Two-and-a-half-hour production to close London 2012 will be 'elegant mash-up of British music', says creator Kim Gavin
It is thought Adele will feature prominently in the London 2012 closing ceremony. Photograph: NBCU Photobank/Rex Features
Fresh from flipping her middle finger at the Brits and breaking sales records on both sides of the Atlantic, a ubiquitous 23-year-old from Tottenham is to feature prominently in a London 2012 closing ceremony that organisers have promised will be a celebration of British music "from Adele to Elgar".
In contrast to the sometimes stilted formalities, they promised a giant after-show party featuring a "melting pot of British creativity", some of the biggest names in music, 4,100 performers and the obligatory closing fireworks.
After the Slumdog Millionaire director, Danny Boyle, last month unveiled his vision for an opening ceremony called Isles of Wonder after a line in Shakespeare's The Tempest, his closing ceremony counterpart, Kim Gavin, said his two-and-a-half-hour production would be entitled A Symphony of British Music.
Gavin, best known for his work as mastermind of Take That's inventive recent stadium shows, said that while Olympic closing ceremonies had traditionally been soundtracked by classical music this one would be "an elegant mash-up of British music".
"We want to create a fabulous, emotional experience in the stadium that night – something everyone will remember for years to come," said Gavin.
"We will pull on fabulous artists and everything that is great about British music. But it is also a show to celebrate British creativity and British imagination."
David Arnold, the composer who has scored five James Bond films and worked with artists including Björk and Pulp, is the musical director for the opening and closing ceremonies and will be responsible for arranging the soundtrack.
Played by the London Symphony Orchestra, which has been confirmed for all four ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Arnold's score will reference dozens of British artists and composers in a show that will feature live performances from some of the biggest names in music.
"We're taking a box of fabulously well known tunes and we're putting them together to create one movement of music that is fabulously balanced," said Gavin.
Arnold added: "The idea of calling it symphonic is that it does have shape and a story and a form. So that by the end, when the fireworks do go off on 12 August, you get an idea of what we're about culturally and musically, now and in the past."
The four ceremonies together will cost £81m, after the government used public funds to double the budget following a presentation to the prime minister by Boyle and Stephen Daldry. The Billy Elliot director, who is overseeing all four ceremonies, was at pains to reiterate that they were costing less than those in Beijing and Athens.
Asked how much big name artists would be paid to appear, he joked: "One pound." The global exposure and prestige is such that there is a clamour to take part and Gavin confirmed that only British artists would be approached.
The show, limited by the fact that following the last sporting action organisers will have just 17 hours to get the set ready, also has to take in the protocol of the closing speeches and an eight-minute segment for the Rio 2016 organisers.
"We've tried to weave the protocol in so that it won't feel like the art stops and the protocol starts," said designer Es Devlin, who has worked with an eclectic range of clients from Kanye West and Lady Gaga to Glyndebourne and the Royal Opera House.
In Beijing, London's red double decker bus, David Beckham and Jimmy Page produced a mixed reaction. The Rio organisers are likely to play it safe with a carnival theme but have yet to reveal their hand to the London organisers.
Despite referencing Adele, Gavin and Arnold refused to confirm who had been signed up to play. Some artists are expected to be confirmed before the Games but others will be held back as a surprise. Paul McCartney, Coldplay, the Rolling Stones and Take That are among those who have been rumoured to appear.
"The symphony will be crammed with nods and winks and from a performance point of view, we will aim to get in many tunes and reference many tunes but not all will be performances," said Gavin, who is leading rehearsals in an East End studio within a mile of the Olympic Stadium.
"Some artists will turn up and sing their songs, others will sing other people's songs and some will be done visually and have no artists at all. It is a rich tapestry of British culture and life."
Patrick Woodroffe, who has worked with Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Vienna State Opera and the Millennium Dome, will be responsible for lighting the show.
The recently announced closing-night party in Hyde Park, featuring Blur, New Order and the Specials, will take place simultaneously but will not be referenced within the closing ceremony.
Unlike previous closing ceremonies, the majority of the show will be performed live, although some of the orchestral soundtrack is likely to be recorded. In Beijing, it emerged that a nine-year-old girl had mimed a song to a backing track recorded by another singer who was considered less photogenic.
Daldry said that Boyle's Isles of Wonder theme would resurface at key points in the closing ceremony, while Arnold likened his work to tuning a celestial radio featuring the best of British music down the ages.
"I'm curating, composing, arranging, producing, rearranging, re-recording. If there is a universal radio station that only tunes into British music and you close your eyes and dial through it and hear all these different things sparkling – little moments and little phrases – and then you land on a certain moment, that's kind of the idea of what we're trying to do with this symphony," he said.
"It is a beautiful, funny, elegant, exciting, moving, thrilling experience with your eyes shut. It will hopefully be amazing with your eyes shut and 10 times more amazing with your eyes open."
Daldry insisted that the concentration on British music and culture would not alienate the global audience or appear parochial.
