London 27 Million Opening Ceremony - Olympic organizers trying to keep London’s opening ceremony secret have appealed to rehearsal spectators and performers not to leak details of the event that insiders describe as spectacular with a touch of quirky British humor.
At a rehearsal on Monday night, Oscar-winning film-maker Danny Boyle asked some 30,000 spectators not to post details or photos on social networks of his 27-million-pound ($42-million) ceremony – and most honored his plea, with few “secrets” buzzing online on Tuesday.
Boyle has voiced frustration at details leaking before Friday’s show, particularly after he unveiled part of the set last month to sate growing curiosity.
But the explosion of social media has made secrets almost impossible to keep at this Olympics.
In a move to counteract leaks, organizers emblazoned a Twitter hashtag #savethesurprise on screens inside the Olympic Stadium on Monday, urging people to use that tag to build a buzz before Friday, and participants hoped this would work.
“The ceremony is very emotional, very British, with quirky humor. And it will have surprises, even for the critics,” said Dikaia Chatziefstathiou, who researches the Olympic movement at Canterbury University and is dancing in the opening ceremony.
Chatziefstathiou said the 10,000 volunteer performers in the three-hour ceremony signed contracts stopping them from giving away details or posting photos onto social network sites, but she was allowed to say the show spanned 1896 to the present.
Organizers will be hoping that a spectacular opening will end complaints from Britons about security bungles, transport woes and the 9.3-billion-pound ($14.4-billion) cost of the Games, being held as Britain faces recession and unemployment of 8.1 percent.
The ceremony poses a challenge to organizers to strike a balance between global and national appeal.
At a rehearsal on Monday night, Oscar-winning film-maker Danny Boyle asked some 30,000 spectators not to post details or photos on social networks of his 27-million-pound ($42-million) ceremony – and most honored his plea, with few “secrets” buzzing online on Tuesday.
Boyle has voiced frustration at details leaking before Friday’s show, particularly after he unveiled part of the set last month to sate growing curiosity.
But the explosion of social media has made secrets almost impossible to keep at this Olympics.
In a move to counteract leaks, organizers emblazoned a Twitter hashtag #savethesurprise on screens inside the Olympic Stadium on Monday, urging people to use that tag to build a buzz before Friday, and participants hoped this would work.
“The ceremony is very emotional, very British, with quirky humor. And it will have surprises, even for the critics,” said Dikaia Chatziefstathiou, who researches the Olympic movement at Canterbury University and is dancing in the opening ceremony.
Chatziefstathiou said the 10,000 volunteer performers in the three-hour ceremony signed contracts stopping them from giving away details or posting photos onto social network sites, but she was allowed to say the show spanned 1896 to the present.
Organizers will be hoping that a spectacular opening will end complaints from Britons about security bungles, transport woes and the 9.3-billion-pound ($14.4-billion) cost of the Games, being held as Britain faces recession and unemployment of 8.1 percent.
The ceremony poses a challenge to organizers to strike a balance between global and national appeal.
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