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30 January 2012 - 16:51 AMT

London Olympics opening ceremony to be inspired by Shakespeare

Danny Boyle, the maker of Oscar-winning film 'Slumdog Millionaire', will direct a £29 million opening ceremony extravaganza of the London Olympic Games in July. Modern, multi-cultural Britain will feature in the display with London-based Dev Patel, who starred in 'Slumdog'.

Scotsman Boyle further said, for the inauguration,he was drawing inspiration from Shakespeare's drama, 'The Tempest'. He is creating 'The Isles of Wonder' to reflect the setting of the play. The words "…be not afeard. The isle is full of noises" will reportedly be engraved on a giant 23-ton bell that will ring during the ceremony.

The organizing committee anticipates a TV audience of one billion for the opener. There is understandable pressure to get the presentation right. Unsurprisingly, Boyle quantified his task as "bloody enormous".

More than 10,000 artistes will participate in Boyle's three-hour show. The music is being written by Underworld, the dance music pair of Karl Hyde and Rick Smith, who wrote the score for Frankenstein. It's a recent stage performance directed by Boyle.

The industrial revolution and the revitalization of derelict land in east London into a magnificent Olympic complex will also be highlighted, Times of India reported.