"It is in a sense the soundtrack to our lives, whether it's our lives or international lives. The hope is that the sound of our popular culture resonates way beyond these shores," he said. "It's not an attempt to tick every box. It has to be subjective and it has to be individual."
In contrast to the sometimes stilted formalities, they promised a giant after-show party featuring a "melting pot of British creativity", some of the biggest names in music, 4,100 performers and the obligatory closing fireworks.
After the Slumdog Millionaire director, Danny Boyle, last month unveiled his vision for an opening ceremony called Isles of Wonder after a line in Shakespeare's The Tempest, his closing ceremony counterpart, Kim Gavin, said his two-and-a-half-hour production would be entitled A Symphony of British Music.
Gavin, best known for his work as mastermind of Take That's inventive recent stadium shows, said that while Olympic closing ceremonies had traditionally been soundtracked by classical music this one would be "an elegant mash-up of British music".
"We want to create a fabulous, emotional experience in the stadium that night – something everyone will remember for years to come," said Gavin.
"We will pull on fabulous artists and everything that is great about British music. But it is also a show to celebrate British creativity and British imagination."
David Arnold, the composer who has scored five James Bond films and worked with artists including Björk and Pulp, is the musical director for the opening and closing ceremonies and will be responsible for arranging the soundtrack.
Played by the London Symphony Orchestra, which has been confirmed for all four ceremonies of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Arnold's score will reference dozens of British artists and composers in a show that will feature live performances from some of the biggest names in music.
"We're taking a box of fabulously well known tunes and we're putting them together to create one movement of music that is fabulously balanced," said Gavin.
Arnold added: "The idea of calling it symphonic is that it does have shape and a story and a form. So that by the end, when the fireworks do go off on 12 August, you get an idea of what we're about culturally and musically, now and in the past."
The four ceremonies together will cost £81m, after the government used public funds to double the budget following a presentation to the prime minister by Boyle and Stephen Daldry. The Billy Elliot director, who is overseeing all four ceremonies, was at pains to reiterate that they were costing less than those in Beijing and Athens.
Asked how much big name artists would be paid to appear, he joked: "One pound." The global exposure and prestige is such that there is a clamour to take part and Gavin confirmed that only British artists would be approached.
The show, limited by the fact that following the last sporting action organisers will have just 17 hours to get the set ready, also has to take in the protocol of the closing speeches and an eight-minute segment for the Rio 2016 organisers.
"We've tried to weave the protocol in so that it won't feel like the art stops and the protocol starts," said designer Es Devlin, who has worked with an eclectic range of clients from Kanye West and Lady Gaga to Glyndebourne and the Royal Opera House.
In Beijing, London's red double decker bus, David Beckham and Jimmy Page produced a mixed reaction. The Rio organisers are likely to play it safe with a carnival theme but have yet to reveal their hand to the London organisers.
Despite referencing Adele, Gavin and Arnold refused to confirm who had been signed up to play. Some artists are expected to be confirmed before the Games but others will be held back as a surprise. Paul McCartney, Coldplay, the Rolling Stones and Take That are among those who have been rumoured to appear.
"The symphony will be crammed with nods and winks and from a performance point of view, we will aim to get in many tunes and reference many tunes but not all will be performances," said Gavin, who is leading rehearsals in an East End studio within a mile of the Olympic Stadium.
"Some artists will turn up and sing their songs, others will sing other people's songs and some will be done visually and have no artists at all. It is a rich tapestry of British culture and life."
Patrick Woodroffe, who has worked with Elton John, the Rolling Stones, Vienna State Opera and the Millennium Dome, will be responsible for lighting the show.
The recently announced closing-night party in Hyde Park, featuring Blur, New Order and the Specials, will take place simultaneously but will not be referenced within the closing ceremony.
Unlike previous closing ceremonies, the majority of the show will be performed live, although some of the orchestral soundtrack is likely to be recorded. In Beijing, it emerged that a nine-year-old girl had mimed a song to a backing track recorded by another singer who was considered less photogenic.
Daldry said that Boyle's Isles of Wonder theme would resurface at key points in the closing ceremony, while Arnold likened his work to tuning a celestial radio featuring the best of British music down the ages.
"I'm curating, composing, arranging, producing, rearranging, re-recording. If there is a universal radio station that only tunes into British music and you close your eyes and dial through it and hear all these different things sparkling – little moments and little phrases – and then you land on a certain moment, that's kind of the idea of what we're trying to do with this symphony," he said.
"It is a beautiful, funny, elegant, exciting, moving, thrilling experience with your eyes shut. It will hopefully be amazing with your eyes shut and 10 times more amazing with your eyes open."
Daldry insisted that the concentration on British music and culture would not alienate the global audience or appear parochial.
"It is in a sense the soundtrack to our lives, whether it's our lives or international lives. The hope is that the sound of our popular culture resonates way beyond these shores," he said. "It's not an attempt to tick every box. It has to be subjective and it has to be individual."
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