Musical Selection How do you cover five decades of music in one show? Ask Karl Hyde and Rick Smith of the electronic duo Underworld. They were the musical directors for the ceremony. Their selections showcased mostly British music but in such a way that it took into consideration all the external musical influences that helped to make British pop culture what it is. Another point to note in their musical choices was the fact that they chose songs with a particularly fast beat during the athletes’ walk to ensure they ‘kept it moving along’.
Celebrity Performers Not passing up the opportunity to showcase their abundance of talent, the planning team packed in as many of Great Britain’s best performers as they could. From rock legends like Sir Paul McCartney of the Beatles, world-renown comedian Rowan Atkinson of ‘Mr. Bean’ fame, to Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the World Wide Web to more recent artistes such as Dizzee Rascal and Emeli Sande. It should be noted that the majority of these celebrities performed for a fee of £1. This figure was only chosen to make their contracts legally binding, as they all agreed to perform free of cost.
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Modern Event Magazine • Features • Plan Hot Topic with Me