Opening Ceremony could also feature epic battle between Mary Poppins and Voldemort
Previous reports of director Danny Boyle's opening ceremony for the Summer Olympics detailed an epic retelling of Great Britain's history in three sweeping acts through a massive display of song and dance. Boyle and company have done everything they can to keep the details from leaking out and spoiling the surprise for the four billion people that are expected to watch it. One more detail, however, leaked out, and it may be the best one yet.
The Sunday Times reported that Boyle is planning on staging an epic battle for the soul of Britain between the evil Voldemort from the "Harry Potter" series and a massive crowd of flying nannies styled after the iconic British nanny from the book and film "Mary Poppins." The report also said other fictional characters from British literature such as Peter Pan and Alice from "Alice in Wonderland" will make an appearance in the ceremony presumably to represent the mark his country has made on art, literature, and film.
I'm not doubting Boyle's vision for the ceremony or Britain's influence on the world, especially when it comes to England's contributions to the creative world. However, "Harry Potter" and "Mary Poppins" does seem a little shallow when it comes to praising Britain's footprint on popular culture. If it were up to me, the opening ceremony would include a massive battle for the soul of the world between Manuel from "Fawlty Towers," John Cleese from Monty Python and the last five Doctor Whos who join forces to destroy a crowd of rage infected zombies from "28 Days Later".
Now THAT'S an opening.
Photo: ODD ANDERSEN/AFP/Getty Images



