Don’t mention the war! How PM gave in over 2012 Games
IT WAS billed as the ultimate celebration of British grit and ingenuity, and included references to the feats of the Industrial Revolution and the foundation of the NHS.
But organisers of the Opening Ceremony at the London Olympics in 2012 refused to highlight Britain’s victory over Hitler as part of the near four-hour extravaganza.
In a BBC documentary to be screened tonight, Danny Boyle, the show’s artistic director, reveals how he clashed with the then Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt over any inclusion of the Second World War.
Mr Hunt, whose father, Admiral Sir Nicholas Hunt, was a naval commander during the Cold War, thought Britain’s victory against the Nazis should take centre stage in the Isles Of Wonder-themed show alongside the other historical events being commemorated. But Boyle and colleague Stephen Daldry say they resisted his approaches on the grounds of ‘taste’.
Daldry says: ‘Jeremy Hunt wound up the Prime Minister to a certain extent. They were very concerned with Britain’s role in defeating Fascism.’
Boyle adds: ‘We did have stand-offs. There were moments, big moments… It was like “Where’s the war? We won, we beat the Fascists. Where’s the war?”’
Daldry says the impasse was only broken when he and Boyle appealed to David Cameron over Mr Hunt’s head. ‘That went to the wire. Danny and I had to go without Jeremy Hunt to see the Prime Minister and explain that [the war] wasn’t going to happen. In the end David Cameron said, “It’s your ceremony and it’s fine.”’
The two men do not expand on the reasons for their opposition to Mr Hunt’s idea but it is presumed they did not want to offend the German public and their team. The ceremony was broadcast to a global audience of more than a billion.
A source close to Mr Hunt last night confirmed he had thought the war was ‘conspicuous by its absence’. He said he made his feelings clear although he had stopped short of making concrete suggestions.
‘Jeremy thought it was appropriate to remember great moments of national sacrifice. But he was a huge fan of the Opening Ceremony.’
One Night In 2012: An Imagine Special will be broadcast tonight on BBC1 at 10.30pm.