Apr 23: Isles of Wonder - capturing the soul of a country

Perhaps the biggest 'gig' of all is the Olympics Opening Ceremony.

Isle of Wonder was the name of the ceremony that was developed by film-director Danny Boyle along with author Frank Cottrell Boyce for the 2012 Olympics in London.

The Wikipedia entry describes the music that was chosen to represent Great Britain.

As has already been blogged, the big moment for me was the appearance of Mike Oldfield.

An extended dance sequence followed, with songs including "My Generation" by The Who, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" by the Rolling Stones, "My Boy Lollipop" sung by Millie Small, "All Day and All of the Night" by the Kinks, "She Loves You" by the Beatles (with footage of the band performing the song), "Trampled Under Foot" by Led Zeppelin, "Starman" by David Bowie, "Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen (during which the sound of the TARDIS from Doctor Who could be heard), "Pretty Vacant" by the Sex Pistols (during which dancers on power jumpers wearing large heads with Mohawk hairstyles performed a pogo dance, and the lyrics to the song were spelt out in LED lights around the stadium), "Blue Monday" by New Order, "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood (during which Frankie, asked by June for his name, replied by revealing one of the band's "Frankie say..." T-shirts), "Back to Life (However Do You Want Me)" by Soul II Soul, "Step On" by Happy Mondays, "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" by Eurythmics, "Firestarter" by The Prodigy, and "Born Slippy .NUXX" by Underworld, ending with the cast singing "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles" as Frankie and June walked towards each other. 

A sequence from the film Four Weddings and a Funeral was projected behind them; when they kissed, a montage of memorable kisses from film, TV and real life was shown (including one of the first interracial kisses on British television in Emergency Ward 10 and the first lesbian kiss from Brookside, which in some countries, including Saudi Arabia, then became the first lesbian kiss ever shown on pre-watershed television),while "Song 2" by Blur was played. 

A live performance of "Bonkers" by Dizzee Rascal (who grew up in the host borough of Tower Hamlets)followed, along with a further sequence in which all the cast (and Britain's Got Talent dancing duo Signature) attend a party at June's house while, Amy Winehouse's "Valerie", Muse's "Uprising", and Tinie Tempah's "Pass Out" played.

At the close, while "Heaven" by Emeli Sandé was played, the larger house was raised to reveal Tim Berners-Lee working at a NeXT Computer, like the one on which he invented the World Wide Web. He tweeted "This is for everyone", instantly spelt out in LED lights around the stadium.

The programme explained 

"Music connects us with each other and with the most important moments in our lives. One of the things that makes those connections possible is the World Wide Web". 

Boyle wanted to honour Berners-Lee for having made the World Wide Web free and available to everyone (hence the tweet), rather than seeking a commercial profit from it.

What are your memories of that evening?