fun". Es Devlin added that it "has to make sense in Bognor and Bogotá."[10] She said that the creators had happily indulged in the chance to "visually draw on everything" that British imagination can offer.[9] David Arnold said "It's going to be beautiful, cheeky, cheesy, camp, silly and thrilling",[11] and added that "we could have done this 15 times over, and not had the same show, and it would still have been full of amazing British music". He thought that it should be the "greatest after party" and was "really a celebration of Britishness in terms of [all] the arts". Arnold himself had devoted two years working on the ceremony and had turned down all other work including Skyfall, but said that it was the "most fun" he had "ever had in music".[12] In the handover section Rio aimed to express "multicultural embrace." Daniela Thomas stated that Rio "want to show you how sophisticated we mix things, what we do with the things you believe we are, how we mix with pop culture."[13]
The representation of the Union Flag used as an arena centrepiece was designed by Damien Hirst to celebrate the "anarchy and diversity of British pop art, and by extension the energy and multiplicity of contemporary British culture". Hirst had been approached in November 2011 and agreed to do the design; he called his artwork Beautiful Union Jack Celebratory Patriotic Olympic Explosion in an Electric Storm Painting. 176 photographs made up one centimetre of the stadium artwork with graphic designers having spent three months creating super-high-resolution images before printing.[14]
Some performers had declined to perform, including The Rolling Stones, David Bowie, Sex Pistols, Kate Bush and The Libertines.[15][16] According to industry insiders The Who apparently refused twice, and only agreed once they had announced a US tour. The Spice Girls were said to be reluctant to appear, feeling that the event was being staged at minimal cost, before their manager Simon Fuller persuaded them to perform.[16] Noel Gallagher turned down the chance to perform after first being asked to play acoustically and then to mime to "Wonderwall".[17]
The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh were not scheduled to attend as there is no formal role for the Head of State during the ceremony. The royal family was represented by Prince Harry, the Princess Royal and the Duchess of Cambridge.[18]
Ratings and reviews[edit]
An estimated worldwide television audience of 750 million watched the event.[24] Early data suggested that the British TV audience averaged 23.2 million and hit a peak of 26.2 million at 21.35.[16][32]
The Daily Telegraph commented during the ceremony that, although fun, it lacked "top drawer" performers, and that Annie Lennox was "utterly underwhelming." However One Direction, Jessie J, Tinie Tempah and Taio Cruz "shone", while the Spice Girls "got the exuberant tone exactly right".[33] Tom Sutcliffe writing for The Independent said that it was "slick, impressive, often visually startling" and "eccentric, bewildering – and shameless good fun". He added that "where Danny Boyle's opening show had been a statement of intent and national values, this was an hour-long advert for British stadium rock-show design."[34]
The Guardian writer Michael Billington wrote that he was not sure how to review "a mix of pageant, pop-concert, street-party and presentation ceremony." He added that it communicated the "energy of British popular culture over the past few decades and the gaiety of our Olympic ceremonies." Billington praised Boyle, Devlin and Daldry, who had done a "tremendous job in lending what might have been orthodox Olympic rituals a blast of theatrical vitality."[35] While Alexis Petridis writing for the same paper said that the lack of a "gasp inducing moment" spoilt the show.[36]
NZ Herald's Troy Rawhiti-Forbes wrote that there were "touches of brilliance, beauty, and bewilderment - often at the same time." However he called Russell Brand "tuneless", and during George Michael's performance he thought that "if there had been remote controls here in the stadium, people might have been reaching for them." His "undisputed champions" of the night were the Spice Girls and The Who.[37] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter noted that the show "had something for every generation" and was an "all-star...crowd-pleaser." However he wonders whether non-British viewers would have understood references to The Italian Job and Only Fools and Horses. Rooney concludes that the "Rio preview and the rousing Britpop marathon that preceded it were a reminder that the Olympics are as much about spectacle as sport."[38]
Gary Barlow was called "inspirational, brave and a consummate professional" after performing despite his wife having had a stillborn baby on 4 August.[39] However, George Michael attracted some criticism for singing his new song "White Light" at the ceremony.[32] Critics saw this as shameless promotion. Michael replied that it was his one chance to thank his supporters, which he didn't regret.[40] It was his first appearance since almost dying from pneumonia and "White Light" was about that experience.[41] Appearances by Russell Brand, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss were also seen as controversial, as their previous behaviour had not always reflected Olympic ideals.[41]
International broadcast issues[edit]
United States broadcaster NBC was criticised for its coverage in a Forbes article by John Clarke, who emphasised the omission of performances from Ray Davies and Muse, as well as the delay in The Who's performance by an hour to broadcast the pilot of the sitcom Animal Practice followed by the late local news.[42] New Zealand broadcaster Prime TV was criticised for delayed coverage, running 20 minutes behind Sky Sport.[43] In the Philippines, TV5 was criticised because it only aired the first hour of coverage of the ceremony, incorporating highlights into its next morning news programme, Good Morning Club.[44][45]
